Hooded crows (Corvus cornix) manufacture objects relative to a mental template
Abstract It was recently found that not only tool-specialized New Caledonian crows, but also Goffin cockatoos can manufacture physical objects in accordance with a mental template. That is, they can emulate features of existing objects when they manufacture new items. Both species spontaneously ripp...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Springer
2024-04-01
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| Series: | Animal Cognition |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-024-01874-6 |
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| author | Anna A. Smirnova Leia R. Bulgakova Maria A. Cheplakova Sarah A. Jelbert |
| author_facet | Anna A. Smirnova Leia R. Bulgakova Maria A. Cheplakova Sarah A. Jelbert |
| author_sort | Anna A. Smirnova |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract It was recently found that not only tool-specialized New Caledonian crows, but also Goffin cockatoos can manufacture physical objects in accordance with a mental template. That is, they can emulate features of existing objects when they manufacture new items. Both species spontaneously ripped pieces of card into large strips if they had previously learned that a large template was rewarded, and small strips when they previously learned that a small template was rewarded. Among New Caledonian crows, this cognitive ability was suggested as a potential mechanism underlying the transmission of natural tool designs. Here, we tested for the same ability in another non-specialised tool user–Hooded crows (Corvus cornix). Crows were exposed to pre-made template objects, varying first in colour and then in size, and were rewarded only if they chose pre-made objects that matched the template. In subsequent tests, birds were given the opportunity to manufacture versions of these objects. All three crows ripped paper pieces from the same colour material as the rewarded template, and, crucially, also manufactured objects that were more similar in size to previously rewarded, than unrewarded, templates, despite the birds being rewarded at random in both tests. Therefore, we found the ability to manufacture physical objects relative to a mental template in yet another bird species not specialized in using or making foraging tools in the wild, but with a high level of brain and cognitive development. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-418dcea9a64340fab3163af9a8e22981 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1435-9456 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-04-01 |
| publisher | Springer |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animal Cognition |
| spelling | doaj-art-418dcea9a64340fab3163af9a8e229812025-01-26T12:44:33ZengSpringerAnimal Cognition1435-94562024-04-0127111210.1007/s10071-024-01874-6Hooded crows (Corvus cornix) manufacture objects relative to a mental templateAnna A. Smirnova0Leia R. Bulgakova1Maria A. Cheplakova2Sarah A. Jelbert3Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State UniversityFaculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State UniversityFaculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State UniversitySchool of Psychological Science, University of BristolAbstract It was recently found that not only tool-specialized New Caledonian crows, but also Goffin cockatoos can manufacture physical objects in accordance with a mental template. That is, they can emulate features of existing objects when they manufacture new items. Both species spontaneously ripped pieces of card into large strips if they had previously learned that a large template was rewarded, and small strips when they previously learned that a small template was rewarded. Among New Caledonian crows, this cognitive ability was suggested as a potential mechanism underlying the transmission of natural tool designs. Here, we tested for the same ability in another non-specialised tool user–Hooded crows (Corvus cornix). Crows were exposed to pre-made template objects, varying first in colour and then in size, and were rewarded only if they chose pre-made objects that matched the template. In subsequent tests, birds were given the opportunity to manufacture versions of these objects. All three crows ripped paper pieces from the same colour material as the rewarded template, and, crucially, also manufactured objects that were more similar in size to previously rewarded, than unrewarded, templates, despite the birds being rewarded at random in both tests. Therefore, we found the ability to manufacture physical objects relative to a mental template in yet another bird species not specialized in using or making foraging tools in the wild, but with a high level of brain and cognitive development.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-024-01874-6Tool manufactureTemplate matchingRepresentationsEmulationHooded crows |
| spellingShingle | Anna A. Smirnova Leia R. Bulgakova Maria A. Cheplakova Sarah A. Jelbert Hooded crows (Corvus cornix) manufacture objects relative to a mental template Animal Cognition Tool manufacture Template matching Representations Emulation Hooded crows |
| title | Hooded crows (Corvus cornix) manufacture objects relative to a mental template |
| title_full | Hooded crows (Corvus cornix) manufacture objects relative to a mental template |
| title_fullStr | Hooded crows (Corvus cornix) manufacture objects relative to a mental template |
| title_full_unstemmed | Hooded crows (Corvus cornix) manufacture objects relative to a mental template |
| title_short | Hooded crows (Corvus cornix) manufacture objects relative to a mental template |
| title_sort | hooded crows corvus cornix manufacture objects relative to a mental template |
| topic | Tool manufacture Template matching Representations Emulation Hooded crows |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-024-01874-6 |
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