The Intelligence Of Corvids Ielts Reading Answers Online

– Explanation: The Metatool test required using a short stick to get a long stick to get food, which is sequential or multi-step problem solving.

This is not instinct. In a famous experiment dubbed the "Metatool" test, crows had to use a short stick to retrieve a longer stick, which could then be used to retrieve food. This multi-step problem solving, known as , requires planning and an understanding of future needs, a trait once considered uniquely human. Episodic Memory and Planning for the Future For a long time, episodic memory—the ability to recall specific past events (what, where, and when)—was thought to belong only to humans. Western scrub-jays have disproven this. In landmark studies, these birds cached (stored) different types of food. They learned that one type of food (wax moths) decayed quickly, while another (peanuts) lasted longer. When allowed to recover their caches, the jays did not search randomly. They specifically went to the sites where peanuts were stored after a long delay, and to the wax moth sites immediately after caching. This shows they remembered what they hid, where they hid it, and when they hid it. the intelligence of corvids ielts reading answers

– Explanation: The passage explicitly describes a crow pretending to hide food in one spot while keeping it in its throat. – Explanation: The Metatool test required using a

An IELTS Reading Exercise & Answer Key When IELTS candidates encounter the topic of animal intelligence, the usual suspects—chimpanzees, dolphins, and elephants—often come to mind. However, a growing body of scientific literature focuses on a much smaller, feathered genius: the corvid. This family of birds, which includes crows, ravens, magpies, and jays, has repeatedly shattered our assumptions about the link between brain size and cognitive ability. For test-takers, understanding this topic is not just fascinating; it is essential, as passages about corvid intelligence have appeared in academic reading sections due to their rich vocabulary and clear logical structure. The Myth of the "Bird Brain" For centuries, the phrase "bird brain" was used as an insult to denote a lack of intelligence. This prejudice stemmed from the smooth, un-layered structure of the avian forebrain, which looked primitive compared to the laminated mammalian neocortex. Scientists assumed that without a neocortex, complex thought was impossible. Corvids have forced a complete rewrite of this neurological textbook. This multi-step problem solving, known as , requires

5. Ravens will sometimes pretend to hide food to mislead other birds. 6. The brain of a crow contains more neurons than the brain of a chimpanzee. 7. Corvids are the only non-human animals known to engage in tactical deception. Questions 8–10: Summary Completion Complete the summary below using words from the box.