NOVA — S41E17 — Inside Animal Minds: Bird Genius
2014 · 55 MIN · IMDB 8.0 · DIR. Graham Russell
Overview
When it comes to intelligence, we humans are clearly the most gifted animals around. But what make us so special? Is it our ability to make and use tools? To solve complex problems? Or plan for the future? It might seem that way, but today, researchers are discovering other creatures with impressive brains that have mastered all those skills. Surprisingly, many are bird brains. Crows bend and shape sticks to create custom-made spears for hunting grubs, and they are just one among a growing list of bird species whose impressive problem-solving abilities are shocking scientists and revolutionizing our understanding of animal intelligence. At the head of the class, we meet animals like Muppet, a cockatoo with a talent for picking locks; 007, a wild crow on a mission to solve an eight-step puzzle for the first time ever; and Bran, a tame raven who can solve a puzzle box so quickly that his performance has to be captured with high-speed photography. But are these skills really evidence of high intelligence, or just parlor tricks, the result of training and instinct? To find out, NOVA tests the limits of some of the planet’s brainiest animals, searching for the secrets of a problem-solving mind.
Dialogue Timeline — 911 lines
A SAMPLE ACROSS THE RUNTIME — EVERY LINE IS SEARCHABLE
00:00:02 NARRATOR: What are they thinking?
00:01:40 But what happens in a brainy smackdown
00:04:04 Here's a problem Lloyd first presented to Bran
00:06:10 have solved problems has been by using tools
00:08:24 that we thought were the province of humans
00:10:53 TAYLOR: And now the crows can take this
00:14:25 with several physical features that allow them
00:16:38 is filled with examples
00:18:50 of gathering enough food
00:20:47 It's hardwired into the bee's brain
00:22:35 when they tackle novel problems that they've never seen before
00:24:50 a high-speed camera just to see how he did it
00:27:08 Nicky believes he understands the difference
00:29:24 NARRATOR: The dog's brain is clearly bigger than the crow's brain
00:31:45 about ten times as big as the crow's brain in absolute size,
00:34:12 Then the screw
00:36:54 But the problems are right in front of them
00:39:07 out into this landscape and hide them all over
00:41:17 For six days, the birds are housed in this aviary,
00:43:33 CLAYTON: It's called mental time travel
00:45:42 NARRATOR: The key is not the physical nature of these animals,
00:48:02 Alex Taylor is investigating whether these birds are able
00:50:05 TAYLOR: So we're seeing different populations
00:52:13 NARRATOR: And who knows what else they might be capable of?
Cast & Characters
Dialogue Record
Production Record
Factoids
NOVA, season 41, episode 17: Inside Animal Minds: Bird Genius.
https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/3562/season/41/episode/17IMDb rating preserved from the supplied subtitle archive; it may differ from the current IMDb rating.
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