Social and Spatial Reintegration Success of New Caledonian Crows (<i>Corvus moneduloides</i>) Released after Aviary Confinement

Hunt, Gavin R.

doi:10.1676/1559-4491-128.1.168

Cited by 11 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…At the end of their research participation, birds were released at their capture site(s). A previous study indicated that New Caledonian crows housed temporarily in a similar situation as the present study successfully reintegrated into the wild after release [49].…”

Section: Subjectssupporting

confidence: 76%

Decision-making flexibility in New Caledonian crows, young children and adult humans in a multi-dimensional tool-use task

et al. 2020

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The ability to make profitable decisions in natural foraging contexts may be influenced by an additional requirement of tool-use, due to increased levels of relational complexity and additional work-effort imposed by tool-use, compared with simply choosing between an immediate and delayed food item. We examined the flexibility for making the most profitable decisions in a multi-dimensional tool-use task, involving different apparatuses, tools and rewards of varying quality, in 3-5-year-old children, adult humans and tool-making New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides). We also compared our results to previous studies on habitually tool-making orangutans (Pongo abelii) and non-tool-making Goffin's cockatoos (Cacatua goffiniana). Adult humans, cockatoos and crows, but not children and orangutans, did not select a tool when it was not necessary, which was the more profitable choice in this situation. Adult humans, orangutans and cockatoos, but not crows and children, were able to refrain from selecting non-functional tools. By contrast, the birds, but not the primates tested, struggled to attend to multiple variables-where two apparatuses, two tools and two reward qualities were presented simultaneously-without extended experience. These findings indicate: (1) in a similar manner to humans and orangutans, New Caledonian crows and Goffin's cockatoos can flexibly make profitable decisions in some decision-making tooluse tasks, though the birds may struggle when tasks become more complex; (2) children and orangutans may have a bias to use tools in situations where adults and other tool-making species do not.

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Section: Subjectssupporting

confidence: 76%

Decision-making flexibility in New Caledonian crows, young children and adult humans in a multi-dimensional tool-use task

et al. 2020

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“…At the end of their research participation, birds were released at their capture sites. A previous study indicated that New Caledonian crows housed temporarily in a similar situation as the present study successfully reintegrated into the wild after release (Hunt 2016).…”

Section: Subjectssupporting

confidence: 76%

Delayed gratification in New Caledonian crows and young children: influence of reward type and visibility

et al. 2019

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Self-control underlies cognitive abilities such as decision making and future planning. Delay of gratification is a measure of self-control and involves obtaining a more valuable outcome in the future by tolerating a delay or investing a greater effort in the present. Contextual issues, such as reward visibility and type, may influence delayed gratification performance, although there has been limited comparative investigation between humans and other animals, particularly non-primate species. Here, we adapted an automated 'rotating tray' paradigm used previously with capuchin monkeys to test for delay of gratification ability that requires little pre-test training, where the subject must forgo an immediate, less preferred reward for a delayed, more preferred one. We tested New Caledonian crows and 3-5-year-old human children. We manipulated reward types to differ in quality or quantity (Experiments 1 and 2) as well as visibility (Experiment 2). In Experiments 1 and 2, both species performed better when the rewards varied in quality as opposed to quantity, though performed above chance in both conditions. In Experiment 1, both crows and children were able to delay gratification when both rewards were visible. In Experiment 2, 5-year-old children outperformed 3-and 4-year olds, though overall children still performed well, while the crows struggled when reward visibility was manipulated, a result which may relate to difficulties in tracking the experimenters' hands during baiting. We discuss these findings in relation to the role of contextual issues on self-control when making species comparisons and investigating the mechanisms of self-control.

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“…All crows were released back into the wild at their site of capture after testing. A previous study indicated that, in a comparable situation to the present study, crows successfully reintegrate into the wild after being subjects in the aviary [39].…”

Section: Methods (A) Subjectssupporting

confidence: 74%

New Caledonian crows infer the weight of objects from observing their movements in a breeze

et al. 2019

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Humans use a variety of cues to infer an object's weight, including how easily objects can be moved. For example, if we observe an object being blown down the street by the wind, we can infer that it is light. Here, we tested whether New Caledonian crows make this type of inference. After training that only one type of object (either light or heavy) was rewarded when dropped into a food dispenser, birds observed pairs of novel objects (one light and one heavy) suspended from strings in front of an electric fan. The fan was either on—creating a breeze which buffeted the light, but not the heavy, object—or off, leaving both objects stationary. In subsequent test trials, birds could drop one, or both, of the novel objects into the food dispenser. Despite having no opportunity to handle these objects prior to testing, birds touched the correct object (light or heavy) first in 73% of experimental trials, and were at chance in control trials. Our results suggest that birds used pre-existing knowledge about the behaviour exhibited by differently weighted objects in the wind to infer their weight, using this information to guide their choices.

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Social and Spatial Reintegration Success of New Caledonian Crows (Corvus moneduloides) Released after Aviary Confinement

Cited by 11 publications

References 18 publications

Decision-making flexibility in New Caledonian crows, young children and adult humans in a multi-dimensional tool-use task

Decision-making flexibility in New Caledonian crows, young children and adult humans in a multi-dimensional tool-use task

Delayed gratification in New Caledonian crows and young children: influence of reward type and visibility

New Caledonian crows infer the weight of objects from observing their movements in a breeze

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