0:00:02 > 0:00:05We are Dr Chris and Dr Xand van Tulleken. And we're tracking down
0:00:05 > 0:00:11the most awesome, incredible and epic things in the universe!
0:00:21 > 0:00:23Come with us and discover
0:00:23 > 0:00:27unbelievable things that will blow your mind!
0:00:29 > 0:00:33Blow Your Mind will be bringing you all the top experts on the planet.
0:00:33 > 0:00:37From icebergs to elephants, spaceships to sharks.
0:00:37 > 0:00:38Look at that!
0:00:38 > 0:00:41And this week, it's all about amazing animals.
0:00:41 > 0:00:42So, how long's your brain?
0:00:42 > 0:00:44Here's what's coming up.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47Today, we're focusing on our feathered friends.
0:00:47 > 0:00:49They're all around us
0:00:49 > 0:00:52and you probably don't realise how clever they are.
0:00:52 > 0:00:56Today, we'll discover the brainiest bird in the whole world,
0:00:56 > 0:00:58and watch a bird beat a dog and a human
0:00:58 > 0:01:02to solve a complex, mind-bending puzzle.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05All this week we're going to be witnessing animals doing
0:01:05 > 0:01:08absolutely amazing, mind-blowing things.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10Chris, do your mind-blowing thing.
0:01:10 > 0:01:11Oh, with my... Hang on.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14Amazing. Look at how close he gets it to his nose.
0:01:14 > 0:01:16Do your amazing thing where you wiggle your ears.
0:01:16 > 0:01:17Really up and down.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21Yeah! Now, that is impressive.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24Well, if you enjoyed that, then there is plenty in store today
0:01:24 > 0:01:27that is guaranteed to knock your socks off.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29Chris Packham is off on his travels.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31Where's he going? He normally holidays in Weston-super-Mare.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33Nowhere that exotic, I'm afraid.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36He's off to an island paradise off the coast of Australia
0:01:36 > 0:01:37called New Caledonia.
0:01:37 > 0:01:39And you won't believe your eyes
0:01:39 > 0:01:42when he comes face-to-face with the world's smartest bird.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45Prepare to be amazed!
0:01:45 > 0:01:48Lying nearly 1000 miles east of Australia,
0:01:48 > 0:01:51the island of New Caledonia.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53It's a tropical paradise,
0:01:53 > 0:01:59bursting with exotic life found nowhere else on the planet.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04I'm here to find one of these unique animals.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09It has an almost legendary status,
0:02:09 > 0:02:12thanks to an amazing ability to solve problems.
0:02:14 > 0:02:16It's this. A crow.
0:02:18 > 0:02:20But not just any crow.
0:02:20 > 0:02:24This is the New Caledonian crow.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27It's not the same species that we find in Britain.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30These are jungle birds.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32And here, in isolation on the island,
0:02:32 > 0:02:35they've evolved some remarkable abilities.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39This one is holding a nut in its claw.
0:02:41 > 0:02:43It dropped it onto the tarmac,
0:02:43 > 0:02:46seemingly to crack open the hard shell.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50But it's what the bird does next that's really ingenious.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52Now, look at this. This is interesting because
0:02:52 > 0:02:56having broken the nut open on the road,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59these birds are then carrying it to the Armco here,
0:02:59 > 0:03:03where there are small depressions, man-made cuts in it,
0:03:03 > 0:03:08and they're using these as a vice, to stop the nut from rolling around,
0:03:08 > 0:03:12whilst they access the fruit on the inside of it.
0:03:12 > 0:03:16Now, that strikes me as pretty clever.
0:03:16 > 0:03:18So, hold on a second. This amazingly clever,
0:03:18 > 0:03:21brainy bird that we've been waiting for is a crow?
0:03:21 > 0:03:23I've got them in my garden.
0:03:23 > 0:03:24But not like this one.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26This one really is intelligent.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28He's worked out that, in order to open that nut,
0:03:28 > 0:03:31it's got to be wedged into something, where it won't roll away.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34It is like when you have an egg and soldiers for breakfast,
0:03:34 > 0:03:36you have to put it in an egg cup.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38Like my favourite chicken egg cup!
