Playing is a "costly" activity because birds spend a lot of time doing it when they could be getting food, finding shelter, or doing other things to make survival more likely. From an evolutionary perspective, there has to be some benefit to play if it costs so much. But that benefit, as these researchers discovered, is complex and oblique. Crows played with the ropes because it was fun. Getting better at poking food out of a tube was only a secondary effect.
Crows may play simply because it helps them gain generalized problem-solving skills. Of course, that doesn't entirely explain one of the often-documented habits of crows, which involves goading cats into fights. In the video below, you can see how a crow pokes and pecks at two cats until they fight, then eggs them on.
That video is hilarious.
Similar videos show crows working together to get cats to fight, and tweaking dogs' tails to make them freak out. In a sense, the crows are treating these unwitting mammals as tools. They've learned the exact things that will drive cats and dogs mad (namely, pecking their backs and tails), and seem to enjoy the results.
What, exactly, is the "reward" for doing this? There may not be any specific thing that the birds are learning from these activities. Possibly all they get is momentary amusement at the idea that they can make other animals do things.
Maybe "not being bored" is reward enough ? I mean, that's the reason I read the article... not because I thought it would make me better at problem-solving or deliver me a tasty treat. Maybe they don't play to learn. Maybe they play because their brain demands it else they go insane from boredom.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/10/scientists-investigate-why-crows-are-so-playful/
I'd be interested to see whether some of the riskier play happens mostly with an audience or not. There's plenty of risk taking as a means of fitness display in courtship across the animal kingdom
ReplyDeleteDogmatic Pyrrhonist Possibly. There don't seem to be any other crows in view in those videos though.
ReplyDeleteI once saw a young magpie taunting pugs by dive-bombing them, then flying to a low roof and caw at them loudly, wings beating. This daredevil act wasn't as risky as biting a cat's tail (because pugs are barely able to figure out how to breathe), but I guess you go with what you got... Teenage show-off ? Maybe. But my preferred theory of animal psychology is as follows :
youtube.com - Elephant Stampy. The Simpsons
Rhys Taylor I have come across a surprising number of animals that fit your hypothesis. Although most of those had two legs and exhibited rudimentary tool use, not all.
ReplyDeleteCrows totally work at driving one of my dogs nuts (Aussie cattle dog). When he gets excited, he spins and bites at his tail. When coyotes set this off, they just look at him, shake their heads, and continue on past our fence.
ReplyDeleteWhen crows do this, they take turns swooping down at him, making him bark and spin. When he slows down, another one takes a pass at him. The rest sit up on a wire and just stare.