Elizabeth Preston at Audubon:
American Crows all look more or less identical to the human eye. But Annie and Jack came to recognize Sal, a bold character with a distinctive hop due to a bad leg, and began offering the bird unsalted peanuts. The treats attracted a second, more timid crow, whose deformed foot also distinguished it. They called Sal’s buddy Pal. Within a few weeks, Annie and Jack were buying peanuts in bulk. Using food as a reward, they trained the two corvids to pay them regular visits.
Or did they? Annie wondered whether, from the crows’ perspective, it might be the other way around.
After all, the humans were also rewarded.
More here.
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