Bird Geniuses:The Smart Crows鳥界天才：聰明的烏鴉

What is the smartest animal on the planet？ Many people think of elephants and their incredible memories or dolphins with their large， complex brains. One of the most surprisingly clever animals is a black bird seen almost everywhere in the world—the crow. The birds’ sophisticated brains are capable of performing amazing feats of memory and problem-solving.

地球上什么動物最聰明呢？很多人會想到大象和它們絕佳的記憶力，或是擁有龐大、復雜大腦的海豚。最令人驚奇的聰明動物之一是世界上幾乎隨處可見的黑色鳥類——烏鴉。這種鳥精密的大腦能夠展現驚人的記憶力和解決問題的能力。

For one thing， crows can tell us apart and even remember their interactions with us. In one experiment， a scientist wore a caveman mask before trapping some crows to put bands on their legs. The crows were not pleased with being trapped， and after being released， they made loud， harsh sounds at the person in the mask. Over several years， anyone in a caveman mask triggered hostile responses from crows， whether they were previously captured or not. This showed that crows not only have excellent memory and facial recognition， but they can also pass on information to other members of their group.

首先，烏鴉可以辨別我們，甚至會記得與我們的互動。在一項實驗中，一位科學家戴上穴居人面具，然后捕捉一些烏鴉，在它們的腿上綁上帶子。那些烏鴉不喜歡被困住，在被釋放后，它們對戴著面具的人發出大聲且刺耳的聲音。在幾年里，任何戴著穴居人面具的人都會引發烏鴉的敵意反應，無論它們之前有沒有被捕捉過都一樣。這表明烏鴉不僅具有出色的記憶力和臉部識別能力，還能將信息傳遞給群體的其他成員。

The ways crows solve problems have also fascinated researchers. In Japan and California， the US， crows have been observed reading traffic signals and dropping nuts on the road during red lights. After the light turns green and cars run the nuts over， the crows collect the cracked nuts during the following red light. New Caledonian crows also make and use hooks to get insects out of small holes. Another study reveals this species of crow possesses the ability to construct complex tools by using smaller components. This capacity is mainly seen in apes and humans， making the crow’s behavior particularly exceptional.

烏鴉解決問題的方式也深深吸引了研究人員。在日本和美國加利福尼亞州，有人觀察到烏鴉看得懂交通信號燈并會在紅燈時把堅果丟在道路上。在信號燈轉綠、汽車碾過堅果后，那些烏鴉會在下一次亮紅燈期間搜集裂開的堅果。新喀鴉還會制作并使用鉤子將昆蟲從小洞中取出。另一項研究顯示，這種烏鴉能夠利用較小的零件組建出復雜的工具。這種能力主要見于猿類和人類身上，這使得這種烏鴉的行為格外不凡。

Next time you see a flock of crows， consider their amazing brains. It may even be in your interest to make friends with these clever black birds.

下次你再看到一群烏鴉時，想想它們令人嘆為觀止的大腦。與這些聰明的黑色小鳥交朋友甚至可能對你有益處。

Word Bank

incredible" adj. 極好的；極大的

sophisticated" adj. 復雜巧妙的；精密的

component" n. 組成部分；成分；部件

a flock of" 一大群