What are ravens communicating when they caw, and are there different types of caws signifying different messages?
Steven Ravens have many calls besides caws. Different calls do have different meanings, but we know very little about them. However, most indicate mood, and meaning is then found in context where used. Some calls keep others away, others attract. Calls indicate also the bird’s status, sex and intent, aside from mood. In the experiment in which you put the meat on the string and had the raven get the meat, could you do that with another bird or does it have to be a raven? John I tried the string-pulling test with two crows (not an adequate sample) and both acted clueless. Earlier this century there had been tests with finches and parids (chickadee-like birds) that were negative, unless the birds were trained extensively first. I suspect some parrots could do it, but I know of no published results. What other experiments have you designed to test the intelligence of crows? Justin I describe numerous observations and tests that relate to ravens’ intelligence in a new book coming out in Ma
