Evaluating the Capability of Mirror Self-Recognition in Hooded Crows (Corvus cornix)

Смирнова, А. А.; Kalashnikova, Yu. A.; Samuleeva, M.V.; Zorina, Z. A.

doi:10.1134/s106235902007016x

Cited by 4 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Despite the exhibition of self-directed behaviors in the mirror condition by the ravens, neither the ravens nor the azure-winged magpies, as the carrion crows before them, exhibited any mark-directed behaviors during the mark test. This failure of the mark test is in line with the performances of many other corvid species (Soler et al 2014(Soler et al , 2020Clary and Kelly 2016;Brecht et al 2020;Clary et al 2020;Smirnova et al 2020;Vanhooland et al 2020;Wang et al 2020;Parishar et al 2021). Our results further replicate and confirm the previous findings of azure-winged magpies failing the mark test and not exhibiting mark-directed behaviors when the mark can only be seen by utilizing a mirror (Wang et al 2020).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…In fact, two corvid species (i.e., the Eurasian magpie and the Indian house crow) are the only avian species to have, to date, passed the mark test (Prior et al 2008 ; Buniyaadi et al 2020 ). However, attempts to replicate these findings in the Eurasian magpies (Soler et al 2020 ) or the Indian house crow (Parishar et al 2021 ) as well as studies on other corvid species such as jackdaws (Soler et al 2014 ), Clark’s nutcrackers (Clary and Kelly 2016 ), California scrub jays (Clary et al 2020 ), azure-winged magpies (Wang et al 2020 ), large-billed crows (Kusayama et al 2000 ), New Caledonian crows (Medina et al 2011 ), carrion crows (Brecht et al 2020 ; Vanhooland et al 2020 ), and hooded crows (Smirnova et al 2020 ) failed to render any conclusive evidence on these species’ abilities of MSR. Thus, indicating that the pre-requisites defined to date (i.e., a high encephalization index, high social complexity, and advanced cognitive abilities) are not sufficient to predict MSR.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A comparative study of mirror self-recognition in three corvid species

et al. 2022

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Mirror self-recognition (MSR) assessed by the Mark Test has been the staple test for the study of animal self-awareness. When tested in this paradigm, corvid species return discrepant results, with only the Eurasian magpies and the Indian house crow successfully passing the test so far, whereas multiple other corvid species fail. The lack of replicability of these positive results and the large divergence in applied methodologies calls into question whether the observed differences are in fact phylogenetic or methodological, and, if so, which factors facilitate the expression of MSR in some corvids. In this study, we (1) present new results on the self-recognition abilities of common ravens, (2) replicate results of azure-winged magpies, and (3) compare the mirror responses and performances in the mark test of these two corvid species with a third corvid species: carrion crows, previously tested following the same experimental procedure. Our results show interspecies differences in the approach of and the response to the mirror during the mirror exposure phase of the experiment as well as in the subsequent mark test. However, the performances of these species in the Mark Test do not provide any evidence for their ability of self-recognition. Our results add to the ongoing discussion about the convergent evolution of MSR and we advocate for consistent methodologies and procedures in comparing this ability across species to advance this discussion.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A comparative study of mirror self-recognition in three corvid species

et al. 2022

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“…Data on their ability to recognize their reflection is contradictory. Along with the results indicating that some corvids (magpies, Prior et al, 2008 ; Clark nutcrackers, Clary and Kelly, 2016 ; Indian house crows, Buniyaadi et al, 2019 ) can recognize their reflection, negative results were also obtained ( Soler et al, 2014 , 2020 ; Smirnova et al, 2019 ; Vanhooland et al, 2019 ; Brecht et al, 2020 ; Clary et al, 2020 ; Parishar et al, 2021 ). The degree of development of understanding the physical properties of their bodies in corvids and other birds has not been previously studied.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Hooded Crows (Corvus cornix) May Be Aware of Their Own Body Size

Хватов¹,

Смирнова

Samuleeva

et al. 2021

Front. Psychol.

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Body-awareness is one of the manifestations of self-awareness, expressed in the ability of people and animals to represent their own body physical properties. Relatively little work has been devoted to this phenomenon in comparison with the studies of the ability of self-recognition in the mirror, and most studies have been conducted on mammals and human infants. Crows are known to be “clever” birds, so we investigated whether hooded crows (Corvus cornix) may be aware of their own body size. We set up an experimental design in which the crows had to pass through one of three openings to reach the bait. In the first experiment, we studied whether crows prefer a larger hole if all the three are suitable for passage, and what other predictors influence their choice. In the second experiment, we assessed the ability of the crows to select a single passable hole out of three on the first attempt, even though the area of the former was smaller than that of the other two. The results of the first experiment suggest that when choosing among three passable holes, crows prefer those holes that require less effort from them, e.g., they do not need to crouch or make other additional movements. In the second experiment, three of the five crows reliably more often chose a single passable hole on the first try, despite its smaller size. We believe that these results suggest that hooded crows may be aware of their own body size.

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“…In recent years, there is a growing number of studies proving the cognitive capabilities of different avian species to be underestimated 12 . Example, Eurasian magpies are discussed under caution to have passed the mirror mark test and thus being able of mirror-self recognition 13 , 14 , also Clark’s Nutcrackers are assumed to have passed a modified version of the mark test 15 , while Carrion crows 16 and Hooded crows 17 failed the mark test, adding to the controversial discussion on mirror-self recognition and the corresponding testing procedure. Although some species do not pass the mark test or do not show self-contingent behaviour in front of mirrors, these species might perform well in intermediate mirror-use tasks, such as in the mirror-mediated spatial location task 5 , 8 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Domestic chickens solving mirror-mediated spatial location tasks uncovering their cognitive abilities

Hillemacher,

Tiemann

2024

Sci Rep

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The increasing demand on adapting modern livestock farming to higher animal welfare standards requires a thorough understanding of a species’ cognitive abilities to determine their adaptability. With the chicken being the world’s most numerous birds in animal production, it is mandatory to identify its cognitive abilities and limitations in order to meet its needs. We investigated if chickens are able to use and understand the reflective properties of a mirror that is the correlation of reflections of food rewards and their real location. In total, 18 female chickens of two different breeds were tested in a mirror-mediated spatial location task. Eleven out of eighteen hens solved the task successfully and thus, possibly exploited the correlation between the reflection in the mirror and the real food reward. We found differences on a breed and on the individual level, with different amounts of time needed learning the association of reward and mirror image. The results imply sophisticated cognitive abilities in chickens, assuming they may be able to understand how mirror images represent objects in the real environment, and to make use of it during foraging. The chicken’s cognitive ability might lead to a new understanding and provision of animal welfare-compliant production environments.

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Evaluating the Capability of Mirror Self-Recognition in Hooded Crows (Corvus cornix)

Cited by 4 publications

References 15 publications

A comparative study of mirror self-recognition in three corvid species

A comparative study of mirror self-recognition in three corvid species

Hooded Crows (Corvus cornix) May Be Aware of Their Own Body Size

Domestic chickens solving mirror-mediated spatial location tasks uncovering their cognitive abilities

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