I’ve written about the peanut-loving scrub jays in our backyard (mjh’s blog — m jay h). This week, I watched a young grackle use a respectable level of ingenuity. Following the lead of the scrub jays, the grackle landed on the patio table and picked up a nut. It pecked at the shell briefly. Then it carried the shell over to a bowl of water and dropped it in. It pulled the shell out, shook it, dropped it in again. The grackle repeated this a few times until the shell began to open. Voila! This may explain the empty shells in the birdbath. mjh

(Two more photos with this one on Flickr.)