Summary
The hooded crow is able to memorize the shape and size of an object. This kind of feat requires the ability to form “mental templates.”
The ability to learn this way could be more widespread than we thought, says Sarah Jelbert. Creating and using mental templates might be a skill that evolved in the ancestor of all corvids.
“Unlike humans, who regularly copy each other’s behavior, we don’t have much evidence that crows will watch each other and deliberately copy what another crow is doing,” Jelbert says. Research suggests birdsong and mating practices may rely on certain kinds of mental templates, which can backfire if a bird memorizes behavior from the wrong species.
Nieder says this kind of imprinting can become fixed in the bird’s brain. Researchers have not yet determined whether mental templates related to tool making remain flexible.
