Counting crows: population structure and group size variation in an urban population of crows

Uhl, F.; Ringler, Max; Miller, Rachael; Deventer, Sarah A; Bugnyar, Thomas; Schwäb, Christine

doi:10.1093/beheco/ary157

Cited by 14 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…Like many primate species, corvids and psittacines species vary in sociality (Amici, Aureli, & Call, ; Clayton & Emery, ; Lambert et al, ; Sussman, Garber, & Cheverud, ). They vary from pairs—such as Eurasian jays—to large flocks—such as rooks and jackdaws ( Coloeus monedula )—often displaying high fission‐fusion dynamics, for example, common ravens, carrion crows ( Corvus corone ), monk parakeets ( Myiopsitta monachus ) (Hobson, Avery, & Wright, ; Loretto et al, ; Uhl et al, ). This requires them to interact and co‐operate with conspecifics, for example, New Caledonian crows, kea ( Nestor notabilis ), rooks, African gray parrots (Heaney, Gray, & Taylor, ; Péron, Rat‐Fischer, Lalot, Nagle, & Bovet, ; Schwing, Jocteur, Wein, Noë, & Massen, ; Seed, Clayton, & Emery, ), to remember others' identities, for example, ravens (Boeckle & Bugnyar, ), and even manipulate others' behavior, for example, ravens, Eurasian jays, California scrub‐jays (Bugnyar & Kotrschal, ; Emery & Clayton, ; Shaw & Clayton, , ; Stulp et al, ).…”

Section: What Is Delayed Gratification and Why Is It Important?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Self‐control in crows, parrots and nonhuman primates

Miller

Boeckle

Jelbert

et al. 2019

WIRES Cognitive Science

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Self-control is critical for both humans and nonhuman animals because it underlies complex cognitive abilities, such as decision-making and future planning, enabling goal-directed behavior. For instance, it is positively associated with social competence and life success measures in humans. We present the first review of delay of gratification as a measure of self-control in nonhuman primates, corvids (crow family) and psittacines (parrot order): disparate groups that show comparable advanced cognitive abilities and similar socio-ecological factors. We compare delay of gratification performance and identify key issues and outstanding areas for future research, including finding the best measures and drivers of delayed gratification.Our review therefore contributes to our understanding of both delayed gratification as a measure of self-control and of complex cognition in animals.

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Section: What Is Delayed Gratification and Why Is It Important?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Self‐control in crows, parrots and nonhuman primates

Miller

Boeckle

Jelbert

et al. 2019

WIRES Cognitive Science

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“…We measured prosociality in 11 social groups of eight corvid species (total N = 72 individuals), which were all highly social (i.e. living and foraging in social groups during at least some stages of their life history; Komeda et al, 1987 ; Uhl et al, 2019 ; Kubitza et al, 2015 ; Clayton and Emery, 2007 ; Braun et al, 2012 ; Miyazawa et al, 2020 ; Holzhaider et al, 2011 ; Ekman and Griesser, 2016 ), but varied in the expression of cooperative breeding and colonial nesting ( Figure 1d ). We used a standardized experimental paradigm developed in primates (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex-specific effects of cooperative breeding and colonial nesting on prosociality in corvids

Horn

Bugnyar

Griesser

et al. 2020

eLife

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The investigation of prosocial behavior is of particular interest from an evolutionary perspective. Comparisons of prosociality across non-human animal species have, however, so far largely focused on primates, and their interpretation is hampered by the diversity of paradigms and procedures used. Here we present the first systematic comparison of prosocial behavior across multiple species in a taxonomic group outside the primate order, namely the bird family Corvidae. We measured prosociality in 8 corvid species, which vary in the expression of cooperative breeding and colonial nesting. We show that cooperative breeding is positively associated with prosocial behavior across species. Also, colonial nesting is associated with a stronger propensity for prosocial behavior, but only in males. The combined results of our study strongly suggest that both cooperative breeding and colonial nesting, which may both rely on heightened social tolerance at the nest, are likely evolutionary pathways to prosocial behavior in corvids.

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“…High nesting densities may have important consequences on the social structure of crows through the emergence of colonial nesting, which is not expected in crows that traditionally nest solitarily in rural areas (Cramp & Perrins, ; McGowan, ). In Vienna, the social structure of crows shows an environmentally influenced fission–fusion dynamics centered around the zoo throughout the year (Uhl et al, ). In Debrecen, the center of establishment and colonization of crows in the city was the zoo (Kövér et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Zoos that allow access to free‐living birds and that provide permanent sources of food may be the first to be colonized by corvids in a city and are usually characterized by high nesting density (Kövér et al, ). Zoos thus provide an excellent opportunity to study the factors that influence the establishment and colonization of corvids in urban environments (Uhl et al, ). However, to our knowledge, there is no study specifically investigating the role that zoos play in the colonization of cities by free‐living birds.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why do zoos attract crows? A comparative study from Europe and Asia

Kövér

Lengyel

Takenaka

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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Crows have successfully colonized many cities, and urban zoos have been important in this process. To evaluate why zoos attract crows, we quantified crow numbers and behavior in three zoos in Europe (Debrecen, Edinburgh, Vienna) and one in Asia (Sapporo). Data were collected in 445 surveys over 297 days in summer 2014 and winter 2014–2015. We found that crow numbers were highest in Vienna, intermediate in Debrecen and Edinburgh and lowest in Sapporo, increased significantly from summer to winter (Debrecen, Edinburgh, Vienna), and from mornings to afternoons (Debrecen, Sapporo, Vienna), and were higher in sunny weather than in cloudy weather with precipitation and when visitor numbers were low (Debrecen, Vienna). The crows' use of natural food was highest in Vienna, intermediate in Edinburgh and Sapporo, and low in Debrecen. The use of anthropogenic food was high in Debrecen and Sapporo, where the availability of open grassy areas typically used by crows for natural foraging was low. In Sapporo, food availability was more limited than in other zoos, resulting in strong territoriality and few crows in summer, which decreased further in winter. Our study indicates that crows are primarily attracted to zoos by food availability and secondarily by breeding opportunities and that the relative importance of natural versus anthropogenic food sources may vary with zoo habitat structure. Our study draws attention to a previously overlooked role of zoos in urban biodiversity conservation. It may also provide useful information for the management of crow populations, if necessary, and for the planning of urban areas.

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Counting crows: population structure and group size variation in an urban population of crows

Cited by 14 publications

References 70 publications

Self‐control in crows, parrots and nonhuman primates

Self‐control in crows, parrots and nonhuman primates

Sex-specific effects of cooperative breeding and colonial nesting on prosociality in corvids

Why do zoos attract crows? A comparative study from Europe and Asia

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