> [!quote] [Non-social jays surprise scientists by learning as skillfully as birds living in groups](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220309165538.htm) via [[ScienceDaily]] > The California scrub-jay, a generally non-social bird, can learn just as well as another species of jay that lives in groups, a finding that surprised animal intelligence researchers. > > "We compared intelligence between these species by testing their abilities to either innovate a solution to the puzzle or to learn to solve the puzzle by observing other birds solving it," McCune said. "Contrary to what we thought we'd find out, the two species showed similar abilities to learn." > > The scrub-jays and Mexican jays differed in the ways they preferred to learn, the researchers noted. Mexican jays tended to learn through watching other jays interact with the puzzle, whereas scrub-jays relied more on individual problem-solving to get at the food.