關于烏鴉的離奇事實

關于烏鴉的離奇事實

Intelligence runs in the crow family, a diverse group of more than 120 bird species. And, as with most geniuses, crows and their relatives tend to be misunderstood.

烏鴉家族是一個由120多種鳥類組成的多樣化群體。而且，和大多數(shù)天才一樣，烏鴉和它們的親戚也容易被誤解。

The outsized intelligence and adaptability of corvids is definitely something to crow about. (Photo: Nancy Bauer/Shutterstock)

Known as corvids, this family of birds includes not just crows, but also ravens, rooks, jays, jackdaws, magpies, treepies, nutcrackers and choughs. They range from the 1-ounce dwarf jay, a small forest bird found only in Mexico, to the 3-pound common raven, a wily opportunist found across the Northern Hemisphere.

這種鳥被稱為鴉科，不僅包括烏鴉，還包括渡鴉、白嘴鴉、松鴉、寒鴉、喜鵲、樹莓、星鳥和樹枝。它們的種類從1盎司重的侏儒鳥(一種只在墨西哥發(fā)現(xiàn)的森林小鳥)到3磅重的普通烏鴉(一種在北半球發(fā)現(xiàn)的狡猾的機會主義者)。

Below is just a sampling of what we've learned about their mental and social lives, focusing mainly on crows but also including ravens and other relatives:

以下是我們了解到的烏鴉心理和社交生活的一些例子，主要集中在烏鴉身上，也包括烏鴉和其他親戚:

1. Crows have shrewd ways to get food.

烏鴉有精明的覓食方法。

Crows are known for quickly adapting to new situations and food sources. (Photo: Smeilov Sergey/Shutterstock)

Crows tend to be opportunistic and creative, commonly exploiting new food sources or adopting new feeding strategies to make their lives easier.

烏鴉往往是機會主義和創(chuàng)造性的，通常開發(fā)新的食物來源或采用新的喂養(yǎng)策略，使他們的生活更容易。

At the same time, this species often steals food from other animals, sometimes even secretly following victims back to their nests or food caches. In one case, a group of American crows was seen distracting a river otter so they could steal its fish, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, while another group followed common mergansers to intercept minnows the ducks had been chasing into shallow water.

與此同時，這個物種經(jīng)常偷其他動物的食物，有時甚至偷偷跟蹤受害者回到他們的巢穴或食物貯藏處。根據(jù)康奈爾大學鳥類學實驗室的研究，在一個案例中，一群美國烏鴉分散了一只河獺的注意力，這樣它們就可以偷它的魚，而另一群烏鴉跟蹤普通的默根瑟，攔截鴨子在淺水中追逐的鰷魚。

2. Crows don't just use tools; they also make them.

烏鴉不只是使用工具;他們也制造工具。

An American crow explores the shores of Bon Portage Island in Nova Scotia. (Photo: Jukka Jantunen/Shutterstock)

Many corvids use tools, but New Caledonian crows are especially advanced. Like chimps, they use sticks or other plant matter to fish insects out of crevices. That alone is impressive, especially without hands, but it's just one of many tricks up their sleeves. In addition to choosing tools that are naturally well-shaped for a particular task, New Caledonian crows also manufacture tools in the wild, which is much rarer than just using found objects. This ranges from trimming the leaves off a stick to creating their own hook-shaped tools from twigs, leaves and thorns.

許多鴉類使用工具，但新喀里多尼亞烏鴉特別先進。像黑猩猩一樣，它們用樹枝或其他植物從縫隙中捕捉昆蟲。單憑這一點就令人印象深刻，尤其是在沒有手的情況下，但這只是他們眾多花招中的一個。新喀里多尼亞烏鴉除了會選擇適合特定任務的自然形狀的工具外，還會在野外制造工具，這比只使用發(fā)現(xiàn)的物品難得多。從把樹枝上的葉子剪下來，到用小樹枝、樹葉和荊棘制作自己的鉤形工具，不一而足。

3. Crows can solve puzzles on par with human kids.

烏鴉可以像人類孩子一樣解決難題。

A crow drinks from a water fountain at the Alipore Zoo in Kolkata, India. (Photo: Deshakalyan Chowdhury/AFP/Getty Images)

In Aesop's Fable "The Crow and the Pitcher," a thirsty crow encounters a pitcher with a little water in it, but is initially thwarted by the low water level and the bottle's narrow neck. Then the crow starts dropping pebbles into the pitcher, however, eventually raising the water level high enough for it to drink.

在伊索寓言《烏鴉和水壺》中，一只口渴的烏鴉遇到了一個水壺，水壺里只有一點點水，但最初因為水位低和水壺的窄頸而受阻。然后烏鴉開始往罐子里扔鵝卵石，然而，最終把水位線提高到足夠它喝的高度。

4. Crows hold funerals for their dead.

烏鴉為死去的人舉行葬禮。

Crows explore gravestones at Brompton Cemetery in London. (Photo: Guy RD/Shutterstock)

Crows are famous for holding "funerals" when one of their kind has passed away. It might be a lone individual or a group of crows, and it may be solemnly quiet or cacophonous. In some cases the crows may keep a vigil over the fallen bird for days on end. Could they really be mourning?

烏鴉以在同類死亡時舉行“葬禮”而聞名。它可能是一個孤獨的人，也可能是一群烏鴉，它可能是莊嚴肅穆的，也可能是嘈雜的。在某些情況下，烏鴉可能會連續(xù)幾天守夜。他們真的在哀悼嗎?

5. Crows gossip, hold grudges

烏鴉喜歡嚼舌頭，心懷怨恨

Urban crows tends to be astute observers of human activity. (Photo: Maksym Fesenko/Shutterstock)

Several kinds of corvids have demonstrated a knack for recognizing human faces. Magpies and ravens, for example, are both known to scold specific researchers who have gotten too close to their nests in the past, regardless of what the researchers wear. Some of the best evidence of this ability comes from crows in Washington state, where Swift and her colleagues have done extensive testing on the birds' reactions to human faces they've learned to distrust.

有幾種鴉科動物表現(xiàn)出了識別人臉的能力。例如，不管研究人員穿什么，喜鵲和渡鴉都以責罵特定的研究人員而聞名。證明這種能力的最好證據(jù)來自華盛頓州的烏鴉，斯威夫特和她的同事對烏鴉對人類面孔的反應進行了廣泛的測試，他們已經(jīng)學會了不信任人類。