Data from: Function and flexibility of object exploration in kea and New Caledonian crows

A range of nonhuman animals frequently manipulate and explore objects in
their environment, which may enable them to learn about physical
properties and potentially form more abstract concepts of properties such
as weight and rigidity. Whether animals can apply the information learned
during their exploration to solve novel problems, however, and whether
they actually change their exploratory behaviour to seek functional
information about objects have not been fully explored. We allowed kea
(Nestor notabilis) and New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides) to
explore sets of novel objects both before and after encountering a task in
which some of the objects could function as tools. Following this,
subjects were given test trials in which they could choose among the
objects they had explored to solve a tool-use task. Several individuals
from both species performed above chance on these test trials, and only
did so after exploring the objects, compared to a control experiment with
no prior exploration phase. These results suggest that selection of
functional tools may be guided by information acquired during exploration.
Neither kea nor crows changed the duration or quality of their exploration
after learning that the objects had a functional relevance, suggesting
that birds do not adjust their behaviour to explicitly seek this
information.