At a Glance
- Researchers from the University of Tübingen found that carrion crows can recognize geometric regularity, a cognitive skill once considered unique to humans.
- In experiments, crows were trained to identify distinct shapes among groups and showed strong accuracy, especially with shapes featuring right angles, parallel lines, or symmetry.
- The crows ‘ performance decreased but remained significantly above random chance when presented with more subtle differences, like a slightly tilted box.
- The findings demonstrate that crows possess an innate understanding of basic and complex geometric properties without prior learning.
- This study challenges the assumption that geometric intuition is exclusive to humans and provides new insights into the evolution of mathematical cognition in animals.
A recent study led by animal physiologists at the University of Tübingen in Germany revealed that carrion crows can recognize geometric regularity, a skill once thought exclusive to humans. In their experiments, published in Science Advances, researchers Philipp Schmidbauer, Madita Hahn, and Andreas Nieder trained crows to identify a shape different from others in a group. The crows were shown several shapes and asked to pick out the one that stood out based on its geometric properties.
Using a computer screen, the crows were presented with a set of six shapes, each distinct from the others. For example, they were shown a star among rectangles and asked to peck the outlier. The birds immediately recognized the odd shape and, in return for their correct choices, received a food reward. The researchers found that the crows performed better with shapes that featured right angles, parallel lines, or symmetry, indicating an innate understanding of these geometric features.
The researchers took the experiment further by testing the crows with more subtle differences, such as a slightly tilted box among several upright ones. Even though their accuracy decreased with these smaller differences, the crows’ performance was still much higher than random chance. This suggested that the crows recognized basic geometric shapes and could understand more complex geometric concepts.
This groundbreaking research demonstrates that geometric intuition, often associated with humans, may also be shared by other species. The crows’ ability to recognize and understand shapes with geometric regularity without prior learning challenges the idea that this skill is unique to humans. It highlights the remarkable cognitive abilities of these birds and opens up new possibilities for studying the evolution of mathematical and geometric understanding in the animal kingdom.
References
- Yirka, B. & Phys.org. (2025, April 14). Crows can recognize geometric regularity. Phys.Org; Phys.org. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-crows-geometric-regularity.html
- Schmidbauer, P., Hahn, M., & Nieder, A. (2025). Crows recognize geometric regularity. Science Advances, 11(15), eadt3718. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adt3718
