'Clever' New Caledonian crows use mirrors to locate food

London, Sept 19 (ANI): New Caledonian crows are so notoriously clever that they use mirrors to locate hidden food, according to scientists.

Researchers from the University of Auckland, New Zealand captured 10 wild birds and placed them in large cages in order to record their behaviour in response to mirrors.

They found that crows did not recognise themselves but spotted food items by studying their reflections.

The results have put the birds in an elite group of species - which includes primates and elephants - known to be able to process mirror information.

In this study, scientists devised a task to test whether the crows could use mirrors to locate cubes of meat that were hidden from direct view.

All of the crows tested appeared to understand how the meat's reflection correlated to its location.

Remarkably, they soon looked down at the mirrored surface to see the reflection of the food hidden on the underside of the apparatus.

According to Mr Medina, the New Caledonian crows are unique in the group because they are wild animals.

"What our study has now revealed is that wild-caught New Caledonian crows can process mirror information in a primate-like fashion, and that this ability develops very quickly without extensive mirror exposure," the BBC quoted lead researcher Felipe S Medina Rodriguez as saying.

The study has been published in the journal Animal behaviour. (ANI)