Human-Caused High Direct Mortality in Birds: Unsustainable Trends and Ameliorative Actions.

Human interaction with birds has never been more positive and supported by so many private citizens and professional groups. However, direct mortality of birds from anthropogenic causes has increased and has led to significant annual losses of birds. We know of the crucial impact of habitat loss on the survival of birds and its effects on biodiversity.

The evolution of social play in songbirds, parrots and cockatoos - emotional or highly complex cognitive behaviour or both?

Social play has been described in many animals. However, much of this social behaviour among birds, particularly in adults, is still relatively unexplored in terms of the environmental, psychological, and social dynamics of play. This paper provides an overview of what we know about adult social play in birds and addresses areas in which subtleties and distinctions, such as in play initiation and social organisation and its relationship to expressions of play, are considered in detail.

Casting the Net Widely for Change in Animal Welfare: The Plight of Birds in Zoos, Ex Situ Conservation, and Conservation Fieldwork.

This paper discusses paradoxes in our relationship to and treatment of birds in captive and conservation contexts. The paper identifies modern and new challenges that arise from declining bird numbers worldwide. Such challenges have partly changed zoos into providers of insurance populations specifically for species at risk of extinction.

Of Great Apes and Magpies: Initiations into Animal Behaviour.

This paper presents three case studies of exceptional human encounters with animals. These particular examples were selected because they enabled analysis of the underlying reasons that led the human participants to respond in new ways to their animal counterparts. The question asked here is whether sudden insights into the needs and abilities of an animal arises purely from an anthropocentric position as empathy because of genetic closeness (e.

Play behaviour, not tool using, relates to brain mass in a sample of birds.

Play behaviour and tool using in birds, two well-delineated and amply researched behaviours, have generally been associated with cognitive abilities. In this study, these behaviours were related to relative brain mass in a sample of Australian native birds. Despite suggestive research results so far between cognition and tool using, this study found no significant difference in relative brain mass or in lifespan between tool-using birds and non-tool users.

Recognizing animal personhood in compassionate conservation.

Compassionate conservation is based on the ethical position that actions taken to protect biodiversity should be guided by compassion for all sentient beings. Critics argue that there are 3 core reasons harming animals is acceptable in conservation programs: the primary purpose of conservation is biodiversity protection; conservation is already compassionate to animals; and conservation should prioritize compassion to humans. We used argument analysis to clarify the values and logics underlying the debate around compassionate conservation.

Development of Meaningful Vocal Signals in a Juvenile Territorial Songbird (Gymnorhina tibicen) and the Dilemma of Vocal Taboos Concerning Neighbours and Strangers.

Young territorial songbirds have calls to learn, especially calls that may be vital for maintaining territory. Territoriality is largely reinforced and communicated by vocal signals. In their natal territory, juvenile magpies () enjoy protection from predators for 8⁻9 months.

Naïve 3-day-old domestic chicks (Gallus gallus) are attracted to discrete acoustic patterns characterizing natural vocalizations.

Nonsongbirds can produce rhythmical sounds that, at times, have been shown to be meaningful in their communication. This raises the possibility that rhythm is a separate ability that might have evolved earlier than song. We asked whether nearly completely naïve domestic chicks perceive rhythm and respond in specific ways to different rhythmic patterns.

Food Calls in Common Marmosets, , and Evidence That One Is Functionally Referential.

We studied three calls of common marmosets, , elicited in the context of food. Call A, but not B or C, had been described previously as a food call. We presented insects (live mealworms or crickets) and fruit (banana or blueberries) and used playbacks of calls.

Animal communication.

Unlabelled: Animal communication is first and foremost about signal transmission and aims to understand how communication occurs. It is a field that has contributed to and been inspired by other fields, from information technology to neuroscience, in finding ever better methods to eavesdrop on the actual 'message' that forms the basis of communication. Much of this review deals with vocal communication as an example of the questions that research on communication has tried to answer and it provides an historical overview of the theoretical arguments proposed.

Is painting by elephants in zoos as enriching as we are led to believe?

The relationship between the activity of painting and performance of stereotyped and other stress-related behaviour was investigated in four captive Asian elephants at Melbourne Zoo, Australia. The activity involved the elephant being instructed to paint on a canvas by its keeper in front of an audience. Painting by elephants in zoos is commonly believed to be a form of enrichment, but this assumption had not been based on any systematic research.

Stability of referential signalling across time and locations: testing alarm calls of Australian magpies (Gymnorhina tibicen) in urban and rural Australia and in Fiji.

In many avian species, vocal repertoire expands and changes throughout life as new syllables are added and sounds adapted to neighbours and circumstances. Referential signals, on the other hand, demand stability and lack of variation so that their meaning can be understood by conspecifics at all times. It is not known how stable such signals may be when the context is changed entirely but the point of reference remains unchanged.

Facial expressions in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) and their use by conspecifics.

Facial expressions have been studied mainly in chimpanzees and have been shown to be important social signals. In platyrrhine and strepsirrhine primates, it has been doubted that facial expressions are differentiated enough, or the species socially capable enough, for facial expressions to be part of their communication system. However, in a series of experiments presenting olfactory, auditory and visual stimuli, we found that common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) displayed an unexpected variety of facial expressions.

Mechanisms of song production in the Australian magpie.

Australian magpies (Gymnorhina tibicen) are notable for their vocal prowess. We investigated the syringeal and respiratory dynamics of vocalization by two 6-month-old males, whose songs had a number of adult features. There was no strong lateral syringeal dominance and unilateral phonation was most often achieved by closing the syringeal valve on the contralateral side of the syrinx.

Making a life in the life sciences and the role of mentoring for female scientists.

Evidence of sex differences in intellectual capabilities remains scant and, rather than revealing genetic origin, it is complicated by the influence of social circumstances. Some inequities persist, and although these have been decreasing in recent decades, therefore, it remains a major task for policy makers and educators to assist in setting up programs, including mentoring opportunities, that are directed at alleviating such inequities. This paper outlines some historical circumstances in science and suggests that mentoring has to be understood in a wide systemic framework.

Hemispheric specialization in Australian magpies (Gymnorhina tibicen) shown as eye preferences during response to a predator.

Brain lateralization in birds is frequently expressed as a preference to view stimuli with one eye using the lateral monocular visual field. As few studies have investigated lateralized behaviour in wild birds, we scored eye preferences of Australian magpies (Gymnorhina tibicen) performing anti-predator responses. When animals deal with potential predators by mobbing them, constant assessment is needed to consider whether to approach, mob or withdraw.

Alarm calls and referentiality in Australian magpies: between midbrain and forebrain, can a case be made for complex cognition?

The ability to communicate intentionally and referentially about predators by issuing specific and unique alarm calls per predator type, usually considered indicative of forebrain activity, is generally regarded as evidence of complex cognition. However, the neurobiology of such expressions is not well-understood and the relationship of song to alarm calls is not clear. In the very few studies of brain activity in calls of non-songbirds and songbirds so far, it was found that it is only the midbrain that is involved in the production of calls.

Are animals autistic savants.

Do animals have privileged access to lower level sensory information before it is packaged into concepts, as it has been argued for autistic savants?

Head-cocking as a form of exploration in the common marmoset and its development.

Head-cocking of 15 infant marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) was scored from Day 1 to 60 of postnatal life, the growth period with overproduction of interneuronal synapses. Head-cocking was scored during four 30 min intervals daily, including angle of head-cocking and objects being fixated. Mean age of onset of head-cocking was Day 13 (+/-1.