Blue Jay Puzzles:

I have been teaching the Blue Jays in my backyard to solve simple puzzles in order to get a peanut. I modeled this work after a film I saw called “Bird Brain of Britain” by Chris Packham. The following video clips represent the earliest steps in this process. I will gradually increase the level of difficulty over the next few months. Be sure to return to this site periodically to see new videos as the jays learn new tricks.

QuickTime Videos (.MOV) as of 7/1/2002 (if you need the quicktime software click here):

One vertical stick (2.5 Megabytes)

The earliest and easiest trick learned. I had to train the jay by attaching a peanut to the stick itself so that the bird would inadvertently lift the stick and release the trapped peanut. This took a while with much trial and error on my part and the jay’s part.

Two vertical sticks (1.9 Megabytes)

When I added a second stick to the apparatus, the jay learned this almost immediately.

One vertical and one horizontal stick (3.8 Megabytes)

In this video, the horizontal stick is pointing directly at the camera and is difficult to see. When the jay releases the peanut it is stopped by the horizontal stick and the jay gives up. Since this video was recorded, the jay has learned this trick. It only took a couple of days to master it.

These videos were made possible by the support of Multimedia/ITV Services of the University of Houston-Downtown and by the expertise of Slade Studios.