Self-recognition in corvids: evidence from the mirror-mark test in Indian house crows (Corvus splendens)

Buniyaadi, Amaan; Taufique, S. K. Tahajjul; Kumar, Vinod

doi:10.1007/s10336-019-01730-2

Cited by 31 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…However, amongst these, only Eurasian magpies (Prior et al, 2008) and Indian house crows (Buniyaadi et al, 2019) were reported to demonstrate mirror self-recognition by passing the standard mark test. A different approach was used to test pigeons on MSR.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A variety of avian species, namely New Caledonian crows (Medina et al, 2011), Eurasian Magpies (Prior et al, 2008), zebra finches (Ryan, 1978;Iyengar et al, 2017), jungle crows (Kusayama et al, 2000), African gray parrots (Pepperberg et al, 1995), pigeons (Uchino and Watanabe, 2014), Java Sparrows (Watanabe, 2002), jackdaws (Soler et al, 2014), Clark's nutcrackers (Clary and Kelly, 2016), great tits (Kraft et al, 2017), keas and Goffin's cockatoos (Buuren et al, 2018), carrion crows (Vanhooland et al, 2019;, and Indian house crows (Iyengar et al, 2017;Buniyaadi et al, 2019) have been tested for their responses to mirrors. The general principle underlying these studies is that mirror self-recognition is an example of a higher cognitive function which has emerged across different species through convergent evolution (Reiss and Marino, 2001;Prior et al, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Investigating Behavioral Responses to Mirrors and the Mark Test in Adult Male Zebra Finches and House Crows

2021

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Earlier evidence suggests that besides humans, some species of mammals and birds demonstrate visual self-recognition, assessed by the controversial “mark” test. Whereas, there are high levels of inter-individual differences amongst a single species, some species such as macaques and pigeons which do not spontaneously demonstrate mirror self-recognition (MSR) can be trained to do so. We were surprised to discover that despite being widely used as a model system for avian research, the performance of zebra finches (Taenopygia guttata) on the mark test had not been studied earlier. Additionally, we studied the behavioral responses of another species of passerine songbirds (Indian house crows; Corvus splendens) to a mirror and the MSR mark test. Although a small number of adult male zebra finches appeared to display heightened responses toward the mark while observing their reflections, we could not rule out the possibility that these were a part of general grooming rather than specific to the mark. Furthermore, none of the house crows demonstrated mark-directed behavior or increased self-exploratory behaviors when facing mirrors. Our study suggests that self-directed behaviors need to be tested more rigorously in adult male zebra finches while facing their reflections and these findings need to be replicated in a larger population, given the high degree of variability in mirror-directed behaviors.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating Behavioral Responses to Mirrors and the Mark Test in Adult Male Zebra Finches and House Crows

2021

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“…However, as seen in mammals, the birds will disregard the image or reflection following familiarization with the mirror. This study also indicated that the higher frequencies of attempting themselves with the mirror is linked with the self-directed behaviour, which could enhance the evolution of social and cognitive intelligence in bird species 18 .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 57%

“…Abundant mirror-induced self-directed behaviour studies have been conducted in captive and solitary animals such as chimpanzees 1 , 2 , 11 , 12 , dolphins 8 , elephants 7 , 15 , ants 16 , magpies 4 , fish 17 and crows 18 . However, there is a limited scientific data on mirror-induced behaviour studies in the wild due to the difficulties to identify the individual animal, hence difficulties to score different behavioural observations for the same or different individual.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A preliminary study of mirror-induced self-directed behaviour on wildlife at the Royal Belum Rainforest Malaysia

Hamdan

Latip

Hassim

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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Mirror-induced behaviour has been described as a cognitive ability of an animal to self-direct their image in front of the mirror. Most animals when exposed to a mirror responded with a social interactive behaviour such as aggressiveness, exploratory and repetitive behaviour. The objective of this study is to determine the mirror-induced self-directed behaviour on wildlife at the Royal Belum Rainforest, Malaysia. Wildlife species at the Royal Belum Rainforest were identified using a camera traps from pre-determined natural saltlick locations. Acrylic mirrors with steel frame were placed facing the two saltlicks ( Sira Batu and Sira Tanah ) and the camera traps with motion-detecting infrared sensor were placed at strategically hidden spot. The behavioural data of the animal response to the mirror were analysed using an ethogram procedure. Results showed that barking deer was the species showing the highest interaction in front of the mirror. Elephants displayed self-directed response through inspecting behaviour via usage of their trunk and legs while interacting to the mirror. Interestingly, the Malayan tapir showed startled behaviour during their interaction with the mirror. However, the absence of interactive behaviour of the Malayan tiger signalled a likelihood of a decreased social response behaviour. These results suggested that the ability to self-directed in front of the mirror is most likely related to the new approach to study the neural mechanism and its level of stimulus response in wildlife. In conclusion, research on mirror-induced self-directed behaviour in wildlife will have profound implications in understanding the cognitive ability of wildlife as an effort to enhance the management strategies and conservation.

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“…Whether this is due to methodological artifacts or true lack of self-recognition is a matter of some debate (Clary & Kelly, 2016; Clary et al, 2020). Only one other study claimed to have found clear evidence of self-recognition in another corvid; the Indian house crow, Corvus splendes (Buniyaadi, Taufique, & Kumar, 2019). Thus, on the whole, the evidence for self-recognition in the visual modality is mixed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Song sparrows do not discriminate between their own song and stranger song

Akçay

Beecher

2020

Preprint

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Self-recognition in corvids: evidence from the mirror-mark test in Indian house crows (Corvus splendens)

Cited by 31 publications

References 40 publications

Investigating Behavioral Responses to Mirrors and the Mark Test in Adult Male Zebra Finches and House Crows

Investigating Behavioral Responses to Mirrors and the Mark Test in Adult Male Zebra Finches and House Crows

A preliminary study of mirror-induced self-directed behaviour on wildlife at the Royal Belum Rainforest Malaysia

Song sparrows do not discriminate between their own song and stranger song

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