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Author Bugnyar, T.; Kotrschal, K. doi  openurl
  Title Leading a conspecific away from food in ravens ( Corvus corax)? Type Journal Article
  Year 2004 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 7 Issue 2 Pages 69-76  
  Keywords Misleading – Deception – Raven – Social foraging  
  Abstract Active misleading of conspecifics has been described as a social strategy mainly for primates. Here we report a raven leading a competitor away from food in a social foraging task. Four individuals had to search and compete for hidden food at color-marked clusters of artificial food caches. At the beginning of the experiment, a subordinate male found and exploited the majority of the food. As a result, the dominant male displaced him from the already opened boxes. The subordinate male then developed a pattern, when the loss of reward to the dominant got high, of moving to unrewarded clusters and opening boxes there. This diversion often led the dominant to approach those unrewarded clusters and the subordinate then had a head start for exploiting the rewarded boxes. Subsequently, however, the dominant male learned not to follow the subordinate to unrewarded clusters and eventually started searching for the reward himself. These interactions between the two males illustrate the ravens' potential for deceptively manipulating conspecifics. We discuss under which circumstances ravens might use this capacity.  
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  Call Number Serial 2080  
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Author Huber, L.; Gajdon, G.K. doi  openurl
  Title Technical intelligence in animals: the kea model Type Journal Article
  Year 2006 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 9 Issue 4 Pages 295-305  
  Keywords Animals; *Comprehension; *Intelligence; Models, Psychological; Observation; *Parrots; *Problem Solving; Psychological Theory; Social Environment; *Tool Use Behavior  
  Abstract The ability to act on information flexibly is one of the cornerstones of intelligent behavior. As particularly informative example, tool-oriented behavior has been investigated to determine to which extent nonhuman animals understand means-end relations, object affordances, and have specific motor skills. Even planning with foresight, goal-directed problem solving and immediate causal inference have been a focus of research. However, these cognitive abilities may not be restricted to tool-using animals but may be found also in animals that show high levels of curiosity, object exploration and manipulation, and extractive foraging behavior. The kea, a New Zealand parrot, is a particularly good example. We here review findings from laboratory experiments and field observations of keas revealing surprising cognitive capacities in the physical domain. In an experiment with captive keas, the success rate of individuals that were allowed to observe a trained conspecific was significantly higher than that of naive control subjects due to their acquisition of some functional understanding of the task through observation. In a further experiment using the string-pulling task, a well-probed test for means-end comprehension, we found the keas finding an immediate solution that could not be improved upon in nine further trials. We interpreted their performance as insightful in the sense of being sensitive of the relevant functional properties of the task and thereby producing a new adaptive response without trial-and-error learning. Together, these findings contribute to the ongoing debate on the distribution of higher cognitive skills in the animal kingdom by showing high levels of sensorimotor intelligence in animals that do not use tools. In conclusion, we suggest that the 'Technical intelligence hypothesis' (Byrne, Machiavellian intelligence II: extensions and evaluations, pp 289-211, 1997), which has been proposed to explain the origin of the ape/monkey grade-shift in intelligence by a selection pressure upon an increased efficiency in foraging behavior, should be extended, that is, applied to some birds as well.  
  Address Department for Behavior, Neurobiology and Cognition, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090, Vienna, Austria. ludwig.huber@univie.ac.at  
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  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
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  ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium  
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  Notes PMID:16909237 Approved no  
  Call Number Serial 2085  
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Author Campbell, F.M.; Heyes, C.M.; Goldsmith, A.R. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Stimulus learning and response learning by observation in the European starling, in a two-object/two-action test Type Journal Article
  Year 1999 Publication Animal Behaviour. Abbreviated Journal Anim. Behav.  
