title: Tool bending in New Caledonian crows.
abstract: 'Betty' the New Caledonian crow astonished the world when she 'spontaneously' bent straight pieces of garden wire into hooked foraging tools. Recent field experiments have revealed that tool bending is part of the species' natural behavioural repertoire, providing important context for interpreting Betty's iconic wire-bending feat. More generally, this discovery provides a compelling illustration of how natural history observations can inform laboratory-based research into the cognitive capacities of non-human animals.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology , University of St Andrews , St Andrews KY16 9TH , UK.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5187-7417
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rutz
authors.affiliation: Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology , University of St Andrews , St Andrews KY16 9TH , UK.
authors.forename: Shoko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sugasawa
authors.affiliation: Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology , University of St Andrews , St Andrews KY16 9TH , UK.
authors.forename: Jessica E M
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: van der Wal
authors.affiliation: Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology , University of St Andrews , St Andrews KY16 9TH , UK.
authors.forename: Barbara C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Klump
authors.affiliation: Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology , University of St Andrews , St Andrews KY16 9TH , UK.
authors.forename: James J H
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: St Clair
keywords: Corvus moneduloides; comparative cognition; innovation; insight; intelligence; tool use