Site icon Conservation news

Birds plan for the future

Birds plan for the future

Birds plan for the future
mongabay.com
February 21, 2007

New research suggests that some birds plan for the future. Previously it was believed that planning was exclusively a human activity.

Writing in the current edition of the journal Nature, scientists at Cambridge University found that western scrub-jays plan for future food shortages by storing food. Unlike squirrels and other animals that store foods during lean times as a matter of habit, the researchers show that the birds actually learn from their previous experiences of food scarcity, saving food for future consumption when they anticipate future periods of famine.

University of Cambridge.

“The jays spontaneously plan for tomorrow, without being motivated by their current needs,” said Nicola Clayton, Professor of Comparative Cognition at the University of Cambridge. “People have assumed that animals only have a concept of the present, but these findings show that jays also have some understanding of future events and can plan for future eventualities. The western scrub-jays demonstrate behaviour that shows they are concerned both about guarding against food shortages and maximising the variety of their diets. It suggests they have advanced and complex thought processes as they have a sophisticated concept of past, present and future and factor this into their planning.”

Clayton, along with co-author and colleague Tom Dickinson, believe this is the first known example of future planning in animals.

Their conclusions are based on a series experiments, two of which are described in a new release from Cambridge.

The paper is titled “Planning for the future by western scrub-jays.” It is published in the February 22 issue of Nature.





Exit mobile version