magpie
bleimanb | August 19, 2008A German researcher has proven that a species other than a mammal is capable of recognizing its own reflection: the magpie. In order to test this theory, Chancellor Helmut Prior of the Goethe University stuck stickers on a group of hand-reared magpies in places that the magpies could only see in a mirror. When the magpies noticed themselves in the mirror, with stickers attached, they immediately attempted to remove the stickers with their beaks and claws. Red and yellow stickers elicited this reaction; black stickers did not. Either way, when no mirrors were present the magpies carried on…