http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/306/5703/1903 

Science, Vol 306, Issue 5703, 1903-1907 , 10 December 2004 

The Mentality of Crows: Convergent Evolution of Intelligence in Corvids and Apes 

Nathan J. Emery and Nicola S. Clayton 
Discussions of the evolution of intelligence have focused on monkeys and
apes because of their close evolutionary relationship to humans. Other
large-brained social animals, such as corvids, also understand their
physical and social worlds. Here we review recent studies of tool
manufacture, mental time travel, and social cognition in corvids, and
suggest that complex cognition depends on a "tool kit" consisting
of causal reasoning, flexibility, imagination, and prospection. Because
corvids and apes share these cognitive tools, we argue that complex
cognitive abilities evolved multiple times in distantly related species
with vastly different brain structures in order to solve similar
socioecological problems.
---
þ RIMEGate(tm)/RGXPost V1.14 at BBSWORLD * Info{at}bbsworld.com

---
 * RIMEGate(tm)V10.2áÿ* RelayNet(tm) NNTP Gateway * MoonDog BBS
 * RgateImp.MoonDog.BBS at 12/16/04 12:30:34 PM