  Volume 58 Issue 1 Pages 151-158  
  Keywords  
  Abstract Juvenile European starlings, Sturnus vulgaris , were allowed to observe a conspecific demonstrator using its beak to remove one of two distinctively coloured objects (i.e. a red or a black plug) from a hole in the lid of a plastic box. Both plugs could be removed by either pulling up on a loop of string inserted through the centre of the plug, or pushing down on the plug. When subsequently allowed access to the plugs, and rewarded with food for all removal responses, regardless of the object to which they were made and their direction, observer birds removed the same plug in the same direction as their demonstrator. These results suggest that the two-object/two-action paradigm is a valuable procedure for testing for the simultaneous effects of learning about a stimulus and a response, an object and an action, through conspecific observation.  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Serial 2088  
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Author Campbell, F.M.; Heyes, C.M. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Rats smell: odour-mediated local enhancement, in a vertical movement two-action test Type Journal Article
  Year 2002 Publication Animal Behaviour. Abbreviated Journal Anim. Behav.  
  Volume 63 Issue 6 Pages 1055-1063  
  Keywords  
  Abstract In two experiments, hungry rats, Rattus norvegicus, were present in one side of an operant chamber while a conspecific demonstrator in the adjacent compartment moved a single lever either up or down for a food reward. During a subsequent test session, in which these rats were allowed access to the lever for the first time, all responses were rewarded regardless of their direction. In experiment 1, rats that were prevented from observing the direction of lever movement by means of a screen showed a reliable demonstrator-consistent response bias, while rats that had observed the direction of lever movement and in addition had access to any odour cues deposited on the lever did not. In experiment 2, each rat observed another rat (the `viewed' demonstrator) moving a lever either up or down. They were then transferred into the test compartment of a different operant chamber in which another rat (the `box' demonstrator) had moved the lever in the same direction as the viewed demonstrator or in the opposite direction. These observer rats showed a reliable preference for their box demonstrator's direction, but responded in the opposite direction to their viewed demonstrator. Taken together, the results of these experiments suggest that directional responding by rats in a vertical movement two-action test is influenced by demonstrator-deposited odour cues in addition to visual experience of a demonstrator's behaviour. Furthermore, while odour-mediated local enhancement gave rise to demonstrator-consistent responding, visual observation of a conspecific appeared to have the reverse effect. Copyright 2002 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Serial 2089  
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Author Cloutier, S.; Newberry, R.C.; Honda, K.; Alldredge, J.R. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Cannibalistic behaviour spread by social learning Type Journal Article
  Year 2002 Publication Animal Behaviour. Abbreviated Journal Anim. Behav.  
  Volume 63 Issue 6 Pages 1153-1162  
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  Abstract We hypothesized that social learning is involved in the spread of cannibalism in domestic fowlGallus gallus domesticus . To investigate this hypothesis without harming birds, we used an inanimate chicken model as our cannibalism stimulus. We randomly assigned flocks of 12 White Leghorn pullets to one of two treatments: (1) flocks with two trained demonstrators (N=9) and (2) control flocks (N=8). Demonstrators were trained to pierce a membrane covering a dish of chicken blood and consume the blood. To assess the effect of access to the cannibalism stimulus during demonstrations, we randomly assigned observer pairs to one of two observer treatments: (1) observe stimulus through a wire mesh partition and (2) observe stimulus within the same enclosure. We conducted five 10-min demonstration sessions, each followed by a 10-min test of each observer pair in the absence of demonstrators, over a period of 15 days when the birds were 41-55 days of age, and two further tests at 63-64 and 91-92 days of age. Pairs that observed demonstrators piercing a membrane and consuming blood were more likely to perform this task when tested than control pairs. Learning of the task was enhanced by direct access to the cannibalism stimulus rather than observing it through a wire mesh partition. Blood consumption during tests was increased by direct access to the cannibalism stimulus during demonstration sessions. The birds made bigger holes in the membrane when tested after observing trained demonstrators and after having direct access to the stimulus. Our results provide the first experimental evidence that social learning can contribute to the spread of cannibalistic behaviour in domestic fowl. We suggest that stimulus enhancement and observational conditioning were the social-learning mechanisms involved. Copyright 2002 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Serial 2091  
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Author Cloutier, S.; Newberry, R.C. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Differences in skeletal and ornamental traits between laying hen cannibals, victims and bystanders Type Journal Article
  Year 2002 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.  
