New Caledonian Crow (Corvus moneduloides) by Ian Montgomery
Genesis 4:22
“And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain, an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.”
Many creatures have been found that use sticks, leaves and other items as tools. Chimpanzee parents teach their youngsters to poke sticks in termite holes to get termites. However, no animal has shown an instinctive tendency to make and use tools, until now.
Caledonian crows are among the known tool-users. A pair of captive New Caledonian crows were having trouble incubating their four eggs. So researchers decided to incubate and raise the young crows themselves. Upon hatching, the young crows were separated into two pairs. One pair received lessons on how to use twigs to poke food out of slots. The other pair received no lessons, nor were they allowed to see their siblings using tools. When they were given sticks and leaves, they spontaneously began using the twigs to poke food out of a slot. One of them also tore a leaf into a food poker. After evaluating all the behavioral data, researchers concluded that while crows have a natural tendency to make and use tools, they also learn how to make improved tools from their elders.
Tool making is not what separates man from animals, although we can make tools far superior to those made by animals. The Bible tells us that the earliest man was made in the image of God and that the earliest generations of man were already making iron tools.
Prayer: Father, thank You for making me for a relationship with You and making a relationship possible through Christ. Amen.
Author: Paul A. Bartz
Ref: Science News, 1/15/05, p. 38, S. Milius, “Crow Tools.” Image: New Caledonian crow (PD)
Watching birds from our backyard/backdoor is becoming quite interesting. Our latest visitor to the water’s edge is this Green Heron. He caught our attention again this morning while we were having breakfast. Of course, by the time I got my camera on, he flew off. The Joys and Disapointments of birdwatching. These photos are cropped so that you can see him better. These were taken a few days ago.
Green Heron 6-9-20 by Lee Cropped
And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat. (Leviticus 11:19)
What is so amazing about this sighting is how hard we have searched for them on birdwatching trips. Green Herons (Butorides virescens) are known to be secretive, and because of their colors, stay well hidden in the mangroves and other bushes along the water. When we spot “Greenies” on a trip, it is usally one of our highlights.
“Compared with most herons, Green Herons are short and stocky, with relatively short legs and thick necks that are often drawn up against their bodies. They have broad, rounded wings and a long, daggerlike bill. They sometimes raise their crown feathers into a short crest.” All About Birds – Size & Shape
Green Heron 6-9-20 by Lee Cropped
Interesting Fact from Wikipedia: “Green herons are one of the few species of bird known to use tools. In particular, they commonly use bread crusts, insects, or other items as bait. The bait is dropped onto the surface of a body of water in order to lure fish. When a fish takes the bait, the green heron will then grab and eat the fish. When green herons catch large frogs, they will drown them before swallowing them whole.
Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? (Matthew 6:26 NKJV)
I posted this video back in 2013, and thought you might enjoy it again.
“Color Pattern – From a distance Green Herons look all dark. In better light they are deep green on the back with a rich chestnut breast and neck. The wings are dark gray. Juveniles are browner, with pale streaking on the neck and spots on the wings.” All About Birds
Green Heron 6-9-20 by Lee Cropped
Here is a previous photo taken at Flamingo Gardens, Florida several years ago. That is the way you normally find them. Not out in the open like our current one.
Here is an interesting video about some the Raven family members. They are quite productive. Enjoy! Maybe that is how they were able to accomplish what this verse mentions:
And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” (1 Kings 17:4 NKJV)
Once there was a group of crows that lived on an island off of eastern Australia. They were New Caledonian Crows and every day one of them would leave their group of large nests in the trees to hunt for food.
On one particular day, one of the crows named Oliver flew to a tree trunk to search for food. Oliver carefully ripped off a piece of a plant to scoop out some worms from the trunk. In order to scrape the worms out, Oliver bit the strip of the plant with his beak to give the side of it a sharp, jagged edge. After pulling out the worms, Oliver grabbed them in his beak and made ready to fly away.
