NARRATION
The call of the New Caledonian Crow…as different to the Australian crow as its behaviour.

This clever crow is one of the few species apart from humans known to manufacture and modify tools.

This female is making a barbed tool, from a Pandanus leaf…perfect for ferreting out its dinner, hidden deep in a log.

But is this just behaviour learned by imitating others, or is the bird aware of the function of its tool?

University of Auckland researchers have been testing the reasoning power of wild crows, by giving them complex problems to solve.

The ultimate is this 3-step tool test.

First, the bird has to fetch a small twig from the end of a string.

The twig is used to fetch a longer stick from a tool box.

Finally, the crow uses this tool to drag out its prize.

Using multiple tools was a key step in human evolution.

Perhaps the New Caledonian Crow is on its way to world domination.

Topics: Nature
Reporter: Dr Paul Willis
Producer: Anja Taylor
Researcher: Anja Taylor
Camera: Dr Gavin Hunt, Dr Alex Taylor
Sound: Dr Gavin Hunt
Editor: Lile Judickas