Development of automatic exchangers of small garbage for bird-seed and training of Corvidae family birds (the Crow family) to collect small rubbish

. The issues related to the disposal of consumer waste are of great importance in ensuring the environmental safety not only of a particular region, but also of the entire planet as a whole. The article deals with the problem of environmental pollution with small rubbish (cigarette-ends, plastic and glass bottle caps, etc.). To solve this problem, it is proposed to train the birds of the Corvidae family (Crows) to collect small debris and then hand it over to the apparatus for exchange for food. The authors presented the development of automatic exchangers of small debris for bird food, described the process of their work. This device can be placed in public places (forests, parks, alleys), in which there may be accumulations of small debris.


Introduction
The problem of urban areas pollution with small garbage (cigarette-ends, caps from glass and plastic bottles, etc.) is currently quite sensitive. Cigarette-ends are the most common plastic garbage on the streets of cities. However, not all smokers know about the presence of plastics in cigarette filters (only 38%). It turns out that most smokers do not realize what harm they cause to nature when they throw a cigarette stub on the ground. According to statistics, on average, about 15 billion cigarettes are smoked worldwide every day. Despite the number of pollutants that enter the atmosphere during smoking, every cigarette stub turns into garbage. The experts from the University of California, San Diego, having conducted research, have revealed that every year out of 6 trillion cigarettes smoked in the world, more than 4.5 trillion are thrown to the ground. This is about 75% of all cigarettes smoked. Now the issues of environmental protection, reasonable consumption of resources and waste reduction are actively being promoted all over the world. It is worth noting that the solution to this problem is possible thanks to the birds of Corvidae family (the Crow family) which can be taught to collecting small garbage and exchanging it for bird feed in automatic exchangers.

Materials and methods
The authors used the methods of theoretical analysis and the graphical method in the present research paper. Thanks to the method of theoretical analysis, statistical data on the state of the urban environment pollution with cigarette-ends and the ecological situation in general have been studied. The essence of the graphical method consists in the analytical process of studying the schemes of automatic exchangers of small garbage for bird-seed and the technical development of the project.

