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Short-term observational spatial memory in Jackdaws (Corvus monedula) and Ravens (Corvus corax)
Christelle Scheid1, Thomas Bugnyar
1IPHC-DEPE, ULP, CNRS, 23 rue Becquerel, 67087, Strasbourg, France. christelle.scheid@c-strasbourg.fr
Animal Cognition
|May 28, 2008
Summary
Ravens demonstrate strong observational spatial memory (OSM) for finding food caches, outperforming jackdaws. This ability appears linked to caching behavior, not sociality alone, aiding in efficient food discovery.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Ecology
- Animal Behavior
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Observational spatial memory (OSM) allows animals to locate food caches made by others.
- OSM has been observed in corvids, with sociality potentially influencing accuracy.
- Ravens (Corvus corax) exhibit complex behaviors suggesting advanced OSM.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the short-term OSM performance of ravens and jackdaws (Corvus monedula).
- To investigate the relationship between OSM, caching behavior, and sociality in corvids.
Main Methods:
- Birds observed a human hiding food in 2, 4, or 6 out of 10 locations.
- Performance was assessed by the accuracy of recovering food pieces.
- Re-visit rates to inspected cache sites were recorded.
Main Results:
- Ravens showed significantly higher accuracy than chance in finding caches.
- Jackdaws did not perform significantly better than chance.
- Ravens made fewer revisits to previously inspected sites compared to jackdaws.
Conclusions:
- Raven's superior OSM performance is linked to their reliance on caching food.
- Social lifestyle alone does not fully explain the development of OSM.
- Caching behavior is a key factor in the evolution of observational spatial memory.
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