But as Oliver was about to fly back to his nest he spotted two creatures he had never seen before.
New Caledonian Crow (Corvus moneduloides) by Ian Montgomery
They were tall, wearing long white things that looked like tails to Oliver. They were hiding in the bushes as if they were watching him, but because they didn’t appear as if they would attack, Oliver flew back to his nest leaving his tool behind.
The next day, Oliver returned to the same tree trunk and made another tool just like the one had constructed the previous day. But before he dug into the trunk for more worms he noticed the same creatures sitting behind the bushes and watching him make his tool. This time, they had a strange machine.
Glancing down, Oliver realized that the tool he had made yesterday was gone, and he guessed that the creatures must have taken it. Thinking, that all the creatures wanted was whatever he made, Oliver attempted an experiment. After pulling out some worms and placing them in his claws, Oliver flew close to where the creatures sat and dropped his tool. After flying away, Oliver hid and watched the creatures pick it up and examine it. It seemed that they were taking notes on the way he had shaped the tool.
The next day Oliver made another tool after digging out worms then flew back to the bushes. This time he waited in front of the bushes, and the two creatures came out from behind the bushes. Oliver remained where he was.
Eventually the two people cautiously came closer to him. The entire time they used the strange machine Oliver had seen before. Oliver watched patiently, wondering what they were doing. One threw a couple of nuts down and Oliver assumed that this was payment to him for giving them his tool. After a few minutes Oliver flew away with the nuts, still confused.
New Caledonian Crow (Corvus moneduloides) by Ian Montgomery
But what Oliver didn’t know was that the people were two scientists studying New Caledonian Crows in eastern Australia. They had been documenting exactly how Oliver had built his tool out of the plant in order to get his food. And according to studies, besides humans, crows like Oliver are the best tool makers in the world. But Oliver never knew why they were there or where the people had come from. He did, however, fly back to the other crows to explain what he had seen. The other crows appeared to be very impressed at how Oliver had become a tool entrepreneur. From then on, the other crows considered Oliver’s tools to be better than of all the others when it came to catching food.
Lee’s Addition:
“Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?” (Job 28:20 KJV)
Emma has given us another Bird Tale, but this one is actually based on some research she did about this interesting bird. She didn’t tell me which articles she had read, but I found several on the internet. One link and a video are below. Some of the articles found on line try to explain this behavior as part of evolution, but as the verse above says, we know where wisdom comes from. The Lord created the birds with enough knowledge to develop this habit. Crows are known as being very intelligent.
Thanks, Emma, for a very good article. Now we know how the birds must feel when they are being “watched” by those scientist. Keep up the great stories.
This video shows the New Caledonian Crow working with his tool very successfully. His friend joins in the search for worms, but doesn’t quite have the knack of the first one. This was part of a research project of the scientist.
Many birds have built in “tools” such as the way their beaks are designed or their feet, or wings, etc. Some use things as tools as shown below in the articles and the video.
How Nature Works: White-winged Crossbill Feeding Technique from CornellLab of Ornithology. (Last statement gives credit to evolution, but we believe they were uniquely created with this ability by the Lord.)
Rooks Reveal Remarkable Tool Use It appears that Rooks (Crow related) have been given intelligence by their Creator to figure out how to use things as tools.
Also, New Caledonian Crows themselves are able to use tools.
The list goes on and on of the uniquely created ways birds use their built in or external “tools.” “The Tool-Using Bird” (Vulture) and “Animals That Make and Use Tools” by Creation Moments.
What kind of tools (gifts) has the Lord given you to use. Are you using them in the way that He intended for you to use them.
Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; (Romans 12:6 NKJV)
As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. (1 Peter 4:10 NKJV)
Many creatures have been found that use sticks, leaves and other items as tools. Chimpanzee parents teach their youngsters to poke sticks in termite holes to get termites. However, no animal has shown an instinctive tendency to make and use tools, until now.
Lee's Birdwatching Adventures Plus 