SEPTEMBER 24, 2019
Jackdaws can learn from each other to
identify "dangerous" humans, new research shows.
The birds are known to recognise
individual people, and respond differently to those they see as a threat.
In the new study, by the University of
Exeter, a person unknown to the jackdaws approached their nest, and scientists
played a recording of either a warning call or "contact calls"
(suggesting no threat).
The next time the jackdaws saw this
person, the birds that had heard the warning call reacted defensively by
retuning more quickly to their nests.
"One of the big challenges for a
lot of animals is how to live alongside humans," said lead author Victoria
Lee, a Ph.D. researcher at the Centre for Ecology and Conservation on Exeter's
Penryn Campus in Cornwall.
"People can provide some benefits,
such as the food at bird
feeders, but in some cases humans are also a threat.
"Being able to discriminate
between dangerous and harmless people is likely to be beneficial, and in this
case we see jackdaws can learn to identify dangerous people without having had
a bad experience themselves."
The study was carried out at three
sites in Cornwall, focussing on 34 jackdaw nest boxes.
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