Clever Beasts — Good reading whatever the case.

Comparative psychologists never attribute “intelligence” to an animal if its actions can be explained by some simpler mental process. Applying this rule, they would say Hob’s keen eyesight was what enabled him to pick out Paul’s car. But acute sensory perception does not explain the incident with the pheasant. Hob hasn’t been trained to solicit help to catch prey, nor is such behaviour innate in wild falcons.