Ravens parallel great apes in physical and social cognitive skills

Pika, Simone; Sima, Miriam Jennifer; Blum, Christian R.; Herrmann, Eva; Mundry, Roger

doi:10.1038/s41598-020-77060-8

Cited by 29 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 105 publications

(168 reference statements)

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“…Similarly, a genetic component is apparent in New Caledonian (Rutz & St Clair, 2012) and Hawaiian (Rutz et al, 2016) crows, which develop tool use in (nearly) all individuals without social input. Although tool use is typically viewed as a product of individual learning in birds (Bandini & Tennie, 2020), ravens were likely also affected by social factors in these observations, such as local or stimulus enhancement towards apparatuses and tools (Beck et al, 2020;Lambert et al, 2019;Miller et al, 2016;Pika et al, 2020;Stöwe et al, 2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Tool use and tooling in ravens (Corvus corax): A review and novel observations

Jacobs

Osvath

2022

Ethology

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Corvids are known for their cognitive flexibility, and many have innovated various forms of tool use. Here, we review tool use and tooling in common ravens (Corvus corax) and describe additional observations. In total, they have used tools in 10 submodes and 11 modes. Of these modes, four were observed in captivity only, four in the wild only and three in both contexts. Five of these modes constitute tooling. When they manufactured tools, it was through detachment or subtraction. The purpose of most tool use was apparent, except when they used containers to transport small amounts of food that could be held in their bill and antelingual pouch (estimated to hold at least 16.2 ml). The small number of tool‐using individuals per mode and the lack of detailed descriptions limit further interpretation and generalizability. Nonetheless, ravens are likely customary tool users in three modes and show the capacity for diverse tool use, which should be examined in dedicated future experiments.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…establishing contact between tool and food, and never moving the tool sideways). Many corvids, including ravens, spontaneously solve instrumental problem when they are not responsible for establishing contact with the target (Heinrich, 1999a; Jacobs & Osvath, 2015; Lambert et al, 2019; Pika et al, 2020; Shumaker et al, 2011).…”

Section: Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tool use and tooling in ravens (Corvus corax): A review and novel observations

Jacobs

Osvath

2022

Ethology

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“…However, this influence was not detected. This is probably due to the fact that full-blown cognitive skills are formed in corvids by the age of 4 months and do not change significantly at the age of 8, 12, and 16 months ( Pika et al, 2020 ). All our crows were over a year old.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is also important to pay attention to the linkage between ontogeny and cognitive performance of corvids. A 2020 study using the Primate Cognition Test Battery (PCTB) demonstrated that full-blown cognitive skills are found as early as 4 month old ravens and do not change at later ages ( Pika et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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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“…There have been some recent attempts to adapt the primate cognition test battery (Herrmann et al, 2007)—originally developed as a standardised way to compare the cognition of great ape species—for avian species, with mixed success (Krasheninnikova et al, 2019; Pika et al, 2020). Ultimately, even when modifications are made, the test battery was originally designed to reflect the natural challenges faced by primates, meaning it lacks ecological relevance for distantly related species.…”

Section: Field-specific Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Doing reliable research in comparative psychology: Challenges and proposals for improvement.

Tecwyn

2021

Journal of Comparative Psychology

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Unlike some other areas of psychology that have experienced a 'reproducibility crisis', the extent to which research findings in comparative psychology are reliable is only just beginning to come under the spotlight. I outline what is known about where we as a field stand in terms of the reliability of our findings, and highlight some characteristic features of our research that give may cause for concern, focusing primarily on experimental comparative cognition. I then discuss ways that we as individual researchers and a wider community can take steps to improve our current practices (and in some cases already are), as well as highlighting the crucial role institutions and gatekeepers have to play in effecting change. By tackling potential issues head on, the field of comparative psychology can have more confidence that our research findings and the resultant claims we make about animal behaviour and cognition are reliable.

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Ravens parallel great apes in physical and social cognitive skills

Cited by 29 publications

References 105 publications

Tool use and tooling in ravens (Corvus corax): A review and novel observations

Tool use and tooling in ravens (Corvus corax): A review and novel observations

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

Doing reliable research in comparative psychology: Challenges and proposals for improvement.

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