More Animals (Birds) That Reveal We Humans Aren't So Special

 The way we humans think we're so special would be funny if it weren't so sad. Less than 100 years ago, people still thought we were the only creatures with culture. We thought animals were not only dumb, they had no complexity to their society. They certainly didn't teach each other complex tasks. They didn't make and use tools. And they didn't carry on cultural traditions. They didn't mourn their dead. They didn't invent new behaviors and then teach those behavior to others. They didn't make plans and then carry them out. They didn't have self-awareness. And they didn't recognize themselves in mirrors.

Now we've learned that many animals do all of these things and more. Whales, dolphins, chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, elephants, dogs, pigs, and birds such as parrots, pigeons, and crows.

New research shows just how dramatic and impressive animal intelligence is.

Dolphins are bilingual. They speak a language specific to their own species when they are around their own kind, and they switch to a more generic language when they encounter other dolphin species. They cooperate with whales to help each other hunt fish.

After chimpanzees watched humans using sign language, they began to develop it themselves and then taught it to their young. 

Orangutans can use a hammer and nails, and - if it suits their needs - hide items from people. One stole a key from a zookeeper and nonchalantly hid it in his mouth when the man came looking for it.

Elephants are so socially sophisticated and empathetic, they will sacrifice themselves for the good of the group. 

Parrots can learn hundreds of words and their meanings. Pigeons can recognize different people and can learn the difference between impressionist paintings and abstract expressionist paintings. Crows can invent tools to suit their needs and memorize the routes of garbage trucks so they can be in the best places when the trucks come by with potential food. Crows also have complex death rituals when one of their group dies.

Now, magpies have shown altruistic behavior, helping each other to remove tracking devices that humans put on them.  There is no advantage to a magpie to help others like this. It is a cultural characteristic much more complicated than doing something that merely helps find food or a mate.

You can read about it here:

https://theconversation.com/altruism-in-birds-magpies-have-outwitted-scientists-by-helping-each-other-remove-tracking-devices-175246

And when one cockatoo learned to open a wheeled garbage container in Australia, it taught the technique to others. Now, cockatoos all over have learned the trick:

https://theconversation.com/clever-cockatoos-in-southern-sydney-have-learned-to-open-kerb-side-bins-and-it-has-global-significance-164794