Crows, magpies and mockingbirds have a
reputation for being able to recognize a familiar face, but new research
suggests brown skuas living in Antarctica can
too. What's remarkable is that these remote birds can recognize individual
humans after only a few interactions.
This discovery was made by a team of
researchers from South Korea who were
monitoring the progress of breeding skuas.
The brown skuas, Stercorarius antarcticus, frequently
attacked researchers checking their nests to count their eggs and nestlings.
Some of the scientists noticed they were being attacked at greater distances
each day, as if the birds were keener to the aims of the individuals.
"I had to defend myself against the
skuas' attack," said Yeong-Deok
Han, a Ph.D. student at Inha
University
Researchers would check the birds' nests
once a week to monitor their breeding status. To test the skuas' awareness and
recognition skills, researchers had pairs of people walk in various directions,
both away and toward skua nests. Each pair consisted of a scientist who had
frequently visited the bird's nest - the intruder - and a neutral human who had
never conducted field tests.
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