0:03:38 > 0:03:42Yeah, it's basically exactly the same thing that the crows do with the nut.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45So, this crow is as intelligent as Chris is at breakfast,
0:03:45 > 0:03:47which isn't that intelligent,
0:03:47 > 0:03:49but they can do a whole lot more.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51Check this out.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55To find out what else these crows can do, Chris has come to visit
0:03:55 > 0:03:59Dr Alex Taylor at his field aviary here on the island.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02To study how these birds solve problems,
0:04:02 > 0:04:06he's put a tasty morsel of food deep in a container.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10He's testing whether they can work out how to reach it using
0:04:10 > 0:04:13lots of different objects he's placed in the enclosure.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18But first, he's going to try his puzzle out on Chris.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23Imagine that you're a crow. Here is your food in a deep hole.
0:04:23 > 0:04:24How would you go about,
0:04:24 > 0:04:28with the tools are available to you on this table, solving this problem?
0:04:30 > 0:04:32This is part of it, obviously.
0:04:33 > 0:04:39At my disposal, I have a short stick on a piece of string.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42Three stones inside the cages,
0:04:42 > 0:04:46and a longer stick trapped in a box.
0:04:46 > 0:04:51Which means, then, that the crow is going to use this stick...
0:04:54 > 0:04:57- ..to get the stones out of there. - Absolutely.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01Next, the crow needs to drop the stone onto a trap door
0:05:01 > 0:05:04to release the long stick.
0:05:04 > 0:05:09It'll need all three stones, then it probably will drop that one out.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11Excellent.
0:05:11 > 0:05:16And using this long stick, it will finally be able to reach the food.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20- This is a tough one. All right. Can I stay here?- Absolutely.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24- You can sit and watch and we'll see what happens.- Come on, then.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27Send in your mastermind, because it's going to need that.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30Alex studies wild birds,
0:05:30 > 0:05:34which he releases after three months of research.
0:05:36 > 0:05:42This one is nicknamed 007, and it's about to attempt what Alex believes
0:05:42 > 0:05:47is one of the most complex tests of the animal mind ever constructed.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52The bird is familiar with the individual objects.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56But this is the first time he's seen them arranged like this.
0:05:58 > 0:06:03Eight separate stages that must be completed in a specific order
0:06:03 > 0:06:06if the puzzle is to be solved.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10And if the bird succeeds, it will be a world first.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14So, will Special Agent Crow 007 have a licence to thrill,
0:06:14 > 0:06:18or will he be left shaken and stirred by the experiment?
0:06:18 > 0:06:20All right, all right, with the James Bond puns.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22Let's see if 007 can complete the mission!
0:06:23 > 0:06:29He takes time to have a look. And then starts with the short stick.
0:06:32 > 0:06:33Stage one.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39He finds it's too short to reach the food.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44He then sets off to get the first stone.
0:06:52 > 0:06:53But he drops it.
0:07:04 > 0:07:06And another.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08He seems to be stuck.
0:07:12 > 0:07:14Then, something seems to click.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19He deploys the first stone.
0:07:28 > 0:07:29And then another.
0:07:44 > 0:07:45Got it!
0:07:48 > 0:07:50The eighth and final stage.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55Success!
0:07:55 > 0:08:01Eight individual stages of one complex puzzle completed.
0:08:01 > 0:08:06Now THAT was a mission the real James Bond would have been proud of.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08But how did that crow do it?
0:08:08 > 0:08:11Was 007 acting on instinct without any real understanding?
0:08:11 > 0:08:13Well, we're not entirely sure.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16But to try and find out, Chris Packham went to Somerset
0:08:16 > 0:08:18to meet a very special raven called Bran.
0:08:23 > 0:08:24This is Lloyd Buck.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27He handles birds for TV and film.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32And this is Bran, he's a raven,
0:08:32 > 0:08:35one of the largest members of the crow family.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37What a stunner.
0:08:37 > 0:08:41Bran is clearly a bird who knows his own mind.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44In fact, it's hard to know who's in charge.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50Myself and my dogs, you know, I'm the pack leader.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52What about you and Bran? Who's boss?
0:08:52 > 0:08:54Well, I think obviously Bran.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58- As far as he's concerned, I'm his mate.- Right, his "mate".
0:08:58 > 0:09:01- His partner.- His partner.
0:09:01 > 0:09:03It's going to be a long-term relationship,
0:09:03 > 0:09:05because they're a long-lived bird, aren't they?
0:09:05 > 0:09:08Yeah, in captivity, up to 40, 50, even 60 years.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10He's going the distance with you.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13Yeah, and they're really time-intensive.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16You can't just forget him and leave him in his aviary.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19He likes to go out for his fly, his walk every day, he wants to see
0:09:19 > 0:09:22you, he wants to spend time with you, because they're so intelligent.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26To keep his demanding bird occupied,
0:09:26 > 0:09:29Lloyd likes to set Bran difficult problems to solve.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34Lloyd places a piece of food inside a plastic bottle
0:09:34 > 0:09:37and then crushes it.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39And we give him a bowl of water.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41- A bowl of water?- Yeah.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49With the bottle crushed, the food is trapped behind the restriction.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52But this doesn't stop Bran.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57First, he adds water.
