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Ornithological Science
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Abstract
Abstract
An adult Large-billed Crow Corvus macrorhynchos proved capable of lifting weights of 1,100 g with its bill, equivalent to 1.5 times its body mass. It also attempted various other techniques, using its feet, flapping its wings, and using a fulcrum to flip the weight over. The effort used to lift weights varied greatly and was not always consistent with the weight increase; for example, the crow took more than 12 minutes and 23 attempts to lift 990 g but only took 27 seconds and seven attempts to lift 1,090 g. The crow's strategy seemed to change over a series of experiments, from using muscle power to energy saving techniques.
We thank Dr. Yoriko Saeki for valuable comments on this paper. Also, we are grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and precise suggestions. Lastly, we would like to express a pro-found sense of loss for the crow, Kan-chan.
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