Rüdiger Benninghaus
Crows are intelligent birds and learn quickly – even from each other.
In Sweden, they are used to collect cigarette butts and bring them to a machine that automatically rewards them with peanuts.

Here some links provides by users:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/25166042241296275
and:
https://www.heise.de/news/Schwedisches-Start-up-hinter-Kippenstummel-sammelnden-Kraehen-meldet-Insolvenz-an-11094091.html
Dec 8 at 7:12pmWeb
Show threadGeorgeDec 8
@1Sauerlaender
When it’s easier to train crows, than people.
Show threadRüdiger BenninghausDec 8
It is easier with crows!
Show threadBudgegeria 🦜Dec 9
@1Sauerlaender @lefou23 But even crows are just doing it with extrinsic motivation.
Show threadCarola OttenburgDec 8

@1Sauerlaender
Das will ich für #FFM auch!

#Müll #Krähen #Frankfurt

Show threadRüdiger BenninghausDec 8
Dann mal ran an die Buletten! Den Stadtrat bearbeiten.
Show threadZ̈oéDec 8

@1Sauerlaender in the age of ai slop I found this hard to believe so I did a bit of digging and I’m happy to report back that this seems to be true!! the startup is called Corvid Cleaning AB

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/25166042241296275

Show threadRüdiger BenninghausDec 8
You are right. I was also sceptical, but since I know how intelligent crows are, I thought it was possible. You confirmed this with your link. - Thank you!
Show threadSistaRayDec 8

@uint8_t @1Sauerlaender

Sadly the startup closed down and the picture of the machine is not real (the actual prototype can be seen in your link)

https://www.heise.de/news/Schwedisches-Start-up-hinter-Kippenstummel-sammelnden-Kraehen-meldet-Insolvenz-an-11094091.html

Schwedisches Start-up hinter Kippenstummel sammelnden Krähen meldet Insolvenz an

Ein schwedisches Start-up trainiert Krähen, um Kippenstummel einzusammeln – so eine Meldung aus 2022, die viral ging. Jetzt hat die Firma Insolvenz angemeldet.

heise online
Show threadSass, DavidDec 8
@sista_ray @uint8_t @1Sauerlaender let me guess this was extremely toxic for the birds and eventually the humans realized maybe this wasn't their best idea?
Show threadAlex@rtnVFRmedia Suffolk UKDec 8

@sassdawe @sista_ray @uint8_t @1Sauerlaender

>Ein Dozent für Ethologie an der Universität Stockholm warnte davor, dass die Krähen Nikotin aufnehmen könnten. Da die Art auf der Roten Liste gefährdeter Arten steht, könnte dies als Tierquälerei eingestuft werden.

indeed, an ethics professor warned this was likely exposing the crows to nicotine and could be considered animal cruelty (and crows are on the redlist of threatened species which surprised me to learn - I thought they were fairly common birds!)

Show thread2xfoDec 8
@vfrmedia @sassdawe @sista_ray @uint8_t @1Sauerlaender
And if these machines are used in an area I'm smoking in, aren't i depriving the birds of food by taking care of my own waste now? 🙃
Show thread2xfoDec 8
@vfrmedia @sassdawe @sista_ray @uint8_t @1Sauerlaender
Do you want an army of nicotine dependant machine hacking corvids? Because that's how you get an army of nicotine dependant machine hacking corvids.
Show threadHoward CohenDec 8
@RnDanger @vfrmedia @sassdawe @sista_ray @uint8_t @1Sauerlaender I think they want an army of nicotine-dependent machine-hacking corvids.
Show threadibkDec 9

@hoco @RnDanger @vfrmedia @sassdawe @sista_ray @uint8_t @1Sauerlaender

May I draw your attention to Poorly Drawn Lines:

https://poorlydrawnlines.com/comic/a-bird/

https://poorlydrawnlines.com/comic/bird-with-cigarette/

Poorly Drawn Lines – A Bird

A thrice-weekly webcomic written and illustrated by Reza Farazmand. New comics every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Show thread2xfoDec 8
A crow stands on a platform extended brushed stainless steel pole that has a display and buttons. The crow seems to be inserting a cigarette butt into a credit card slot and the platform it stands on seems to have sunflower seeds on it.
Issues?
The platform has no edges and is very small so seeds dropped onto it would likely fall to the ground, I can't imagine why crows need or could use a screen and buttons for this, and others have said the text on the screen looks AI generated.
Show threadTor LillqvistDec 9
@RnDanger it definitely is AI. That text is only partially real Swedish.
Show threadRüdiger BenninghausDec 8
Don't worry. TThere are enough people who don't give a damn about pollution.
Show threadRhyothemisDec 8

@vfrmedia @sassdawe @sista_ray @uint8_t @1Sauerlaender

Crows gainfully employed cleaning up cigarette butts may not be a thing, but 'crowboarding' is (video is from 8 yrs ago, apparently there are many other examples of this behaviour) -

Crow Uses Plastic Lid to Sled Down Roof Over and Over Again | Viralno
video uploaded Feb 2, 2017
https://youtu.be/hn0OjCneVUg

Crows just want to have fun.

