Crows have a sense of geometric intuition much like the human one, according to a new study shows. They can detect the ‘odd one out’ in a set of geometric forms, and have an affinity for geometric regularity – shapes with consistent features, like squares, as opposed to irregular ones, such as rhombuses. Crows are the first non-human animals to demonstrate these abilities. This suggests that recognizing geometric shape regularity may be deeply ingrained in evolution, and could be more usual in the animal kingdom than we’ve realized.
A rooted evoluction according to Andreas Nieder
“We humans – based on our unique formal and symbolic comprehension– take geometry to a whole diverselevel; but the very foundation of it, from a visual point of view, seems to be rooted in evolution,” animal physiologist Andreas Nieder told ScienceAlert. Nieder and his investigators group from the University of Tübingen in Germany worked with two male carrion crows (Corvus corone), aged 11 and 10 years old, for the experiment.
The crows were trained to detect a unique outlier form that didn’t match the five otherwise identical two-dimensional shapes displayed on a computer screen. To show which shape they determined to be the ‘intruder’, the crows pecked on its on-screen position. “Up to this stage of the experiment, the crows had never been tasked with detecting a quadrilateral intruder amid an array of other quadrilaterals,” the authors explained in their investigation paper. This shows the crows would demonstrate pre-existing geometric sensibilities, rather than learned ones.
Crows found easy detect four-sided shapes
For the main trials, half the time the crows were shown sets of quadrilaterals that contained varying degrees of regularity, with each shape set to a random rotation and scale. The crows found it easier to detect an outlier among four-sided shapes with regular features, like the even length of sides in a square, or the consistent 90-degree angles of a rectangle. The more regular the shape’s angles and sides, the more accurate ‘intruder’ detections the crows made. It has to be underlined how the animal behaves differently depending on the figure presented to it. This fact is of great interest to the research group.
In a sort of progression from easy to hard mode, the trials featured such quadrilaterals as the classic square, rhombus, isosceles trapezoid, right hinge (shown above), and an arbitrary irregular quadrilateral. The more wacky the quadrilaterals, the more complicated it was for the crows to figure out which one was diverse from the rest, which, looking at the array they were given, is quite relatable.
Similarities among crwons and humans
“The crows, just like humans, had the most difficulty detecting geometric regularity in a rhombus. This highlights the similarities of the geometric capabilities between crows and humans,” Nieder said. In order to keep the crows interested and minimize possible frustration throughout the exams, the other half of the time they were shown familiar non-quadrilateral forms, for instance, five stars and a single moon, which had been used in their training.
The crows’ ability to discriminate among outlier shapes based on their geometric differences, without any extra training to do so, suggests that, like humans, geometric regularity may play an important part in crows’ interactions with the world.
Crows abilites are the best ones
Nieder said that birds utilize, knonw as spatial regularities, for instance, for orientation and navigation in larger environments and in doing so have a survival advantage. More over, this basic intuition in crows, their ability to grasp geometric properties in two-dimensional shapes, exemplifies how core knowledge of magnitudes and geometry is related tp biological evolution. Whether our abilities evolved separately or within our shared life history, we are excited to find yet another reason why crows are the best animal.
