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Magpies Are Self-Aware
FireStormZ writes "Magpies can recognize themselves in a mirror, confounding the notion that self-awareness is the exclusive preserve of humans and a few higher mammals. It had been thought only four species of apes, bottlenose dolphins, and Asian elephants shared the human ability to recognize their own bodies in a mirror. But German scientists reported on Tuesday that magpies, a species with a brain structure very different from mammals, could also identify themselves. It had been thought that the neocortex brain area found in mammals was crucial to self-recognition. Yet birds, which last shared a common ancestor with mammals 300 million years ago, don't have a neocortex, suggesting that higher cognitive skills can develop in other ways."
Several other birds are also known for pretty amazing intellectual feats (symbolic language is a pretty famous one), considering their brain size.
It's probably because of those scary velociraptor genes.
Now we can punish the thieving bastards by putting them in prison instead of just shooting them.
chicks dig consistency.
Be you Admins? nay, we are but lusers!
A few years ago they tried the red dot on the forehead mirror test with Congressmen but got no reaction. As a control they tried taping a $100 bill to their foreheads and all quickly recognized the bill and reached for it. In an even more bizarre twist they seem to be able to find the bill even when blindfolded. They seemed to sniff the air so it was assumed they could smell the bill. Even stranger still when they taped a $1 bill to their foreheads it got no reaction even when they weren't blindfolded. The researchers concluded Congressmen were amazing creatures worthy of more study. As to them being self aware the tests were inconclusive.
Yeah, but after the chicks grow up, they get off digg and spend more time on /. instead.
Get thee glass eyes, and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see things thou dost not.--King Lear
Imagine a Beowulf cluster of them!
...
Had a similar experience with crows.
I was walking through the park and obviously got too near a nest of something. I noticed two started to circle way above my head. My first thought was "Cool" because I was heavily into the goth thing at the time. After a few more feet they attacked. No pecking, but flapping wings in front of my face, diving at my head, that sort of stuff. Nobody else walking along that way was targeted.
People watching they would have seen a goth in a leather trenchcoat stumbling, waving his arms, running and yelling. Looking back, that must have been quite funny to watch.
>>A big creature with a small brain , would be completely dumb.
Sounds like my ex-wife!
You thought you could break the laws of physics without paying the PRICE?
Pheasants are one of the dumbest creatures imaginable. Ants have more nous. Are they a product of selective breeding like cows and sheep? If so, perhaps they've been bred for stupidity. Also politicians.
I was walking in the forest near home once with my little boy when we saw a pheasant meandering along. When it saw us it froze and stood there stock still, presumably hoping we wouldn't notice it.
When my son saw it, naturally (for a three year old) he charged straight towards it with his arms out, laughing. The pheasant looked pretty surprised and eventually bolted for the nearest bush. Hilariously, it just stuck it's head in while it's body and legs remained flat on the floor, completely exposed.
Possibly one of the dumbest things I've ever seen.
I think an animal should know it's in big trouble when it's easy meat for a human toddler.
You thought you could break the laws of physics without paying the PRICE?
I saw other people walking around and assumed that the coast was clear and went on my merry way. However, said demon bird was waiting for me and attacked again. Why it didnt attack any of the other potential targets and instead wait for me I'll never know.
Tippi Hedren, is that you?
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
What is the airspeed of an unladen, drunken Australian magpie that is pining for the fjords?
Get thee glass eyes, and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see things thou dost not.--King Lear
I saw that on TV so it may be wrong.
What?!
I misread your first line as:
Had a similar experience with cows.
Try re-reading that entire message again with cows in mind. It certainly evokes an interesting mental image!
that must have been quite funny to watch.
A goth being buzzed by cows? I would pay to see that!
When my son saw it, naturally (for a three year old) he charged straight towards it with his arms out, laughing. The pheasant looked pretty surprised and eventually bolted for the nearest bush. Hilariously, it just stuck it's head in while it's body and legs remained flat on the floor, completely exposed. Possibly one of the dumbest things I've ever seen.
Perhaps the rest of the peasants were on the other side of the bush.... waiting....
We live, as we dream -- alone....
My chubby cat is not so impressed with the intelligence of the birds in our back yard.
Seriously, anyone who has ever had a parrot or macaw as a pet can tell you they're smarter than most people would think. And more social.
You are welcome on my lawn.
Leave him alone! He's self aware and it probably took him ages to peck out the characters on his keyboard.
As a fellow magpie I understand his point perfectly.
echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
Doesn't this logic mean that vampires are not self-aware?
Please read my Canon EOS tech blog at http://www.everyothershot.com
Fixed that for you.
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
I wonder what a Chicken BSOD would look like?
Maybe it's a driver issue instead?
Anyhow, who would you ring up for support?
The advantage of course having a chicken BSOD itself is that you can eat it.
Don't be apathetic. Procrastinate!
you don't have to make a complex chirping weasel model to brain-freeze a chicken. just hold its head close to a surface, then draw a straight line with a marker starting on its beak and extending about 30cm. the chicken will stay there hypnotized for a couple of minutes.
The chicken could be stunned because it is thinking: "WTF? Why is he drawing a straight line from my beak and onto the ground. Weird ass humans".
Yah... and as I said to a girlfriend who once bemoaned the fact that my cat was good at catching birds.... when was the last time you saw a cat fly?
Last night when I threw him across the room for scratching me?
My blog
My lion is not so impressed with the intelligence of humans.
"Kill 'em all and let Root sort 'em out"
Unused organs degenerate.
Hence the attempts to sell sexual enhancement products to computer users?
Nice theory, but I've seen loads of dead crows on the road, as well as pigeons which seem to love attempting to dive bomb my van. The other day I was driving along, and there was a pigeon pecking away at something in the middle of the road. I braked, expecting it to fly away, but it didn't, and I didn't have time to stop. I didn't feel any impact, so I looked in my rear view mirror, and it was still happily pecking away in the middle of the road, seconds after my car had gone straight over the top of it. I'm not sure if this indicates extreme stupidity or extreme intelligence though.
Well no shit.
I would too.
"HOLY SHIT SOMEONE MESSED WITH MY FOOD"
*quickly re-prepare food*
*lie in wait...*
"Ok, I guess no one's near my food. Safe to eat."
*go to food*
"HOLY SHIT SOMEONE MESSED WITH MY FOOD AGAIN"
Case in point.
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?