NOVA

Inside Animal Minds: Bird Genius (1) (41x8)

Air date: Apr 09, 2014

Inside Animal Minds explores how animals understand the world around them through the eyes of three iconic creatures: dogs, birds, and dolphins. As we discover how scientists are pushing the animal mind to its limits, we’ll uncover surprising similarities to--and differences from--the human mind. In the first installment, “Bird Genius”, we’ll meet a cockatoo with a talent for picking locks; a wild crow on a mission to solve an eight-step puzzle; and a tame raven who can solve a puzzle box so quickly that his performance has to be captured with high-speed photography. Are these skills really evidence of high intelligence or just parlor tricks, the result of training and instinct?