0:00:02 > 0:00:05BOTH: We are Dr Chris and Dr Xand van Tulleken.
0:00:05 > 0:00:08- We are tracking down the most awesome...- ..incredible...
0:00:08 > 0:00:12..and epic things in the universe.
0:00:21 > 0:00:25Come with us and discover unbelievable things
0:00:25 > 0:00:28that will blow your mind!
0:00:28 > 0:00:31Blow Your Mind will be bringing you all the top experts
0:00:31 > 0:00:33in unbelievable stuff,
0:00:33 > 0:00:35from icebergs to elephants,
0:00:35 > 0:00:37- spaceships to sharks.- Look at that!
0:00:37 > 0:00:41And this week it's all about amazing animals.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44So hold onto your brains, here's what's coming up.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48Today, we put brainy birds to the test,
0:00:48 > 0:00:51birds that can pick a lock...
0:00:51 > 0:00:53and even birds that can see into the future.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59Earlier today, we saw Bran the raven complete the puzzle box
0:00:59 > 0:01:01in an amazing superfast time.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06- Are you still trying to figure out this puzzle, Chris?- No.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09I figured it out. I just want to see if I can do it quicker
0:01:09 > 0:01:12- than Bran the raven.- Let's see again how fast Bran did it.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15And Bran goes straight to work.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18He's pulling open that door easily.
0:01:18 > 0:01:20He's going for the smaller box.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23Lid comes off, ball comes out,
0:01:23 > 0:01:25and now he eats the reward.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28- Bran did that in just 12 seconds. Are you ready, Chris?- I think so.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30Three, two, one, go!
0:01:35 > 0:01:37Ta-da!
0:01:37 > 0:01:42- Four seconds quicker than Bran. - Boom! A triumph for humankind.
0:01:42 > 0:01:44Yeah, but that was the first time Bran had seen this puzzle,
0:01:44 > 0:01:48- and you've been practising for hours.- I don't have a beak.
0:01:48 > 0:01:50Don't worry, Chris. He's up against the best.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53Ravens and crows are amazing problem-solvers
0:01:53 > 0:01:56but they're not the only intelligent birds.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59This is Hoy, a Eurasian jay -
0:01:59 > 0:02:01a member of the crow family.
0:02:01 > 0:02:03Our mate, Chris Packham,
0:02:03 > 0:02:06has come to Cambridge to meet Prof Nicky Clayton,
0:02:06 > 0:02:09a world expert on crows, to find out just how intelligent
0:02:09 > 0:02:10these birds really are.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13Nicky sets up experiments to understand
0:02:13 > 0:02:17the different abilities these birds use to solve problems
0:02:17 > 0:02:20and today, she has set Hoy a tricky challenge.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23He needs to work out that raising the water level
0:02:23 > 0:02:25is the best way of getting the worms
0:02:25 > 0:02:27and then he needs to figure out how to do it.
0:02:27 > 0:02:32- Nicky, let's see what's going on. Fire up the laptop.- I will do.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35Nicky's birds have had very little human contact
0:02:35 > 0:02:40so Chris and Nicky are going to watch Hoy from a safe distance.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44Straight away, he starts dropping stones into the water.
0:02:44 > 0:02:46They're quite specific about what they use, actually,
0:02:46 > 0:02:50and how many stones. They don't put more stones in than they need.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53He's checking the water rise
0:02:53 > 0:02:55every time he puts the stone in.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59- Yeah.- Hops up, and you can see the eye looking down.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03- Look at that! The small stone wasn't going to be enough.- No.
0:03:06 > 0:03:07OK, go on.
0:03:09 > 0:03:11No, can't quite reach.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14You know, Nicky, it's almost
0:03:14 > 0:03:17as if he understands the effect of dropping that stone in.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19That's right. He only does this
0:03:19 > 0:03:23when there's liquid in the tube. If there's a worm in the tube
0:03:23 > 0:03:25and it's filled with sand, he doesn't bother.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28He knows that it needs to be a liquid in that tube
0:03:28 > 0:03:31in order for the stones to work.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34Hoy understands that a sinking stone
0:03:34 > 0:03:38will cause the water level to rise
0:03:38 > 0:03:40and this, in turn, will allow him
0:03:40 > 0:03:42to reach the waxworm.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46He also knows the same technique won't work with sand,
0:03:46 > 0:03:50and this reveals the ability to understand
0:03:50 > 0:03:53the rules of cause and effect.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58Whoa! Back up! OK, so what we're saying is,
0:03:58 > 0:04:01the jay understands that if it gets a rock
0:04:01 > 0:04:03and puts it in the tube of water,
0:04:03 > 0:04:07the water level, with worms floating in it, will rise up the tube
0:04:07 > 0:04:10- and then, from the top of the tube, it can reach the worms?- Exactly.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13Scientists call that cause and effect,
0:04:13 > 0:04:15so the stone being put in the water
0:04:15 > 0:04:17causes the effect of the water level rising.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20- Like when I get in the bath and the level goes up.- Exactly.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24But the training tube that he used didn't have any water in it
0:04:24 > 0:04:27so when he put the stone in that, the food came out the bottom.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30So he's able to join up his knowledge
0:04:30 > 0:04:32about tubes and food and rocks
0:04:32 > 0:04:35and use a whole different technique to get the food out of the tube?
