Individual specialization in the use of foraging tools occurs in hunter-gatherer societies but is absent in non-human primate tool use. 'Parallel tool industries' in hunter-gatherers are mainly based on strict sexual division of labour that is highly reliant on social conformity. Here, we show that 12 individuals in a population of New Caledonian crows on Maré Island had strong preferences for ...

We studied laterality of tool use in 10 captive New Caledonian (NC) crows (Corvus moneduloides). All subjects showed near-exclusive individual laterality, but there was no overall bias in either direction (five were left-lateralized and five were right-lateralized). This is consistent with results in non-human primates, which show strong individual lateralization for tool use (but not for other...