Are there any non-mammalian animals that use tools?

Answer 1

As mentioned, there are many birds that use tools, including crows, ravens and vultures. Depending on your definition of tool-using, the nests that birds build could also be considered a tool - extending the number of tool-using species considerably.

There are a number of different birds that have been seen digging grubs and beetle larvae out of logs using sticks. That's definitely tool use. The woodpecker finch observed by Darwin on the Galapagos Islands is the textbook example of this.

Some herons have been observed casting bait like berries or discarded crackers on the water, and waiting for the fish to come to surface to feed.

There are also fish that use tools. Brook stickleback have been known to pick up white or shiny objects and carry them around as a warning to other males to stay away from their nest areas. Discarded cigarette butts seem to be a popular choice for this activity, being white, about the right size, and light in weight.

Octopus have been observed carrying small bunches of rocks back to their lairs to block up part of an entranceway that is too large. The number of rocks they bring back seems correllated to how big the hole they need to fill is, indicating they are using some form of foresight, and not just filling the hole with rocks until it looks right.

The use of water by octopus and fish like archer fish could also be considered a tool use - except a fluid/liquid tool instead of the solid tool we usually consider. Octopus will use their siphon to jet water as a means of propulsion (as will squid), but will also use it clean out their lair, and push old crab shells into a garbage pile. They will even use it to squirt at an antagonist. Archer fish use water to knock insects off of branches, making them drop into the water where the fish can eat them.

You could even consider some of the constructions built by insects, such as beehives, anthills, termite mounds and spider webs to be tools. The amount of engineering and construction expertise that goes into some of the termite mounds is astounding, especially when you consider they're essentially made from dirt, spit and poop.

Answer 2

Yes!

Birds, especially crows have been documented using tools. Crows will use sticks to fish food out of tight places in the wild. A few years back researchers were watching captive crows learn how to do this. One of the crows was a young male and the other was a young female and the female was given a piece of bent wire to fish food out of a test tube. The larger male stole the wire from her and much to the surprise of researchers, she proceded to grab an unbent wire off the table, and bend it into the shape of the previous one to use!

Crows in Japan have been observed using traffic to help crush nut shells. The crows would drop nuts in the middle of the street and cars would run over them, cracking the shells while the crows waited on a perch up above. When the light turned red and the cars stopped, the crows would swoop down into the street to gather the cracked nuts.

Answer 3

From CS Monitor:

"Even birds have uses for tools. Woodpecker finches and green jays also use a probe (a cactus spine or twig) to pull grubs and insects from holes in trees."

See more about the story & other tool-users at the link below:

Answer 4

I think I heard crows are the only non-mammalians that use tools.

Answer 5

Yes - certain birds will drop shell fish on rocks, which scientists count as using tools.

Answer 6

Joseph K
Otters are mammals.
Sea otters rarely eat muscles and they don't find mussels very often on the west coast of North America

Answer 7

Yes: some vultures use rocks to crush eggs (they take the little rock in there mouth, fly over the egg and drop it to break the egg shell).

Answer 8

Crows (for one) certainly use tools

Answer 9

Otters use rocks to break open the shells of muscles.