0:04:35 > 0:04:36That is amazing.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39So Hoy was able to solve this problem
0:04:39 > 0:04:43because he already knew how to use the stones.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47He's able to learn rules for one situation
0:04:47 > 0:04:51and then apply those rules to a new scenario.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54Scientists call this flexible thinking.
0:04:54 > 0:04:59It's how, earlier, the New Caledonian crow
0:04:59 > 0:05:02solved the multi-stage problem
0:05:02 > 0:05:06and also how Bran made such short work of my puzzle box.
0:05:06 > 0:05:11The birds were thinking flexibly,
0:05:11 > 0:05:15using previous experience to solve new problems.
0:05:15 > 0:05:16So let me understand this.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19Birds can use skills that they've learned previously
0:05:19 > 0:05:23- to solve brand-new problems?- Yeah. Lots of animals can't do this.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26Like a dog, for instance, can learn to fetch a stick,
0:05:26 > 0:05:29learn to walk on its hind legs and learn to push a bell
0:05:29 > 0:05:32but it can't combine those three skills to solve a new problem.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36What, like a problem involving pressing a bell with a stick
0:05:36 > 0:05:37- standing up?- Yeah. Exactly.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41- That's why dogs never ring your doorbell.- I'd never thought of that.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43I guess when people call me Birdbrain,
0:05:43 > 0:05:44it's actually a compliment.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46Yeah. Sure it is, Birdbrain.
0:05:46 > 0:05:50Anyway, back to these amazing, mind-blowing birds.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53Chris Packham is now off to meet some cockatoos
0:05:53 > 0:05:56who aren't just intelligent, they're also creative.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58I've come to Austria to meet a rather inquisitive
0:05:58 > 0:06:00and endearing type of bird.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04'These are Goffin's cockatoos, a type of parrot...'
0:06:04 > 0:06:07Oi! Can I have that back?
0:06:07 > 0:06:11'..big-brained birds with a very curious nature.'
0:06:13 > 0:06:16I'm here to meet Dr Alice Auersperg,
0:06:16 > 0:06:19an expert in these animals.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23She's studying their ability to innovate,
0:06:23 > 0:06:26and I'm intrigued to know what that might reveal
0:06:26 > 0:06:28about their powers of imagination.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32- Alice, these birds are very keen to get to know me, it seems.- Yes.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36They are especially interested in you because you are new.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39And it's not just me that's new.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41So is the entire crew.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48And everything that we're wearing.
0:06:49 > 0:06:51My watch, in particular,
0:06:51 > 0:06:54has caught the attention of Olympia here.
0:06:54 > 0:06:59And within minutes, she's worked out how to release the clasp.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01I knew parrots were clever and they can talk.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04These guys are even more special than you might expect.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08These cockatoos have an amazing ability to use their imagination
0:07:08 > 0:07:11to solve problems. Just watch what happens
0:07:11 > 0:07:14when they're asked to pick a lock.
0:07:15 > 0:07:19To investigate what's going on in the minds of these parrots,
0:07:19 > 0:07:23Alice created this - the lock box.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26Trapped inside is a tasty nut
0:07:26 > 0:07:31held securely behind this elaborate locking mechanism.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35To see how it opens, we need to employ the services
0:07:35 > 0:07:37of a master safe-cracker.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40Or Muppet as he's, perhaps inappropriately, called.
0:07:40 > 0:07:45Before we begin, though, there's the question of eyewear.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50We have to put sunglasses on
0:07:50 > 0:07:53because we could cue the birds with our eye movements.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56Can they see where we're looking? Can they do that?
0:07:56 > 0:07:58We don't know whether this species can
0:07:58 > 0:08:01but it has been proven that jackdaws can follow
0:08:01 > 0:08:04- the eye movement of humans. - Better safe than sorry.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07We'll forgive fashion for that and make scientific progress.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10And here comes Muppet.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17- Oh, he's displaying towards you. - A little bit of display.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19Yes, he's a boy.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22Very nice, yes. That's a crest of some distinction.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24I had one like that in the 1980s myself
0:08:24 > 0:08:28but perhaps, Muppet, you could take your attention to the lock.
0:08:30 > 0:08:32Muppet has done this before
0:08:32 > 0:08:37and he delivers a masterclass.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39He quickly removes the pin
0:08:39 > 0:08:42and then the screw.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48He discards the central bolt
0:08:48 > 0:08:51before shifting the locking wheel.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57And this releases the final bolt.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59Voila!
0:08:59 > 0:09:02He's reached the nut inside.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07Wow! So Muppet the cockatoo is a master safe-cracker.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10If you're at home, you'd better lock your windows and doors.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14- That's pointless - Muppet can unlock them.- I hadn't thought of that.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16Why are you wearing those ridiculous sunglasses?