Results
The relevance of the given work is due to the large amount of production and consumption waste, the lack of an established system of their separate collection and the lack of technologies that contribute to the improvement of the urban environment and improve the sanitary-hygienic well-being of the population. Issues of waste management, including their management, are the focus of such researchers as A. Dering [1], R. Murray [2], G. S. Feraru [3], J. Pichtel [4], Е. А. Prelikova, O. I. Belyakova, S. V. Grachev, M. R. Kopylov [5].
Methods for solving problems arising in the management of solid municipal waste, including assessment of the life cycle of the separate waste collection system and motivation for it, were proposed by E. M. Favoino, M. Ricci, A. Tornavacca [6].
Aspects of teaching birds of the Vranov family (Ravens), the study of their cognitive abilities, the peculiarities of the symbolization process are reflected in the works of Е. A. Diffine, A. A. Smirnova [7]. However, despite the increase in the number of publications on this problem, studies that would mutually link the questions of developing automatic exchangers of small garbage collected by birds of Corvidae family (Crows) for food intended for them and the disposal of consumer waste have not been worked out.
The relevance of the research topic and the degree of its scientific development provide the basis for the formulation of a scientific problem as the need to develop automatic exchangers of small garbage for bird-seed and training of Corvidae family birds (the Crow birds) to collect small garbage. These exchangers will allow you to solve the following problems:  Reduction of environmental pollution by small garbage (cigarette-ends, caps from glass and plastic bottles, etc.).  Installation of additional bird feeders, improvement of birds' stay in conditions of food shortage (especially in winter). Currently, the problem of recycling small garbage (cigarette stubs, glass and plastic bottle caps, etc.) in urban areas is a planetary-scale one. One of the ways to solve this problem may be to train the birds of Corvidae family (the Crow family) to collect it and further exchange for bird-seed in automatic exchangers. The list of recyclable garbage can be expanded indefinitely by modifying the device for receiving small garbage, a garbage analyzer and a feed dispenser.
It has been proposed to use the birds of Corvidae family (Crows) as a target group. According to the scientists' experiments, it was found that some individuals of Corvidae family have intelligence comparable to that of higher primates. Intelligence manifests itself in the fact that the individuals in question understand the mechanisms of some processes that occur both in natural conditions and in conditions created by humans. For instance, large-billed crows in Tokyo guess to throw walnuts under the wheels of cars and then pick them up already crushed [8,9]. It is noteworthy that some individuals learn from others, which makes it possible to train a limited number of observed birds, and their relatives will be able to adopt the habits of already trained individuals.
It is generally assumed that in the higher mammals, including humans, the new cerebral cortex (neocortex) plays a major role in the processes of processing, memorizing and decision-making. Since birds do not have it, it was supposed that their brains were primitive, and their cognitive abilities were very limited. At the beginning and middle of the twentieth century, there was an opinion that animals and birds were amenable only to learning, and they did not have the ability for rational activity.
However, by the end of the twentieth century, there had appeared some scientific works that contradicted these ideas. According to the works of E D Jarvis, O Güntürkün, L Bruce it was confirmed that, in general, the functions of the bird brain are similar to the mammalian brain [10][11]. Figure 1 shows a comparative characteristics of the mammalian (human) and avian brains. S Olkowicz, M Kocourek, R K Lyan have conducted studies comparing the brains of birds with those of primates. It turned out that they are approximately equal in mass, and the density of neurons for the birds of Corvidae family (the Crows) in the corresponding areas of the brain is much higher. In addition, it has been proven that the number of neurons in the forebrain of Corvidae family birds is equal to or even greater than in primates' forebrain (night monkeys and capuchins), whose brains are almost four times larger [12]. Figure 2 shows a comparative characteristics of the brain of Corvidae family birds and mammals (night monkey and capuchin) by the number of neurons.
In Figure 2, green corresponds to the end brain, red to the cerebellum, and yellow to the rest of the brain.
The individuals of Corvidae family (Crows) have the ability to learn. This can be steered on the right course if the necessary equipment and pre-set goals are available. One of these goals is the disposal of small garbage (cigarette stubs, plastic and glass bottle caps, etc.) from urban areas. Figure 3 shows the process of collecting cigarette stubs by a crow.  The trained birds of Corvidae family (Crows) will hand over the collected small garbage to automatic exchangers and receive a portion of feed for this. It is worth noting that trained birds can transfer the acquired skills to their "friends". In this case, the number of Corvidae family birds that are able to collect small garbage increases, which will have a positive impact on the ecological situation of the territory. This process is clearly shown in Figure 4. The operation of automatic exchangers of small garbage for bird-seed is as follows:  A treat or some bird-seed is placed in the feeder dispenser, indicated as number 1 in Figure 5. This is done to attract the attention of birds to the feeder. Birds from Corvidae family (Crows), due to their high intelligence, will remember the place where they can find food.  After some time, the food from the feeder is removed and placed on the edge of the receiving hole 2 for garbage collection (cigarette-ends, plastic and metal bottle caps). This is done so that the bird could accidentally drop the garbage necessary for collecting into the receiving hole (compartment). Next, the collected garbage falls into the flap to be determined 4 and with the help of analyzer 3, the type of garbage is determined (whether it is targeted or not). After that, a signal is sent to the lifting mechanism of the distribution crossbar 5. After that, the crossbar raises the necessary edge so that the garbage under the influence of gravity could fall into the appropriate compartment: either into the compartment for the analyzed garbage 6, or into the compartment for third-party garbage 7. If the garbage turns out to be analyzed, an automatic command is sent to the feed dispenser 8 and a pre-set portion is delivered to a bird. If the garbage is of third-party nature, nothing happens and the feed is not delivered. This will help teach individuals to collect the "target" garbage.  This action needs to be done a certain number of times. After that, one must completely remove the garbage and feed. Then the representatives of Corvidae (Crows) species will have to look for the "target" garbage nearby and put it into the receiving hole (department) 2.
The scheme of the automatic exchanger of small debris for bird feed is shown in Figure  5. Thus, the presented automatic devices for the exchange of small garbage (cigaretteends, plastic and glass bottle caps, etc.) for bird-seed of Corvidae family birds (Crows) can be placed in public places (forests, parks, alleys), in which there may be accumulations of small rubbish.

Discussion
The authors have developed automatic exchangers of small garbage for bird-seed. Having been trained to collect small rubbish (cigarette-ends, plastic and glass bottle caps, etc.), the birds of Corvidae family (the Crow family) will act as the guardians of cleanliness. This circumstance will significantly reduce the pollution of urban areas with consumption waste and improve the environmental situation.

Conclusion
The problem of urban areas pollution with small garbage (cigarette-ends, plastic and glass bottle caps, etc.) is recognized as quite pressing and requires immediate solutions. One of the ways to solve this problem may be to train birds of Corvidae family (the Crow family) to collect small garbage and further exchange it for bird-seed in automatic exchangers. The birds of Corvidae family are quite intelligent. In their intelligence, they are approximately equal to a seven-year-old child. For example, crows can use various locally available material to get inaccessible food; they are able to remember people's faces and even hold a grudge against them; they solve complex puzzles. In view of the above-said, the search for small garbage will not be difficult for them.