0:10:00 > 0:10:02Next, he spins it,
0:10:02 > 0:10:06and the liquid carries the food past the restriction and out.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15He's got it! Honestly!
0:10:15 > 0:10:16BRAN CAWS
0:10:16 > 0:10:20What about that? Now, that's impressive!
0:10:20 > 0:10:21That was incredible.
0:10:21 > 0:10:23But what have you got going on here?
0:10:23 > 0:10:25So, this is a puzzle designed by Chris Packham.
0:10:25 > 0:10:26The last thing we saw Bran do,
0:10:26 > 0:10:29getting the meat out of the bottle, he kind of could have learned
0:10:29 > 0:10:33that from a human, so this is a puzzle he's never seen before.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35This is the ultimate test for Bran.
0:10:35 > 0:10:36And Chris is making it competitive.
0:10:36 > 0:10:38Oh, so who's he competing against?
0:10:38 > 0:10:41Well, he's up against another super-smart animal, a poodle,
0:10:41 > 0:10:44two poodles, in fact, Chris Packham's own dogs, Itchy and Scratchy.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46- Wow, that is going to be interesting.- That's not all.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49Bran is also up against a two-year-old human, Fletcher,
0:10:49 > 0:10:51- who is the same age as him.- Really?
0:10:51 > 0:10:54So we're going to find out who's the more intelligent, a dog,
0:10:54 > 0:10:56a crow or a human being.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58But how does the test work?
0:10:58 > 0:11:01Well, they're all going to have to open this door.
0:11:01 > 0:11:03Pull out the box.
0:11:03 > 0:11:04And then lift the lid.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06And the prize is inside the ball.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09Well, I'm rooting for Fletcher, I have to say.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12Let's hope he doesn't let the whole human race down.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18We've given all of our contenders the chance to familiarise themselves
0:11:18 > 0:11:19with parts of the puzzle box.
0:11:22 > 0:11:26- Who's a good boy? - As usual, Lloyd leaves Bran to it.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31'Fletcher is also showing an interest in how it works.'
0:11:33 > 0:11:35Right, Itch, concentrate. Look...
0:11:35 > 0:11:38'Whereas I need to be a bit more hands-on.'
0:11:38 > 0:11:40Now, look, look...
0:11:41 > 0:11:45Watch this, watch. This is the sort of thing my mother would have done.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47Look, watch.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52And now the moment of truth has come.
0:11:52 > 0:11:57The contenders are about to face the test proper for the first time.
0:11:57 > 0:12:01This is Raven vs Dog vs Human.
0:12:10 > 0:12:12Itchy, solve this.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16Solve that. And I'll be back. Sort it.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26And that, I'm afraid to say, is an emphatic win for Bran
0:12:26 > 0:12:29and all of his corvid kind.
0:12:31 > 0:12:35That was properly mind-blowing. I've got to see it again in slow motion.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37- Slow motion, slow motion.- Quickly!
0:12:39 > 0:12:41Bran goes straight to work.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44He's pulling open that door easily.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50And now it's open, he's going for the smaller box.
0:12:50 > 0:12:55He pulls it out very easily with his beak. Puts it on the ground.
0:12:55 > 0:12:57And he's going for the lid.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59The lid comes off.
0:12:59 > 0:13:01Ball comes out.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04And now, here's the reward.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09Yes, Bran destroyed that puzzle in just 12 seconds.
0:13:09 > 0:13:10Itchy and Scratchy the poodles
0:13:10 > 0:13:13and Fletcher the baby just didn't stand a chance, did they?
0:13:13 > 0:13:16It's unbelievable. Crows and ravens are really, really smart.
0:13:16 > 0:13:18And it's not just crows and ravens.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21Coming up, we've got a parrot that can pick a lock,
0:13:21 > 0:13:24and the crow that can plan for the future, and a bird that
0:13:24 > 0:13:27understands Archimedes' principle of water displacement.
0:13:27 > 0:13:28I don't understand that.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31That's because you never take a bath, but don't worry,
0:13:31 > 0:13:33all will be revealed later on this afternoon
0:13:33 > 0:13:37when we show you some stuff that will blow your mind!