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Gimmeh!
Mark gets a very clever no-prize for bringing us this demonstration of just how smart a crow can be. As I understand it, parrots and crows are considered the two smartest groups of birds, with brain-to-body mass ratios similar to higher primates. Interestingly, their brain structure is very different, with small cerebral cortexes but large "medio-rostral neostriatum/hyperstriatum ventrale" areas.
When Amber and I hiked the Grand Canyon, we had to do three major descents. Immediately prior to the last one, we came across the gear (backpacks and all) of some folks that had apparently decided to drop their stuff so they could do the descent and then ascend again that day. This would make sense as it was roughly 2,500 of incredibly steep canyon wall comprised of nothing but sharp gravel, switchbacks, and long falls to your death that would be assisted by large pointy rocks.
Unfortunately for them, the ravens or crows in the Canyon know how to open backpacks. A small flock (or is it a parliament?) of the birds had descended upon these folks packs, opened them, separated out the foodstuffs from the gear, and were opening and eating all the food they could. Bloody clever birds.
Posted by: ronaprhys on January 13, 2009 10:20 AMA flock of crows is called a 'murder'.
Posted by: ellen on January 13, 2009 11:13 AMCrows are wierd. Oddly enough, a flock of ravens is called either a quorum or a flight, at least as far as I can see in my very quick search of the intrawebs.
I thought I had seen parliament, but maybe I was mistaken.
Posted by: ronaprhys on January 13, 2009 11:42 AMI have no idea how they come up with names for various birds. Flock, murder etc...
I wonder what a group of parrots fall into.
Posted by: ellen on January 13, 2009 02:06 PM