Clever birds forced to find new homes as Cambridge lab faces closure

A seminal research lab that has revolutionised our understanding of the minds of rooks and jays is set to be closed down as funding dries up

Life



13 May 2022

New Scientist Default Image

A pair of rooks at the corvid cognition lab in Madingley, UK

Francesca M. Cornero

Behind a thatched pub in the village of Madingley near Cambridge, UK, is a set of aviaries that is home to 25 jays and seven rooks.

For Nicola Clayton, who set up the facility 22 years ago, these birds offer a unique window into the minds of other creatures. But not, perhaps, for much longer.

Clayton’s Comparative Cognition Lab – or, as she dubs it, the corvid palace – is set to close in July due to a depressing …

source: newscientist.com