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Biology

Cognitive Maps and Spatial Memory in Food-Caching Corvids

Quick fact

Clark's nutcrackers can remember the locations of thousands of scattered seed caches for up to nine months, demonstrating a spatial memory that rivals or even exceeds that of many mammals, including some primates.

Why this is interesting

A Clark's nutcracker can hide up to 30,000 pine seeds in autumn and find them again months later—across a landscape of several square kilometres. How does a bird with a brain the size of a walnut pull off such an incredible feat of memory?