Study Shows Crows Are Capable of Recursion, a Communication Skill Thought to Be Distinctively Human

Crows are one of the most misunderstood creatures in the animal kingdom. Crows are incredibly smart and creative, and this new report shows just how intelligent they are.

Source: Real Science/YouTube

Recursive sentences are a key part of language, and researchers have long wondered if animals can grasp this concept. Recursion is what allows us to form long sentences into simple ones. Scientific American reported that psychologists long thought that this was only a trait in humans.

A study of both monkeys and human adults and children in 2020 found that both humans and monkeys were able to generate recursive sequences. This is the paper that influenced Diana Liao, a postdoctoral researcher at the lab of Andreas Nieder and a professor of animal physiology, to consider if crows have this ability.

The researchers used the same protocol that was used in the previous 2020 study and found that crows produced recursive sequences in around 40 percent of trials but without the extra training that the monkeys required.

The study, published in the journal Science Advances, shows that crows are better at grasping these recursive sentences than monkeys.

Although some scientists are skeptical of the results and if either crows or monkeys can grasp recursion, the findings are still groundbreaking. Liao says that the results aren’t too surprising, seeing as though birds’ ancestors diverted from those of primates.

Related Content:

• Woman Rescues Special Needs Crow From Streets of Moscow
• Swedish City Uses Wild Crows To Clean Up Cigarette Butts
• Trained Crows Are Cleaning Up Litter in a French Amusement Park. Why In the World Aren‘t People Responsible For This?!
• 5 Reasons Wildlife is Good for Your Garden
• Victory! Washington Bans Wildlife Killing Contests

Easy Ways to Help the Planet:

• Eat Less Meat: Download Food Monster, the largest plant-based Recipe app on the App Store, to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy. You can also buy a hard or soft copy of our favorite vegan cookbooks.
• Reduce Your Fast Fashion Footprint: Take the initiative by standing up against fast fashion Pollution and supporting sustainable and circular brands like Tiny Rescue that raise awareness around important issues through recycled zero-waste clothing designed to be returned and remade over and over again.
• Support Independent Media: Being publicly-funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing high-quality content. Please consider supporting us by donating!
• Sign a Petition: Your voice matters! Help turn petitions into victories by signing the latest list of must-sign petitions to help people, animals, and the planet.
• Stay Informed: Keep up with the latest news and essential stories involving animals, the environment, sustainable living, food, health, and human interest topics by subscribing to our newsletter!
• Do What You Can: Reduce waste, plant trees, eat local, travel responsibly, reuse stuff, say no to single-use plastics, recycle, vote smart, switch to cold water laundry, divest from fossil fuels, save water, shop wisely, Donate if you can, grow your food, volunteer, conserve energy, compost, and don’t forget about the microplastics and microbeads lurking in common household and personal care products!