Linking it to our previous crow brain anatomy study (Moll et al., 2025, JCN): Our behavioral paradigm offers a scaffold for future studies investigating neuronal correlates of corvid tool use in the avian general motor system and beyond.

At the start of each trial, when the crows pulled the stick from the holder, the stick was often misaligned with the beak. In these cases, the initial pull was followed by brief tosses—momentary re-leases and re-grasps of the stick—to adjust its orientation within the beak and achieve a better grip.

Trained crows dexterously corrected errors when the tool’s working end lost control over the target.

DeepLabCut pose estimation (@trackingactions.bsky.social) revealed high intitial motor variability, which is essenatial for motor learning (Dhawale et al., 2017, Annu. Rev. Neurosci.).

New paper on precise tool use learning in carrion crows @currentbiology.bsky.social. We show that—like New Caledonian crows—expert carrion crows pay close attention to the working end of their tool, suggesting tool integration into their peripersonal space. 🧵 & vids! 👇

www.cell.com/current-biol...