UCSB researcher shows that New Caledonian crows can perform
as well as 7- to 10-year-olds on cause-and-effect water displacement tasks
In Aesop’s fable about the crow and the pitcher, a thirsty
bird happens upon a vessel of water, but when he tries to drink from it, he
finds the water level out of his reach. Not strong enough to knock over the
pitcher, the bird drops pebbles into it — one at a time — until the water level
rises enough for him to drink his fill.