One of the areas of research that's produced some remarkable results in the two years that I've been writing at Ars has been the study of bird behavior. Despite the use of "bird brained" as a pejorative and their relationship to the notoriously small-brained dinosaurs, birds demonstrate some pretty sophisticated behaviors in lab settings. These experiments, however, leave some questions as to how well the controlled observations reflected what the birds do when researchers aren't around to watch. Today's Science Express will see the publication of a paper that answers that question through the use of a small, wireless birdcam.
The image shown here, courtesy of the Behavioural Ecology Research Group at Oxford, shows a still from some of the video captured by the camera. The birdcam is fairly advanced, being capable of 720 X 480 video at 30 fps and wireless transmission; its firmware automatically screens out poor quality footage to cut down on power use. Despite these features, the total package comes in at less than five percent of the weight of the species it was attached to, the New Caledonian crow. Ethical research standards limit permanent tagging to less than three percent of animal weight, so the researchers attached it to tail feathers shortly before molting season. Still, it looks like a permanent video feed might be an option as electronics shrink further in the near future, and is possible already for larger species.
These crows were of specific interest, however, because they have exhibited extensive tool use in captivity. The video feed did not disappoint, showing the birds using previously unknown materials as tools, and revealing that some birds would hang on to tools for extended periods. This behavior included picking the tool back up after feeding and flying it from site to site; the authors speculate that this might be standard behavior when a bird finds an effective tool.
The paper, when it appears, will be accompanied by some of the actual video footage. Although the quality can vary a bit, some of the better shots show the bird foraging with tools it has fashioned from twigs. It's a pretty impressive use of technology, and I expect it will provide greater insights into the realm of animal behavior in the near future.
Science, 2007. DOI: 10.1126/science.1146788