Mirror-induced behavior in the magpie (Pica pica) : evidence of self-recognition

  • Comparative studies suggest that at least some bird species have evolved mental skills similar to those found in humans and apes. This is indicated by feats such as tool use, episodic-like memory, and the ability to use one´s own experience in predicting the behavior of conspecifics. It is, however, not yet clear whether these skills are accompanied by an understanding of the self. In apes, self-directed behavior in response to a mirror has been taken as evidence of self-recognition. We investigated mirror-induced behavior in the magpie, a songbird species from the crow family. As in apes, some individuals behaved in front of the mirror as if they were testing behavioral contingencies. When provided with a mark, magpies showed spontaneous mark-directed behavior. Our findings provide the first evidence of mirror self-recognition in a non-mammalian species. They suggest that essential components of human self-recognition have evolved independently in different vertebrate classes with a separate evolutionary history.

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Author:Helmut PriorGND, Ariane Schwarz, Onur GüntürkünORCiDGND
URN:urn:nbn:de:hebis:30-57921
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0060202
ISSN:1545-7885
Parent Title (English):PLoS biology
Publisher:PLoS
Place of publication:Lawrence, Kan.
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Date of Publication (online):2008/08/19
Date of first Publication:2008/08/19
Publishing Institution:Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg
Release Date:2008/10/01
Volume:6
Issue:(8): e202
Page Number:9
First Page:1642
Last Page:1650
Note:
© 2008 Prior et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
HeBIS-PPN:206036493
Institutes:Psychologie und Sportwissenschaften / Psychologie
Dewey Decimal Classification:5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 59 Tiere (Zoologie) / 590 Tiere (Zoologie)
Sammlungen:Sammlung Biologie / Sondersammelgebiets-Volltexte
Licence (German):License LogoCreative Commons - Namensnennung 3.0