New Study: Crows Count Aloud

Crows, in a behavioral study, demonstrated the ability to generate a specific number of calls, indicating their capacity for advance planning. The sequential nature of their calls allows for prediction of the total count from the initial call.

However, this discovery was made by a research team led by Professor Andreas Nieder from the Institute of Neurobiology at the University of Tübingen, including Dr. Diana A. Liao, Dr. Katharina F. Brecht, and assistant professor Lena Veit. Their findings have been published in the journal Science.

Carrion crows, classified among songbirds, are renowned not for their melodious songs but for their remarkable learning aptitude. Previous research has indicated their understanding of counting.

“Moreover, they exhibit exceptional vocal control, capable of precisely deciding whether to vocalize or remain silent,” Professor Nieder states. He and his team conducted behavioral experiments with three carrion crows to investigate whether these skills could be applied in tandem.

Crows Respond to Numerals or Sounds with Sequential Calls

The birds were tasked with responding to either Arabic numerals or specific sounds by emitting one to four calls as required, followed by pecking an enter key to conclude their call sequence.

“All three birds successfully completed the task, demonstrating their ability to count their calls sequentially,” Nieder confirms. The time elapsed between stimulus presentation and the first call increased with the number of required calls, regardless of whether the stimulus was visual or auditory.

“This suggests that the crows abstract a numerical concept from the presented information, which they use to plan their vocalizations before initiating calls,” Nieder explains.

This conclusion is supported by analyzing the acoustic properties of the crows’ calls within a sequence.

“Based on the acoustic characteristics of the initial call in a numerical sequence, we could predict the number of subsequent calls,” Nieder reports.

Crows’ Challenges in Tracking Call Sequences

Occasionally, the crows miscalculated, emitting either too many or too few calls, suggesting occasional difficulties in monitoring the calls already made or yet to come. These errors could also be discerned by analyzing the acoustic properties of the individual calls.

The capacity to produce a deliberate number of vocalizations requires a sophisticated blend of numerical competence and vocal control.

“Our findings demonstrate that humans are not the sole possessors of this ability, potentially opening avenues for complex communication among crows,” concludes Nieder.

Read the original article on: Phys Org

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