Beak-a-boo: Birds have their portraits taken

Rowan Hooper, news editor

(Images: Bob Croslin)

THERE'S something about Bob Croslin's shots of birds that makes them look like manga characters. Perhaps it's the set-up: taken against a black backdrop with professional lighting, these are portraits, not the sort of natural shots of animals we're used to. With no distracting background, you focus on the face of the bird - and can't help but imbue them with a spark of consciousness.

With corvids - represented here by the American crow above - that's hardly even a controversial thing to say. Super-smart tool users, they can even use causal reasoning to solve problems, which even chimps can't do. Many biologists who work with crows and other corvids would have no hesitation in saying the birds are conscious. Next time you walk past one in the street, look in its eyes and see for yourself. Croslin says this crow, called Fred, was amazing to work with. "He really didn't mind being photographed, but when it got to be too much he'd say 'go away!'"

Owls, despite their ubiquitous portrayal as smart in everything from Winnie the Pooh to Harry Potter, are not thought to be as clever as corvids. But there's no denying they are among the most beguiling of birds. This one, a screech owl, is representative of the Megascops genus, which has been present in the US for at least 3 million years. As for the blue heron (below), well, he looks to me like he's been caught in the act of exposing himself.

All three have something in common: they were residents of the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary in Florida, which Croslin took to visiting to take photos. The sanctuary - a donation-funded outfit that claims to be the largest bird hospital in the US - has been open for four decades and has rehabilitated many thousands of birds. As for Fred, he had been raised in captivity. "He loved a good neck scratch and he'd pull at your finger with his beak if you stopped."

Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/23feff07/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Cblogs0Cshortsharpscience0C20A120C10A0Cbird0Eportraits0Bhtml0DDCMP0FOTC0Erss0Gnsref0Fonline0Enews/story01.htm

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