Playful birds: cormorants and herons play with objects and practice their skills

Abstract

.br SAZIMA, I. 2008. Playful birds: cormorants and herons play with objects and practice their skills. Biota Neotrop. 8(2): http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br/v8n2/en/abstract?short-communication+bn02508022008.Abstract: Play is a behaviour known mostly for mammals, although birds are recorded to play as well. Here I describe the play behaviour for two bird species, the Neotropic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax brasilianus) and the Green Heron (Butorides striata) in southeastern Brazil. Juvenile and adult cormorants were recorded to manipulate sticks, leaves, rootlets, and plant debris while on the ground. They also played with sticks, leaves, pods, and plant debris, as well as live or dead fish while in the water, repeatedly grabbing the object and submerging it. When the object was a fish, they tossed it in the air as well. Juvenile herons played with small pieces of wood, fruits, and other floating objects, which they picked up and tossed repeatedly in the water. The behaviours recorded for the cormorants and herons qualify as object play, i.e., frolicsome interactions with an inanimate object including exploratory manipulation. This behaviour is regarded as having an important role in general motor development and for practice of particular skills, mostly foraging and breeding. Keywords: Aves, Phalacrocorax brasilianus, Butorides striata, play behaviour, object and social play, motor training. SAZIMA, I. 2008. Aves brincalhonas: biguás e garças brincam com objetos e treinam suas habilidades. BiotaNeotrop. 8(2): http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br/v8n2/pt/abstract?short-communication+bn02508022008.Resumo: Brincadeira é um comportamento conhecido principalmente em mamíferos, embora aves também brinquem. Registro aqui atividade lúdica em duas espécies de aves, o biguá (Phalacrocorax brasilianus) e o socozinho (Butorides striata), no sudeste do Brasil. Biguás jovens e adultos foram registrados manipulando gravetos, raízes, folhas e fragmentos vegetais quando em terra. Também brincavam com gravetos, folhas e fragmentos vegetais, além de peixes, quando na água. Durante o nado, as aves apanhavam e afundavam o objeto repetidamente. Quando o objeto era um peixe, também o jogavam para cima. Socozinhos jovens brincavam com pequenos pedaços de madeira, frutos e objetos flutuantes, que apanhavam e largavam na água repetidamente. Os comportamentos registrados para os biguás e os socozinhos são classificados como brincadeira com objetos, i.é., entretenimento com um objeto inanimado, incluindo manipulação exploratória. Este comportamento é considerado como tendo função importante no desenvolvimento motor e prática de habilidades específicas, principalmente alimentação e reprodução. Palavras-chave: Aves, Phalacrocorax brasilianus, Butorides striata, atividade lúdica, treinamento motor.

The Effect of Age and Sex on Object Exploration and Manipulative Behavior in a Neotropical Raptor, the Chimango Caracara, Milvago chimango

“…However, in this work not only juveniles but also adult individuals of M. chimango were observed manipulating objects, using a diversity of behavior topographies, some of them complex and resembling those classified as play in other studies (Negro et al. ; Sazima ). As far as we know, this is the first study evidencing exploration and manipulation of objects that are unlike prey in both juveniles and adults in a bird of prey.…”

“…The transportation of objects was observed in other bird species and categorized as play behavior. This is the case of adult and juvenile individuals of Neotropical Cormorants, which were observed walking a few steps while holding a branch in its bill and then releasing the branch to pick it up again (Sazima ). Here, the transportation of an object occurred always from the center of the aviary, where all objects were presented, to one of their extremes and then come back to the original location.…”

Play behaviour in nonhuman animals and the animal welfare issue

“…This is related to the development of motor skills and is stimulated by the presence of conspecifics (Baldwin and Baldwin 1973;Cheney 1978), although it is also performed by individual animals (Gamble and Cristol 2002). Many examples are reported in mammals, but object play has been also observed in many birds (Gamble and Cristol 2002;Sazima 2008).…”

Evidence of tool use in a seabird?

“…Under this explanation, the authors conclusions about seabird cognition are premature. And this alternative explanation is both plausible and likely as birds often pick up sticks, even when not building nests (2,3), and they often engage in self-directed preening. In fact, it would be surprising if the puffins did not occasionally engage in both behaviors simultaneously across the many years of observations in both locations.…”