'World's Smartest Bird' Strikes Again: AU Magpies Remove Research Radio-Collars, Leaving Scientists Stunned - EnviroNews | The Environmental News Specialists

‘World’s Smartest Bird’ Strikes Again: AU Magpies Remove Research Radio-Collars, Leaving Scientists Stunned

(EnviroNews World News) — A new study suggests Australian magpies (Gymnorhina tibicen) are willing to help other group members without receiving an immediate reward – an extremely rare trait in nature. Scientists at Australia’s University of the Sunshine Coast were hoping to observe magpie movements using tracking devices when they inadvertently stumbled across some incredible social behavior.

According to the academic news website, The Conversation, ecologists were excited to test a new durable backpack-style tracking device which, unlike most trackers, did not require the bird to be re-captured in order to extract the device’s data. However, after fitting the tiny gadget to a group of magpies, they discovered something far more interesting than the traveling habits which they’d initially sought to understand.

Within minutes of strapping the trackers to some of the magpies, scientists noticed a female using her beak to remove the harness from a younger bird. Within hours nearly all the devices had been removed, and by the third day the dominant male was harness-free as well.

The university’s senior lecturer in animal ecology, Dominique Potvin, told The Conversation this:

We don’t know if it was the same individual helping each other or if they shared duties, but we had never read about any other bird cooperating in this way to remove tracking devices.

The birds needed to problem solve, possibly testing at pulling and snipping at different sections of the harness with their bill. They also needed to willingly help other individuals, and accept help.

Tracking Device for Australian Magpies — Photo: Dominique Potvin

This type of altruism is not unheard of in nature, however. National Geographic points to common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) which often support sick or injured pod members by swimming underneath and pushing them to the surface so they can breathe.

According to the arts and science institution Reed College, naked mole-rats (Heterocephalus glaber) present a much more extreme example of altruism. Non-breeding rats are happy to go hungry to ensure the queen-rat has enough food to successfully reproduce. Perhaps more incredibly, they have also been known to throw themselves in front of predators like snakes to ensure the survival of the queen and thus the long-term survival of the species.

Australian Magpie Fitted With Tracking Device — Photo: Dominique Potvin

Ants also famously sacrifice themselves for the good of the colony. The Popular Science website explains how Borneo’s yellow goo ant (Colobopsis explodens) literally goes out with a bang in defense of its fellow workers. The ants have been observed ripping themselves open and shooting a noxious fluid towards invaders such as weaver ants, killing them while simultaneously making the ultimate sacrifice.

Altruism is however much more rare among birds. In fact most bird examples involve magpies or other corvids such as jackdaws (Coloeus monedula) which, according to the National Library of Medicine, have displayed selfless behavior when it comes to feeding.

Potvin could only find one example in literature of non-corvid birds showing rescue-like behavior. According to the scholarly publisher Brill, it’s been discovered that Seychelles warblers (Acrocephalus sechellensis) release members of their social group from sticky Pisonia seed clusters, at no obvious benefit to themselves.

MAGPIES: THE SMARTEST BIRD SPECIES OF THEM ALL?

But when it comes to general intelligence it seems the magpie is arguably the brightest of all Earth’s birds. In fact, in 2015, EnviroNews itself made a case for one particular species of magpie, reporting it should have a place at the table of nature’s 10 most intelligent animals. There are countless blogs, papers and studies which suggest the magpie family is a cut above the rest – but in particular the Eurasian magpie (pica pica).

The go-to method for scientists to examine the degree of intelligence for animal species has long been the so-called “self-recognition test.” The test assesses whether an animal can detect colored dots on its own body while looking at itself in the mirror. Sure enough, this species stared into the mirror before scratching at the red dots on its body. Of all the species which can pass this test, including chimpanzees, dolphins, orangutans, elephants and humans, the Eurasian magpie is the only bird, and in fact, the only non-mammal known, that can do it. That distinguished status also makes it the only creature that can pass the test without a neocortex.

Australian Magpies on Fence Posts — Photo: Ged Tranter

Meanwhile, gamekeepers have reported seeing yellow-billed magpies (Pica nuttalli) avoiding humans carrying guns and there are countless examples of various species of magpie not only storing food underground, but even using flowers and plants to cover the disheveled soil. Then there’s the bird’s communication with human beings. Magpies have been known to pick up and mimic the words of people – usually farmers and ranchers – in the same way that parrots and parakeets do. It is not yet clear whether they do this for fun or whether they use the technique on smaller prey to lure them into a false sense of security and, ultimately, to their death.

Perhaps this, and their propensity for stealing bird eggs, is why the magpie is often characterized as cunning, wily and aggressive. But there are incredible observations of them displaying empathy and emotion, even holding ceremonies for the dead. In 2009 The Daily Telegraph reported how scientists had watched a group of four crows gently nudging at the corpse of a fallen comrade before laying a ‘grass wreath’ beside the body. Tales such as these deepen the mystery behind this mythical family of birds.

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(EnviroNews World News) – While it’s certainly debatable as to what the smartest animals in the world are, it may be less disputable when attempting to zero in on the world’s smartest bird. While conducting research for this article, we were not surprised to find dozens upon dozens of “articles” and posts that attempt to rank the world’s smartest animal species.

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