  Volume 77 Issue 2 Pages 115-126  
  Keywords Domestic fowl; Asymmetry; Skeletal traits; Comb size; Cannibalism  
  Abstract We compared the size of skeletal and ornamental traits, and asymmetries in bilateral skeletal traits, between victims of cannibalism, cannibals and bystanders within small groups of caged female White Leghorns at the time of cannibalistic attacks (i.e. injurious pecks resulting in bleeding). We hypothesised that victims of cannibalism have discernible morphological traits that predispose them to cannibalistic attack. We predicted that victims would have smaller skeletal traits (body length, ulna length, metatarsus length and width, toe length), lower body weight, poorer body condition, smaller combs and more asymmetrical bilateral skeletal traits than their flock mates. Contrary to our prediction, victims of cannibalistic attacks to the head/neck area (N=23) tended to have larger combs than their flock mates (Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks test, S=59, P=0.037, NS after sequential Bonferroni adjustment). Their cannibals were more asymmetrical than non-cannibalistic bystanders (metatarsus length, S=48, P=0.011 and composite asymmetry, S=62.5, P=0.002, significant after sequential Bonferroni adjustment). In agreement with our prediction, victims of cannibalistic attacks to other body parts (N=27), including the back, wings, rump, tail, cloaca, abdomen and toes, were more asymmetrical (composite asymmetry, S=78, P=0.022, significant after sequential Bonferroni adjustment) and tended to have lower body weights (S=79.5, P=0.029, NS after sequential Bonferroni adjustment) than their flock mates. Their cannibals did not differ in skeletal or ornamental traits from the non-participating bystanders. The results suggest that large combs either elicit attacks to the head and neck area or increase vulnerability to injury during such attacks. Attacks to other body parts appear to be directed towards birds with signs of weakness relative to their flock mates. In these attacks, there were no distinguishing features separating cannibals from bystanders, suggesting that the bystanders could all be potential cannibals.  
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  Call Number Serial 2092  
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Author Coleman, K.; Wilson, D.S. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Shyness and boldness in pumpkinseed sunfish: individual differences are context-specific Type Journal Article
  Year 1998 Publication Animal Behaviour. Abbreviated Journal Anim. Behav.  
  Volume 56 Issue 4 Pages 927-936  
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  Abstract Natural selection often promotes a mix of behavioural phenotypes in a population. Adaptive variation in the propensity to take risks might explain individual differences in shyness and boldness in humans and other species. It is often implicitly assumed that shyness and boldness are general personality traits expressed across many situations. From the evolutionary standpoint, however, individual differences that are adaptive in one context (e.g. predator defence) may not be adaptive in other contexts (e.g. exploration of the physical environment or intraspecific social interactions). We measured the context specificity of shyness and boldness in a natural population of juvenile pumpkinseed sunfish,Lepomis gibbosus, by exposing the fish to a potentially threatening stimulus (a red-tipped metrestick extended towards the individual) and a nonthreatening stimulus (a novel food source). We also related these measures of shyness and boldness to behaviours observed during focal observations, both before and after the introduction of a predator (largemouth bass,Micropterus salmoides). Consistent individual differences were found within both contexts, but individual differences did not correlate across contexts. Furthermore, fish that were scored as intermediate in their response to the metrestick behaved most boldly as foragers and in response to the bass predators. These results suggest that shyness and boldness are context-specific and may not exist as a one-dimensional behavioural continuum even within a single context.  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Serial 2094  
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Author Goddard, P.J.; Summers, R.W.; Macdonald, A.J.; Murray, C.; Fawcett, A.R. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Behavioural responses of red deer to fences of five different designs Type Journal Article
  Year 2001 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.  