#crows #Corvidae #AnimalBehavior

Crow Uses Plastic Lid to Sled Down Roof Over and Over Again

YouTube
Show threadFish Id Wardrobe ⁂Dec 9
@sista_ray @uint8_t @1Sauerlaender i imagine this is the same french guy that was trying to train crows to gather dropped coins
Show threadSzescstopniDec 8
@uint8_t Thanks for checking. @1Sauerlaender
Show threadElias MårtensonDec 9
@uint8_t @1Sauerlaender the picture is slop indeed. The text is not valid Swedish (but clearly an attempt to make it so by someone who's not equipped to see the multitude of ways it's wrong)
Show threadMartin JostDec 9
@uint8_t
@1Sauerlaender
I have seen my mother struggle over three or four rounds, to "convince" the crows, that these are "tit dumplings" (literal translation of the German word for "fat balls"), not "crow dumplings"
In the advanced stages of the game, it looked, like the crows analyzing her newest trick and developing their next move.
So, I admire the tricks they have up their sleeves. (Wherever these are)
Show threadPhDogDec 8

Unreal...

@1Sauerlaender

Show threadThumptastic3Dec 8
@1Sauerlaender I hope it won't hurt them. I know they aren't eating them, I just worry.
Show threadMans RDec 8
@1Sauerlaender That picture looks very AI. The text is not proper Swedish.
Show threadRich Stein (he/him)Dec 8
@1Sauerlaender
Article (from 2022) on the effort: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/feb/01/swedish-crows-pick-up-cigarette-butts-litter
Swedish firm deploys crows to pick up cigarette butts

Clever corvids become newest weapon in Södertälje’s war against street litter

The Guardian
Show threadSistaRayDec 9

@RunRichRun

The picture is pure AI slop and the startup has now closed. Apparently it wasn't such a great idea to train crows to pick up toxic material

Show threadLionelBDec 8

@1Sauerlaender

I did a quick bit of reading about this. A Dutch team tried similar and that project called Crowbar failed.

Nicotine is highly toxic, so there is that, alongside other ethical considerations.

None of which undermines the fact of corvid intelligence. I wonder if they are intelligent enough to go on strike?

Show threadZeborahDec 9

@lionelb Oh they'll strike at you if they're mad. With beaks and claws and a dozen friends....

@1Sauerlaender

Show threadEdvin MalinovskisDec 8
@1Sauerlaender are they assaulting smokers for their unfinished cigarettes yet? 👀
Show threadTriple ⁂Dec 8
@1Sauerlaender would be nice if we could teach human beings to bring their own cigarette buds in the trash against peanuts.
Show thread食 Shoku the UmbreonDec 8
@1Sauerlaender The message I'm getting here is the human race are such slobs that other animals have to pick up after them
Show threadLambdaDec 8
@1Sauerlaender are the sweds employing crows?
Show threadDoreen32128 ready to rumble!Dec 8
@1Sauerlaender That’s ingenious!
Show threadsu_#bashDec 9
Show threadKo Simon toku ingoa Dec 9
@1Sauerlaender obligatory tag of @cR0w
Show threadokanogen VerminEnemyFromWithinDec 9
@1Sauerlaender
Why don't the people get the peanuts?
Show threadEdgeDec 9

@1Sauerlaender

I absolutely love this.

Show threadDeborah MakariosDec 9
@1Sauerlaender I look forward to the exciting new development in anti-smoking measures: crows grabbing cigarettes directly from smokers in order to feed their peanut habit.
Show threadX Over ZeroDec 9
Do the other crows mug him or are they just standing guard? 💸
Show threadNicdDec 9
@1Sauerlaender Seems this was a real pilot project at least (<https://www.dailyscandinavian.com/crows-paid-to-pick-up-cigarette-litter-in-sweden/>), but that image is a fake.
Show threadOliverDec 9
@1Sauerlaender wenn Tiere jetzt den Müll von Idioten einsammeln müssen. Unfassbar
Show threadBoyd Stephen Smith Jr.Dec 9
@1Sauerlaender Capitalism comes for all sentients. Hopefully the corvids can be rescued from it as part of the glorious revolution.
Show threadstefan (stefbun)Dec 9
@1Sauerlaender Didn't that start-up horrendiously flop and gone bankrupt though?
Show thread"Mediocre Bunny" EvelynDec 9
@1Sauerlaender
What does it say about me as an American, & the sad state the US is currently in, that my first thought was “How long until this is ruined by homeless people using the machine &/or trying to manipulate or rob the machine for its food?”
*Homelessness & hunger aren’t such a big problem in Sweden, so the above might not happen at all
**apparently the machines didn’t happen in Sweden, either, outside of a limited pilot program; & the above photo is faked
Show threadsnowlessDec 9

@1Sauerlaender Current AI models are absolutely rubbish at generating accurate birds. Crows don't look like that. And if you knew your species habitat ranges you'd note that if this "photo" would've been taken in Sweden, they would be hooded crows and not the black carrion crows. A large group of carrion crows like that in a city park would be a sensation.

