When it comes to brains size doesnt matter

One of the ravens tested for self-control in the research, giving some major side eye. (credit: Lund University Corvid Cognition Station)

Crows, ravens, and other corvids are sometimes called feathered apes. Like primates, these birds form social groups, use tools, solve puzzles, recognize faces, and enjoy a good joke (especially if it's at the expense of cats). Now a group of researchers has shown in a series of tests that corvids exhibit the same levels of self-control that chimps do when faced with a task that requires them to forgo a quick reward in favor of a bigger one that comes later.

The researchers published a fascinating description of their work in Royal Society Open Science, and their paper challenges a long-held belief that absolute brain volume correlates with intelligence. No longer will humans and our ape cohorts be able to claim that we're smart just because our brains are big. Instead, say the researchers, it's more likely that intelligence stems from neural complexity, whether that's numbers of neurons or connections between them.

To measure corvid intelligence, the researchers used a common test of self-control called the "cylinder task." It's been used on many animals, including humans, and it's one of the most basic ways to assess higher reason. As the researchers write, the test "requires deciding among options of differing values in relation to a temporal dimension." In other words, it requires the animal to make decisions based on an understanding of time.

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