  Volume 73 Issue 4 Pages 289-298  
  Keywords Red deer; Fence efficiency; Grazing behaviour  
  Abstract Capercaillie, a large species of grouse, are sometimes killed when they fly into high-tensile deer fences. A fence design which is lower or has a less rigid top section than conventional designs would reduce bird deaths, but such fences would still have to be deer-proof. The short-term behavioural responses of farmed red deer (Cervus elaphus) to fences of five designs, including four that were designed to be less damaging to capercaillie, were measured. Five deer were located on one side of a fence with a larger group (20 animals), from which they had been recently separated, on the other. The efficacy of fences in preventing deer from the small group from rejoining the larger group was also recorded. In addition to a conventional deer fence (C) the four new designs were, an inverted “L” shape (L), a fence with offset electric wire (E), a double fence (D) and a fence with four webbing tapes above (W). Four replicate groups of deer were each tested for 3 days with each fence design. Deer paced the test fence line relatively frequently (a proportion of 0.09 scan observations overall) but significantly less when deer were separated by fences E or C compared to L, W or D (overall difference between fence types, P<0.001). Deer separated by fence E spent significantly more time pacing perimeter fences than deer separated by fences of other types (overall difference between fence types, P<0.01) but deer separated by fence C maintained a low level of fence pacing overall. Analysis of behaviour patterns across the first day and the 3 days of exposure suggested that the novelty of the test fences, rather than the designs per se, influenced the behaviour of the deer. Over the course of the study, no deer crossed either C or L. Three deer crossed E and two deer crossed both W and D. On this basis, field testing, particularly of fence L, would be a useful next step.  
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  Call Number Serial 2101  
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Author Fawcett, T.W.; Skinner, A.M.J.; Goldsmith, A.R. url  doi
openurl 
  Title A test of imitative learning in starlings using a two-action method with an enhanced ghost control Type Journal Article
  Year 2002 Publication Animal Behaviour. Abbreviated Journal Anim. Behav.  
  Volume 64 Issue 4 Pages 547-556  
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  Abstract Imitative learning, in which an individual learns to reproduce the behaviour pattern of another, has attracted considerable attention as a potentially powerful form of social learning. Despite extensive research, however, it has proved difficult to demonstrate in nonhuman animals. We investigated the ability of European starlings, Sturnus vulgaris, to imitate the behaviour of a conspecific. Subjects watched a trained conspecific manipulating a plug for access to a food reward, using either a pushing or a pulling action. When later tested with the same apparatus these birds completed the task using the same action they had previously observed. In a second experiment, a separate group of starlings saw the plug move upwards or downwards automatically and a nearby conspecific obtain a food reward. When given access to the task these starlings failed to move the plug in the direction they had seen. Our experiment is an improvement on previous bidirectional control designs and provides strong evidence that starlings are capable of imitation. We advocate further use of this experimental design in attempts to demonstrate imitative learning. Copyright 2002 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Serial 2102  
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Author Kenward, B.; Rutz, C.; Weir, A.A.S.; Kacelnik, A. doi  openurl
  Title Development of tool use in New Caledonian crows: inherited action patterns and social influences Type Journal Article
  Year 2006 Publication Animal Behaviour. Abbreviated Journal Anim. Behav.  
  Volume 72 Issue 6 Pages 1329-1343  
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  Abstract New Caledonian crows, Corvus moneduloides, are the most advanced avian tool makers and tool users. We previously reported that captive-bred isolated New Caledonian crows spontaneously use twig tools and cut tools out of Pandanus spp. tree leaves, an activity possibly under cultural influence in the wild. However, what aspects of these behaviours are inherited and how they interact with individual and social experience remained unknown. To examine the interaction between inherited traits, individual learning and social transmission, we observed the ontogeny of twig tool use in hand-reared juveniles. Successful food retrieval was preceded by stereotyped object manipulation action patterns that resembled components of the mature behaviour, demonstrating that tool-oriented behaviours in this species are an evolved specialization. However, there was also an effect of social learning: juveniles that had received demonstrations of twig tool use by their human foster parent showed higher levels of handling and insertion of twigs than did their naive counterparts; a choice experiment showed that they preferred to handle objects that they had seen being manipulated by their human foster parent. Our observations are consistent with the hypothesis that individual learning, cultural transmission and creative problem solving all contribute to the acquisition of the tool-oriented behaviours in the wild, but inherited species-typical action patterns have a greater role than has been recognized.  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Serial 2103  
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