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^{[image courtesy Joshua Klein]}

The secret’s out: Crows are terrifyingly smart. What kind of intelligence are we talking about here? Well, for starters, the corvid family has demonstrated theory of mind (potentially) and tool use — cognitive powers once thought to belong solely to primates. Even more remarkably, scientists have observed that crows are not only capable of mastering complex behaviors (such as, say, dropping nuts into crosswalks and waiting for the red light to go retrieve their conveniently cracked snacks), but they also can teach other crows. Noting this ability to transmit newly acquired skills, some experts are claiming that crows are not just clever — they have a culture. And now, researcher Joshua Klein is giving them an economy. Well, sort of.

Crows might be bright, but unfortunately, they’re also really good at annoying humans. Instead of viewing them as pests to be eradicated, Klein proposes that we should be giving them something useful to do, thus promoting a mutually beneficial relationship between man and bird.

Initially, he wanted to teach crows how to pick up garbage, but imparting the distinction between, say, a piece of junk wood and a shingle attached to a roof seemed overly complicated. (”Crows are very good at disassembling things,” Klein adds.) So he devised a study in which crows learn how to use a vending machine — tasty peanuts in exchange for shiny coins. “Ostensibly, if we could teach one crow to use the vending machine, we could teach them all,” Klein claims. Sounds like just a stupid pet trick? Klein counters: “There is $216 million in lost coins every year.”

To hear more from the man himself, check out a video of his thesis presentation here; for the ADD set, here’s the 1-minute version.

[Thanks to BoingBoing, for pointing out his TED 2008 talk last month.]

A sobering thought: With these already-brainy birds just getting smarter and smarter, looks like they should be kicking humans off the World Supreme Intellect pedestal in no time.