Train your own crows !
The video is better than the text. Basically there's a feeding box with several training stages for the birds :
1) Open feeding so the birds get used to the box
2) Automatic opening so the birds get used to the mechanical movements
3) The machine dispenses coins which the birds have to put in a slot to receive food
4) No coins provided - the birds must find them for themselves.
1-3 have been experimentally verified and there's anecdotal evidence of 4, as well as using crushed cans to trigger the food release mechanism in similar experiments.
My inner cynic says it would be better to train people to pick up their own rubbish, but training crows is innately cool. I wonder what the long-term, large-scale effects of success will be. Would people be more casual about throwing away trash knowing the crows will collect it ?
https://boingboing.net/2018/08/22/build-a-crowbox-kit-and-become.html
Sister blog of Physicists of the Caribbean in which I babble about non-astronomy stuff, because everyone needs a hobby
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Review : Viking Britain
Hot on the heels of Neil Price's Children of Ash and Elm comes Thomas William's Viking Britain . Given how much I enjoyed his Lost...
-
Hmmm. [The comments below include a prime example of someone claiming they're interested in truth but just want higher standard, where...
-
Where Americans think Ukraine is These are the guesses of 2066 Americans as to where Ukraine is. Only 1 in 6 were correct. Presumably the...
-
I've noticed that some people care deeply about the truth, but come up with batshit crazy statements. And I've caught myself rationa...
I already feed the local crows and magpies, so this is great, ha. I'd love to give it a try. Mind you, they might feel a bit short changed, so to speak, seeing as they were eating for free before....
ReplyDelete