Blue tits are outperformed by great tits in a test of motor inhibition, and experience does not improve their performance

Abstract

Motor inhibition refers to the ability to inhibit immediate responses in favour of adaptive actions that are mediated by executive functions. This ability may be an indication of general cognitive ability in animals and is important for advanced cognitive functions. In this study, our aim was to compare motor inhibition ability of two closely related passerines that share the same habitat. To do this, we tested motor inhibition ability using a transparent cylinder task in blue tits in the same way as we previously tested great tits. To test whether the experience of transparent objects would affect the performance of these species differently, both in the present experiment using blue tits and our previous one on great tits, we divided 33 wild-caught individuals into three different treatment groups with 11 birds each. Before the test we allowed one group to experience a transparent cylindrical object, one group to experience a transparent wall and a third group was kept naive. In general, blue tits performed worse than great tits, and unlike the great tits, they did not improve their performance after experience with a transparent cylinder-like object. The performance difference may stem from difference in foraging behaviour between these species.

Are comparable studies really comparable? Suggestions from a problem-solving experiment on urban and rural great tits

“…studies investigating the same hypothesis with different methodology, are relatively common, direct replications of scientic experiments are rare (Brecht et al 2021;Farrar et al 2021). Both types of replications are used for looking at the generalizability of the results and for comparisons within and between species (Kabadayi et al 2016; Kabadayi et al 2017;Isaksson et al 2018; Urhan et al 2023). However, the validity of such generalizations and comparisons are often questionable, considering that replications can be challenging: even if experimenters try to create as identical lab conditions as possible, there will be by necessity large differences between different set-ups.…”

“…Although most studies of avian cognition have been conducted in corvids and large parrots (Lambert et al 2019), an increasing body of evidence suggests that many smaller passerines are also quite cognitively capable (Audet et al 2023), with parids (tits, titmice and chickadees) being particularly good at solving cognitive challenges (reviewed by Urhan et al in prep). Within the parid family, the great tit seems to outperform its relatives in cognitive tasks and learning (Sasvári 1979; Exernová et al 2006; Johnsson and Brodin 2019; Urhan et al 2023). In nature, the great tit is a generalist species known for its innovative foraging behaviour (Overington et al 2009;Morand-Ferron et al 2011; Johnsson and Brodin 2019), which may facilitate good problem-solving abilities.…”

Are comparable studies really comparable? Suggestions from a problem-solving experiment on urban and rural great tits

“…studies investigating the same hypothesis with different methodology, are relatively common, direct replications of scientific experiments are rare (Brecht et al 2021 ; Farrar et al 2021 ). Both types of replications are used for looking at the generalizability of the results and for comparisons within and between species (Kabadayi et al 2016 , 2017 ; Isaksson et al 2018 ; Urhan et al 2023 ). However, the validity of such generalizations and comparisons is often questionable, considering that replications can be challenging: even if experimenters try to create as identical lab conditions as possible, it is very likely that there will be differences between different set-ups.…”

“…Although most studies of avian cognition have been conducted in corvids and large parrots (Lambert et al 2019 ), an increasing body of evidence suggests that many smaller passerines are also quite cognitively capable, with parids (tits, titmice and chickadees) being particularly good at solving cognitive challenges (Sasvári 1979 ; Isaksson et al 2018 ; Audet et al 2023 ). Within the parid family, the great tit seems to outperform its relatives in cognitive tasks and learning (Sasvári 1979 ; Exernová et al 2006 ; Johnsson and Brodin 2019 ; Urhan et al 2023 ). In nature, the great tit is a generalist species known for its innovative foraging behaviour (Overington et al 2009 ; Morand-Ferron et al 2011 ; Johnsson and Brodin 2019 ), which may facilitate good problem-solving abilities.…”