BIRD BRAIN NOTHING TO LAUGH AT.

New research suggests ravens have the intelligence to solve problems, use tools and even plan for the future. Here are five things to know about the study.

1 RESISTING TEMPTATION

The study was conducted on a rural research farm in Sweden. Using a similar test he conducted on apes, cognitive zoologist Mathias Osvath taught five ravens how to use a tool to open a box containing a treat. He then put his birds through a battery of tests in which they had to choose the tool, despite the temptation of a more immediate goodie with the box nowhere in sight. The birds didn’t bite. Only when the box was brought back did they use the tool they had been saving to secure the better reward — demonstrating self-control, advanced reasoning and planning.

2 ON A PAR WITH APES

The ravens matched the primates in every respect. On tests in which they had to barter for their reward by trading a specific token, the birds outscored the apes and even outperformed four-year-old human children.

3 SOPHISTICATED DECISIONS

Osvath compared his subjects’ calculations to the sophisticated decisions humans make daily. “Say you’re planning a trip to London, and you know how often it rains there. So you bring an umbrella, even though it’s not raining now where you are.”

4 GROUNDBREAKING RESEARCH

His study, published Thursday in the journal Science, is the latest in a growing body of work from cognitive zoologists that is tearing down assumptions about the limits of animals’ ability to reason.

5 BUT ARE HUMANS STILL UNIQUE?

Based on past experiences, Osvath expects some people may be upset by his study. “There are those who cling to cognition as uniquely human.”