This story brings me to ask the question if anyone has ever done some kind of IQ scale for birds where each species is rated by intelligence.
The reason I ask is that there seems to be a vast difference in intelligence between species. Some birds don't just seem dumb to us but are so in that their actions likely endanger the species—for example, birds that allow cuckoos to parasitize their nests with their eggs and actually go on raise the cuckoo's young which is obviously not its kin compared to birds that are clearly very smart such as ravens, ibis and currawongs.
I have currawongs in a tree near my house and one bird in particular clearly recognizes me from other people, moreover, it knows by my actions whether I'm likely to feed it or not quite some time before I actually do so (it seems to quickly take measure of my mood so to speak). It also knows when I'm annoyed with it, especially so when it rummages around in my overfull wheelie bin when the lid isn't properly shut—when caught in the act it flies off onto a branch and stares at me the moment I appear (even if I'm not close to the bin). At other times he hangs around so close to me I could just about reach out and grab him (he's wary of me but certainly not timid about getting close even when I have no food).
I may be wrong but I simply cannot image that a bird with the inate intelligence of this currawong would let itself be a surrogate for raising a cuckoo's young.
It seems to me this differential in intelligence between bird species is huge but I'd love to have an actual measure of it.
BTW, when currawongs are nesting it's not advisable to get too close to the tree or you'll likely be dive-bombed by them (they can be quite vicious).
The reason I ask is that there seems to be a vast difference in intelligence between species. Some birds don't just seem dumb to us but are so in that their actions likely endanger the species—for example, birds that allow cuckoos to parasitize their nests with their eggs and actually go on raise the cuckoo's young which is obviously not its kin compared to birds that are clearly very smart such as ravens, ibis and currawongs.
I have currawongs in a tree near my house and one bird in particular clearly recognizes me from other people, moreover, it knows by my actions whether I'm likely to feed it or not quite some time before I actually do so (it seems to quickly take measure of my mood so to speak). It also knows when I'm annoyed with it, especially so when it rummages around in my overfull wheelie bin when the lid isn't properly shut—when caught in the act it flies off onto a branch and stares at me the moment I appear (even if I'm not close to the bin). At other times he hangs around so close to me I could just about reach out and grab him (he's wary of me but certainly not timid about getting close even when I have no food).
I may be wrong but I simply cannot image that a bird with the inate intelligence of this currawong would let itself be a surrogate for raising a cuckoo's young.
It seems to me this differential in intelligence between bird species is huge but I'd love to have an actual measure of it.
BTW, when currawongs are nesting it's not advisable to get too close to the tree or you'll likely be dive-bombed by them (they can be quite vicious).