Award details

Social cognition in rooks and jackdaws

ReferenceBBS/B/05354
Principal Investigator / Supervisor Dr Nathan Emery
Co-Investigators /
Co-Supervisors
Professor Nicola Clayton
Institution University of Cambridge
DepartmentZoology
Funding typeResearch
Value (£) 268,773
StatusCompleted
TypeResearch Grant
Start date 01/09/2004
End date 31/08/2007
Duration36 months

Abstract

Visual perspective-taking and knowledge attribution will be investigated in rooks and jackdaws using a food-caching paradigm. Storers need to protect their caches from potential thieves, and pilferers should enhance their ability to steal others caches. Rooks and jackdaw pilfer other birds caches, but only rooks store food. We shall a) examine cache protection strategies (hiding, re-caching in new sites and false caching), understanding the threat of who is watching (heterospecific, stranger, partner), and their mental state (motivation, attention, knowledge) in food-storing rooks, and b) compare pilfering strategies (observational memory, hiding, distraction) and knowledge attribution in both rooks and non-storing jackdaws.

Summary

unavailable
Committee Closed Committee - Animal Sciences (AS)
Research TopicsX – not assigned to a current Research Topic
Research PriorityX – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative X - not in an Initiative
Funding SchemeX – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme
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