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Second Nexus © 2019
[DIGEST: Science, National Geographic, Daily Mail]
The term “bird brain” may have found new meaning: Ravens can not only recognize the faces of people who have scammed them, but remember them for one month and possibly as long as two years.
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Scientists from several universities observed </span><a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003347217301161"><span style="font-weight: 400;">nine</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> hand-raised ravens from the University of Vienna in Austria. Their research was published in the June issue of </span><a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003347217301161"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Animal Behaviour</span></i></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p><p><div id="action_button_container"></div>
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</script></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the first phase of the experiment, researchers taught the ravens to trade a piece of bread for a more desirable piece of cheese offered by a trainer. In the second phase, the ravens went to trade the piece of bread for the cheese, but the trainer instead proceeded to eat the cheese.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Two days later, the experiment was conducted again, this time with three trainers: the one who had traded the cheese, the one who had eaten the cheese, and a third “neutral” trainer. Out of seven birds, six chose the “fair” trainer and one chose the neutral trainer.</span></p><p><div data-conversation-spotlight=""></div></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One month later, out of the original nine birds, seven chose the “fair” trainer, one chose the “unfair” trainer and one chose the neutral trainer. It was the </span><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4576696/Ravens-remember-people-tricked-them.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">first time</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> this type of behavior was observed outside of humans and other primates.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Though his theory was not formally tested, </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Animal Behaviour</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> study co-author Jorg Massen of the University of Vienna believes the ravens are capable of remembering the trainers’ faces for up to </span><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/06/ravens-memory-unfair-trade/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">two years</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> — the length of time they’re able to remember their </span><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/06/ravens-memory-unfair-trade/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">cage mates</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjAzODI3MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMTQyNjk4MH0.qYu5WuvBak_sxbueGmfm89inhVL32LIOq_DEphr2DGc/img.jpg?width=980" id="8d91e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="27dff05020336ad71df68063dc2695f7" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"><small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Credit: <a href="https://us.123rf.com/450wm/anolis01/anolis011502/anolis01150200117/36133100-raven.jpg?ver=6">Source</a>.</small></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"This sort of cooperation is a part of [a corvid's] complex social life," Massen </span><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/06/ravens-memory-unfair-trade/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">said</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and understanding how they think "gives us insights into the evolution of intelligence."</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ravens are members of the corvid family, which also includes crows, ravens, magpies and jays — birds all renowned for their intelligence, considered by many to be on par with </span><a href="http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2012-06/how-crows-recognize-individual-humans-warn-others-and-are-basically-smarter-you"><span style="font-weight: 400;">apes and dolphins</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. In a well-known 2011 study published in </span><a href="https://www.seeker.com/angry-birds-crows-never-forget-your-face-1765286502.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Proceedings of the Royal Society B</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, crows were found to remember the faces of threatening humans for an exceptionally long period of time.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"Our study shows the memory lasts at least five years and counting," </span><a href="https://www.seeker.com/angry-birds-crows-never-forget-your-face-1765286502.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">said </span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">co-author John Marzluff of the University of Washington. "Individual crows that are adults can live 15-40 years in the wild (most die when young, but those that make it to adulthood can live a long time), and they probably remember important associations they have formed for much of their lives."</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It more than explains why some people may feel some crows have a </span><a href="http://www.metronews.ca/news/vancouver/2015/06/04/when-crows-attack-birds-repeatedly-dive-bomb-vancouver-woman.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">personal vendetta</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> against them. Reports of crows dive-bombing pedestrians are common — the Wildlife Rescue Association in British Columbia, for instance, reports receiving about </span><a href="http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2015/06/tips-prevent-crow-attacks/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">200 phone calls</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> a day during nesting season (approximately April–July), when crows are prone to be more aggressive than usual.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Other research has “shown that some crows make and use tools, forecast future events, understand what other animals know, and — in our case — learn from individual experience as well as by observing parents and peers," </span><a href="https://www.seeker.com/angry-birds-crows-never-forget-your-face-1765286502.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">continued</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Marzluff. "These are all advanced cognitive tasks shown by only a few animals."</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As for the ravens, scientists </span><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/06/ravens-memory-unfair-trade/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">hope next</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to discover differences between ravens based on their individual personalities — a relatively as-yet-unexplored frontier. As Marzluff says in his </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Gifts-Crow-Perception-Emotion-Thought/dp/1439198748"><span style="font-weight: 400;">2013 book</span></a> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Gifts of the Crow: How Perception, Emotion, and Thought Allow Smart Birds to Behave Like Humans</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">: “In a world where so much of our natural heritage is being lost, why not celebrate the few bright spots where it is surviving and adapting?” </span></p>
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