I never thought my birding interest would be actually useful in discerning information accuracy on the internet. Stop counting fingers and start looking at the birds when determining if something is AI slop! The text is of course still a good giveaway in this case.

Show threadWeraweltDec 9

@1Sauerlaender
Leider hat niemand den betroffenen #Krähen begebracht, dass gerade #Zigarettenstummel hochgiftig sind für Tiere - also auch für Vögel.
"Zudem entstehen schwere Vergiftungen, wenn der Vogel Tabak frisst. Dazu reichen bereits kleinste Mengen aus."
https://www.tiermedizinportal.de/tierkrankheiten/vogelkrankheiten/vergiftungen-beim-vogel
Kleinste Mengen nehmen die Krähen automatisch auf, wenn sie die giftigen Stummel im Schnabel transporiteren.

Die Bequemlichkeit der Menschen die Stummel nicht selbst zu vernichten, führt dazu, dass diese Vögel, deren Intelligenz wir in diesem Threat grad so bewundern, durch diese Kondititonierung auf giftige Zigratettenstummel leider vorzeitig an Vergiftungen sterben werden.

Vergiftungen beim Vogel

Vögel knabbern gerne an metallischen Gegenständen und können sich dabei mit Blei oder Zink vergiften. So erkennen Sie eine Vergiftung beim Vogel.

Tiermedizinportal - Beim Tiermedizinportal informieren Tierärzte, Ärzte, Biologen und Fachredakteure Sie seriös und verständlich über Tierkrankheiten und tiermedizinische Themen.
Show threadDominik 🇬🇱🇺🇦🇪🇺🟥🟢Dec 9

@1Sauerlaender

Ist das echt 😳

Und viel wichtiger: Wenn das echt ist, ist das gesund für die Vögel?

Show threadpadeluun ⁂Dec 9
@Gleisplan @1Sauerlaender Nein. Das ist Legendenbildung (auf Basis real existierender Experimente).
Show threadpadeluun ⁂Dec 9
@1Sauerlaender @Yonggan Fake: https://digitalcourage.social/@padeluun/115686463028694431
padeluun ⁂ (@[email protected])

@[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] Nein, so stimmt das nicht. Die Geschichte basiert auf einer realen Idee, aber sie wurde nie in großem Maßstab umgesetzt – weder in Schweden noch anderswo. Was ist wahr? • Es gab das Konzept eines „Crowded Cities Cleanup Machines“, entwickelt von einem niederländischen Start-up („Crowded Cities“). • Die Idee: Krähen sollten Zigarettenkippen in einen Automaten werfen und dafür Futter bekommen. • Erste Trainingsversuche mit Saatkrähen zeigten, dass Krähen grundsätzlich fähig wären, das zu lernen. Was stimmt nicht an der verbreiteten Geschichte? • In Schweden wurde kein offizielles Projekt gestartet. • Es gibt keine Städte, die 75 % der Reinigungskosten durch Krähen einsparen. • Es gibt keine funktionierenden Automaten im Einsatz, an denen Krähen systematisch Kippen sammeln. • Das Start-up stellte das Projekt ein, bevor es in der Öffentlichkeit getestet wurde. (1/2)

digitalcourage.social
Show threadLinus GasserDec 9

@futurebird @1Sauerlaender Seems they are out of business since October 2025:

https://www.heise.de/news/Schwedisches-Start-up-hinter-Kippenstummel-sammelnden-Kraehen-meldet-Insolvenz-an-11094091.html

Not enough clients, and also: poor crows, carrying toxic stuff in their beaks!

Schwedisches Start-up hinter Kippenstummel sammelnden Krähen meldet Insolvenz an

Ein schwedisches Start-up trainiert Krähen, um Kippenstummel einzusammeln – so eine Meldung aus 2022, die viral ging. Jetzt hat die Firma Insolvenz angemeldet.

heise online
Show threadBudgegeria 🦜Dec 9
@1Sauerlaender Yes, put that poison in your beak. What can go wrong?
Show threadMidgePhotoDec 9
@1Sauerlaender
Traditionally, paying peanuts causes an influx of monkeys.
;)
Show threadRüdiger BenninghausDec 9
Probably not in Sweden.
Show threadJeffreyDec 9
@1Sauerlaender what happens when the crows start taking cigarettes out of people's mouth?
Show threadRüdiger BenninghausDec 9
I would appreciate that :-)
Show threadPowersourceDec 9
@1Sauerlaender @mauve yup ai image
Show threadMauve 👁💜Dec 9
@powersource @1Sauerlaender noooooooo. I totally fell for it 😭
Show threadCAWWWDec 9
@1Sauerlaender source on that?
Replies on that post were suggesting it were AI.