Getting clever

Song thrushes break into snails by bashing them against a favourite stone

We like to think of ourselves as brainier than other animals. One reason is that we know how to use tools. But we're not the only ones. Birds have developed very cunning ways of getting their food too. In fact, birds may be smarter than we think.

Hard rock cafe

A rock is more than just a perch. Herring gulls carry tough seashells, such as mussels, high into the air, then drop them onto the rocks below. The shells shatter, and the gulls get the tasty snack inside. Song thrushes break into snails by bashing them against a favourite stone, called an anvil. You can see where song thrushes have been eating by seeing the bits of broken shell.

Food stores

Some birds put their food into storage. This habit is called caching (pronounced ‘cashing’). A nuthatch jams nuts into crevices in tree-trunks and hides them with moss. It means the nuthatch has its own larder to help it get through harder times.

Acorn antics

Jays are champion cachers. They can gather an amazing five thousand acorns during just one autumn, which they bury carefully all over the woodland floor. In winter, they return to dig them up again, using their excellent memory. Invariably some acorns stay hidden, and grow into oak trees.

Clever crows

Crows are the star pupils in the bird class. In Japan, they have learned to place nuts in front of the wheels of cars that have stopped at traffic lights. When the lights change, the cars drive off, the wheels crack the nuts and the crows swoop down to get their meal.