Which crow species is known for crafting hooks from twigs to extract insects?

The New Caledonian crow is the crow species known for crafting hooked tools from twigs to extract insects. Native to New Caledonia, Corvus moneduloides probes cracks in branches and logs where grubs and other larvae hide.

Some tools are simple sticks, while others are deliberately shaped from forked twigs or plant stems. The crow trims away parts of the twig, leaving a hooked end that can catch prey. It may also use naturally barbed pandanus leaves or thorns as tools. When a larva bites or catches on the tool, the crow pulls it from the wood and eats it.

This behavior helped make the species a major subject in research on animal intelligence. In 1996, scientists documented the manufacture and use of hook-tools in the wild. A captive bird named Betty later became famous for bending garden wire into a hook to retrieve food, showing that the behavior could be adapted to unfamiliar materials.

A common mix-up is assuming all crows routinely make hooks. Many corvids are intelligent and use objects, but purposeful hooked-tool manufacture is especially associated with the New Caledonian crow.