The Intelligence Of Corvids Ielts Reading Answers Hot! Jun 2026

Western scrub-jays will re-hide their food regardless of whether another bird is watching them or not.

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To find the right answers, you must recognize these synonyms: To search for food.

The "Intelligence of Corvids" is a frequent and challenging passage topic in the IELTS Academic Reading subtest. This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the text's themes, breaks down the core scientific concepts, and delivers exact answer keys with detailed explanations to help you achieve a Band 8+ score. Part 1: Comprehensive Reading Passage The Intelligence of Corvids: Avian Einsteins

This is not instinct. In a famous experiment dubbed the "Metatool" test, crows had to use a short stick to retrieve a longer stick, which could then be used to retrieve food. This multi-step problem solving, known as , requires planning and an understanding of future needs, a trait once considered uniquely human.

However, the narrative shifts to the famous "wire-bending" experiment. Dr. Emery placed a small bucket of food at the bottom of a vertical tube. Beside it, he placed a straight piece of wire. The male crow, Abel, attempted to grab the bucket and failed. But Betty, the female, picked up the wire.

Crows often mob or harass humans they deem threatening. Western scrub-jays will re-hide their food regardless of

A species known for its advanced tool-making ability in the wild. Causality: The relationship between cause and effect. Juvenile: A young bird, not yet an adult. Manufacture: To make or produce something.

Furthermore, corvids exhibit a capacity for what psychologists call "mental time travel"—the ability to recall specific past events and anticipate future needs. Western scrub-jays are habitual hoarders, caching thousands of food items across their territory every autumn. In a seminal study led by Nicola Clayton, jays were allowed to cache both crickets (a favorite but perishable delicacy) and peanuts (a less preferred but durable option). If allowed to recover their caches after a short interval, the birds chose the crickets. However, if a long period had elapsed, they skipped the crickets entirely and dug up the peanuts, proving they remembered exactly how much time had passed and understood the concept of decay.

Direct descent from an ancestor; ancestry or pedigree.

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Filling in gaps with exact words from the text, usually focusing on the steps of a specific laboratory experiment. Mock IELTS Reading Passage: The Avian Einstein

When you encounter a text about crows, ravens, jays, or magpies (the Corvid family), the passage usually focuses on three primary pillars of cognitive ability: 1. Tool Manufacture and Use

In 2002, however, three researchers at Oxford University reported in Science a startling new twist to tool making in corvids. A New Caledonian crow that had been captured in 2000 as a juvenile had invented a new tool from materials not found in her natural habitat . The crow, named Betty , shared space with a male crow named Abel. The researchers had set up an experiment in which both crows were presented with a straight wire and a hooked wire and food that could most easily be retrieved with a hooked wire. When Abel flew away with the hooked wire, Betty bent the straight wire and successfully lifted the bucket of food with her hook. The researchers then set out to see whether they could get Betty to replicate the behavior. Ten times, they set out a single straight wire and food to be retrieved. Betty retrieved the food nine times by bending the wire; once she managed to retrieve the food with the straight wire. Alex Kacelik , one of the researchers who worked with the crows, noted that she had solved a new problem by doing something she had never done before.

Here are some sample IELTS reading questions based on the passage: This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the