Scientists in England have been floored at what they’ve just discovered about crows: they have an ability only seen before in humans.

For the first time ever, scientists have discovered a creature that is capable of using hook-shaped tools after capturing it on camera — and the photographers were the crows, according to a Los Angeles Times report.

A species of crow on the island of New Caledonia in the South Pacific have long been of interest to scientists due to their intelligence. They have been witnessed using tools and creating sticks to fish for larvae in tree trunks. Now, they’ve found even more intriguing behavior by using miniature cameras that had been specially fitted for birds.

The researchers put them on 19 New Caledonian crows, hoping to see them use their hooked stick tools. The cameras were necessary because the island’s difficult terrain. Also, the birds have been distracted by humans in the past.

So the scientists decided to try putting a camera on the crows themselves and watch them at work. They figured out how to construct a camera that could be attached to the underside of the tail, and transmit live video. However, in such a remote area it was difficult to get consistent reception, so they put in micro-SD cards in the cameras, forcing them to retrieve the cameras to get the footage. Finally, they figured it out: using the cheap rubber from party balloons to attach the camera, and after a while the sun would degrade the rubber and the camera would drop to the earth, and the scientists could use radio transmitters to track them down.

A total of 10 of the 19 cameras were recovered. And scientists got exactly what they hoped for: footage of four birds spending a fifth of their time using hooked tools to forage. Not even monkeys have demonstrated this capability.

Of course, more research may be needed to understand why only four of the crows were observed using these tools. But it’s a fasincating discovery that sheds more light on our natural world.