The Intelligence Of Corvids Ielts Reading Answers Extra Quality Jun 2026

The Intelligence of Corvids: IELTS Reading Practice Test Corvids—the avian family that includes crows, ravens, rooks, jackdaws, and jays—are among the most intellectually sophisticated creatures on the planet. For decades, scientists viewed birds as driven purely by instinct, possessing brains too small for complex cognition. However, recent breakthroughs in avian neurology and behavioral psychology have shattered this misconception. Researchers now compare the cognitive abilities of corvids to those of non-human primates, such as chimpanzees and gorillas. This article explores the remarkable intellectual faculties of corvids, focusing on their tool-making capabilities, advanced memory, social intelligence, and capacity for future planning.

The crows associated the mask with the "dangerous" event of being captured or handled.

: Underline keywords in the questions and try to think of synonyms or paraphrases for them. The information in the passage is often reworded, so don't expect an exact match.

Found in Paragraph A: "...coining the derogatory term 'birdbrain' to describe someone lacking cognitive capacity."

Questions 6–10Complete the sentences below.Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.Write your answers in boxes 6–10 on your answer sheet. The Intelligence of Corvids: IELTS Reading Practice Test

Complete the sentences below.Choose from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 6–9 on your answer sheet.

Remember: Like the New Caledonian crow that solves problems by crafting the perfect tool, you too must prepare strategically. Do not just memorize answers—understand the logic behind them. Good luck with your IELTS preparation!

❌ and C are incorrect because the reaction was based on the specific face (the mask), regardless of the wearer's size, gender, or behavior on campus. B. the crows did not harass them ✅

LiveWorksheets / University of Cambridge Research Question Types: Sentence Completion / Matching Endings / Yes/No/Not Given Researchers now compare the cognitive abilities of corvids

In conclusion, the corvid family represents a remarkable case of convergent evolution. Despite having brains structured very differently from mammals, they have developed problem-solving skills, memory, and social strategies that bear striking similarities to our own. As research continues, it is increasingly clear that intelligence is not the exclusive domain of primates and cetaceans but a trait that has emerged independently in the avian lineage.

To achieve a high band score, you need to be able to spot 'distractors'—words or phrases designed to trick you into choosing the wrong answer. Question 10 is a perfect example. The statement says, 'Corvids can be found on every continent.' The passage says, '...on every continent except Antarctica'. The phrase is the distractor. The test-maker is checking if you read carefully enough to catch this small but crucial detail. In your practice, always highlight such limiting words (like 'always', 'never', 'all', 'only', 'except') in both the statement and the passage. They are often the key to getting the answer right.

Scrub-jays use a cognitive ability known as ________ to recall the spatial locations and conditions of their hidden food. Questions 10–13

Paragraph C highlights an experiment where New Caledonian crows were given straight pieces of wire—a material "they had never encountered in the wild"—and spontaneously bent it into hooks to get food. 6. anthropocentric : Underline keywords in the questions and try

Paragraph E discusses a study where crows recognized masks years later and passed this information to their offspring who "had never encountered the researchers." The paragraph explicitly concludes that this shows "cultural transmission, where vital survival information is actively communicated across generations."

The reading passage has six paragraphs, .Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct letter, A–F , in boxes 1–5 on your answer sheet. NB: You may use any letter more than once.

Paragraph D details the behavior of Western scrub-jays caching perishable waxworms and non-perishable nuts. It explains that the birds remember how long ago the food was buried and will avoid decaying worms if too much time has passed, tracking the food's degradation rate.

Corvids display a range of cognitive abilities. For example, scrub jays demonstrate – a type of memory involving recall of what, where, and when. In social contexts, crows can recognise individual 7. _______________ and remember threats for years. Furthermore, some corvids show the ability to 8. _______________ for future needs, even rejecting immediate rewards in favour of later, better ones.

To answer reading questions with high accuracy (Band 8–9 level), you must move beyond basic comprehension and master the nuanced vocabulary used in academic testing. Here is a curated list of high-frequency terms from this topic, complete with definitions and contextual examples: