The Intelligence Of Corvids Ielts Reading Answers Extra Quality

A. We take it for granted that apes and monkeys are intelligent. After all, they are our closest relatives in the animal kingdom. However, in recent years, scientists have begun to realize that high intelligence is not unique to primates. A group of birds known as corvids—which includes crows, ravens, magpies, and jays—are proving to be surprisingly sophisticated.

The IELTS reading passage titled " The Intelligence of Corvids

: Rooks working together to pull ropes simultaneously for a shared reward. Numerical Skills

Despite these findings, some scientists caution against anthropomorphism. Corvid cognition is adapted to their ecological niche; their success does not mean they ‘think like humans’. Nevertheless, the convergence between corvid and primate intelligence—two very different evolutionary lineages arriving at similar problem-solving capacities—suggests that high intelligence may be a predictable response to certain environmental and social pressures. For educators and cognitive scientists, corvids offer a powerful model for understanding the evolution of intelligence itself. However, in recent years, scientists have begun to

: In this passage, the first sentence of a paragraph often introduces a new behavior (e.g., tool-making vs. social skills), helping you scan faster.

Perhaps the most striking evidence of corvid cognition is their capability for self-recognition and abstract logic. The Eurasian magpie ( Pica pica ) successfully passed the mirror self-recognition test, a milestone passed by only a handful of species, including bottlenose dolphins, elephants, and higher primates. When researchers placed a brightly colored sticker on the magpie's throat—visible only via a mirror—the bird repeatedly scratched at its own body to remove it, rather than attacking the reflection. This indicates a clear concept of self-awareness. Coupled with their ability to solve causal reasoning puzzles, such as the famous Aesop’s Fable paradigm where birds drop stones into water tubes to raise the liquid level and reach floating food, corvids consistently prove that intellect is not a mammalian monopoly. Questions 1–5

Crows harassed researchers because they had (trapping/tagging them), causing the crows to associate that face with a threat. 3 B they received no reaction at all

Identify the part of speech needed (noun, verb, adjective) before looking at the options. Use synonyms to scan. For example, if the text mentions "caching behavior," the summary might use the phrase "storing food supplies." Matching Features / Scientists to Findings

But the intelligence of corvids extends far beyond tool use. Professor John Marzloff at the University of Washington demonstrated that American crows possess a remarkable ability: facial recognition. To test this, researchers donned a caveman mask while capturing, tagging, and releasing several crows on campus. Later, when any researcher, wearing the same caveman mask, walked around the campus, the crows would immediately recognize the perceived "threat," mobbing and cawing at them. Even crows that had not been originally captured joined in the harassment, learning from others in their flock. When a person walked by without the mask, they received no reaction at all, proving it was the face the crows had learned to hate. As a testament to their problem-solving depth, when researchers wore the mask upside down, some crows tilted their own heads, trying to reorient the upside-down face to ensure the identity was correct.

Explanation: Masks were used to prevent birds from identifying specific human handlers. some crows tilted their own heads

New Caledonian crows displayed the ability to create tools, a capability previously believed to be exclusive to __________.

The IELTS reading passage titled " The Intelligence of Corvids

famously bent a straight wire into a hook to retrieve food, showing an ability to innovate without prior observation. Social Intelligence: