“When these birds are problem-solving, they may be using forms of cognition intermediate between simple learning and human thought,” explains Taylor. The signatures of cognition evident in the crows’ behavior might represent the in-between steps along the way to our own complex cognitive abilities such as imagining scenarios or reasoning about cause and effect. “That’s why we’re really interested in these crows as model species,” says Taylor. “Pinpointing the cognitive mechanisms they use can offer insights into the evolution of human thinking and of intelligence in general.”