0:09:16 > 0:09:18So Muppet can't follow my eye movements
0:09:18 > 0:09:23- and get clues about how to crack the safe.- But Muppet isn't here.
0:09:23 > 0:09:25Also, I look a bit like Chris Packham.
0:09:25 > 0:09:30But to make sure Muppet can't learn the sequence by heart,
0:09:30 > 0:09:34Alice can swap the lock sections around,
0:09:34 > 0:09:36or even move them entirely.
0:09:36 > 0:09:41So now I want to change the way in which the box works
0:09:41 > 0:09:44and set Muppet a new challenge,
0:09:44 > 0:09:46one that he's never seen before.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49There are five parts. Why don't we take out the middle bit?
0:09:49 > 0:09:52Yes, let's.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55The upper section is now redundant,
0:09:55 > 0:09:58leaving only the lower parts in operation.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01It may look like we've made it easier
0:10:01 > 0:10:05but, in fact, we've created an entirely new problem
0:10:05 > 0:10:07with a different solution.
0:10:07 > 0:10:09If Muppet can't see this,
0:10:09 > 0:10:12he'll just repeat what he did before
0:10:12 > 0:10:15and robotically go for the pin at the top,
0:10:15 > 0:10:18but if he can see the new problem
0:10:18 > 0:10:21and imagine a new solution,
0:10:21 > 0:10:24then he'll go straight for the wheel.
0:10:24 > 0:10:28OK, Alice, let's give him a go.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32So now the moment of truth.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40He's gone straight for the wheel.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45And then the bar.
0:10:46 > 0:10:50And he's in in less than ten seconds.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54That gives us a crucial insight into his mind.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56He must have looked at the problem,
0:10:56 > 0:10:58worked it out in his head
0:10:58 > 0:11:01and imagined the solution.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04Wow. So Muppet recognised immediately
0:11:04 > 0:11:07it was a new lock, ignored the top part, went straight for the wheel
0:11:07 > 0:11:10- and got the nut?- Yeah. It's amazing, isn't it?
0:11:10 > 0:11:13So cockatoos can not just recognise a completely new problem,
0:11:13 > 0:11:16they can then use their imaginations to solve it,
0:11:16 > 0:11:19- all with their tiny birdie brains. - Yeah. That's not all.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22What you are about to see now is completely mind-blowing.
0:11:22 > 0:11:27Chris Packham is off to find out if birds can not only remember the past
0:11:27 > 0:11:30but also see into the future.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33Time-travelling birds? I've got to see this.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36There's a common behaviour in the animal world
0:11:36 > 0:11:39that seems to be about planning for the future.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41It's called caching.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44It's what squirrels do in the autumn -
0:11:44 > 0:11:48hiding nuts in the ground so they can be dug up and eaten
0:11:48 > 0:11:52over the winter months. But if caching were an Olympic sport,
0:11:52 > 0:11:56then the corvids would be the gold medallists.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59Most of them seem to do it,
0:11:59 > 0:12:01much to the annoyance of the squirrels.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04Scientists call this mental time travel.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08So it's not like birds are the Doctor Who of the animal kingdom,
0:12:08 > 0:12:11- moving backwards and forwards in time?- No. It's not, Chris.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13But it is pretty impressive
0:12:13 > 0:12:15that they can use things they learned in the past
0:12:15 > 0:12:18and plan for the future with them.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21And this American corvid, the Clark's nutcracker,
0:12:21 > 0:12:24is the caching king.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27Researchers have observed how, every year,
0:12:27 > 0:12:30it can store and remember the location
0:12:30 > 0:12:33of thousands of different seeds.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38This bird truly is the master of memory.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43This skill is very rare in the animal kingdom.
0:12:45 > 0:12:47So how do they do it?
0:12:47 > 0:12:49It's all about the size of their brains.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52This is about the size of a crow's brain, this ping pong ball,
0:12:52 > 0:12:55and this tennis ball is about the size of dog's brain.
0:12:55 > 0:12:57Which one is cleverer?
0:12:57 > 0:13:00I know that the crow can solve harder problems than the dog,
0:13:00 > 0:13:03but the dog's brain is bigger so I don't understand how that could be.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06It's all about the size of your brain relative to your body.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08The crow's brain is smaller than the dog's
0:13:08 > 0:13:11but the crow itself is also smaller than a dog.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14If you made the crow the same size as the dog,
0:13:14 > 0:13:18- its brain would be twice as big as the dog's brain.- That is amazing.
0:13:18 > 0:13:22I really like using this scientific term "mental time travel"
0:13:22 > 0:13:24to talk about simply planning stuff.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27I'm going to do some mental time travel now.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30I'm going to watch some future episodes of Blow Your Mind.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33- What can you see?- I can see elephants talking to each other,
0:13:33 > 0:13:36- deadly dinosaur dolphins...- What?
0:13:36 > 0:13:38- That sounds a bit improbable.- Nope.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40It's all true and you can see it, too.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43- Join us next time on... - BOTH: Blow your mind!