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Evolutionary drivers of caching behaviour in corvids.

Fran Daw¹, Bret A Beheim², Claudia A F Wascher³

¹Behavioural Ecology Research Group, School of Life Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, East Road, Cambridge, CB1 1PT, UK.

Animal Cognition

|February 22, 2025

Summary

Caching strategies in corvids evolved from specialist behaviors. Generalist caching is linked to equatorial regions and larger body mass, while specialist caching is found in smaller species farther from the equator.

Keywords:

Caching Corvids Generalist cachers Socio-ecology Specialist cachers

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Area of Science:

Behavioral Ecology
Evolutionary Biology
Ornithology

Background:

Food caching is a widespread survival strategy in animals, particularly in the corvid family.
Corvids display significant variation in caching behaviors and adaptations, but the evolutionary drivers remain underexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

To systematically review corvid caching strategies (specialist, generalist, non-cacher) globally.
To investigate the influence of ecological factors (climate, trophic niche, habitat, latitude, longitude, breeding system, body mass) on these strategies.
To reconstruct ancestral caching states and assess evolutionary trajectories.

Main Methods:

Literature review of global corvid caching behavior.
Identification of caching strategies in 63 species across 16 genera.
Ancestral state reconstruction analysis.

Main Results:

Specialist caching is inferred as the ancestral state in corvids.
Caching strategy correlates with distance from the equator and average body mass.
Generalist caching is prevalent in equatorial zones and heavier corvids; specialist caching is more common in smaller species farther from the equator.
Both specialist and generalist caching evolved independently multiple times.

Conclusions:

Caching is widespread in corvids, influenced by body size and latitude.
Ecological factors like trophic niche, habitat breadth, and breeding systems are not primary drivers of corvid caching behavior diversity.