Jackdaw chicks learn about predators by listening to adults, new research shows.
Scientists played recordings of predator calls to chicks in their nests - and paired the sounds with either adult jackdaw "alarm" calls or "contact" calls that indicate no danger.
Chicks that heard predator sounds paired with alarm calls learned to fear the predator - becoming more vigilant on hearing that sound again - while chicks that heard contact calls did not.
The study, by researchers at the University of Exeter's Centre for Ecology and Conservation, also tested the effects of a non-predatory birdcall - and found chicks didn't learn to fear this even when it was paired with alarm calls.
This suggests evolution has shaped learning processes to ensure only "biologically meaningful" links are learned - so animals don't waste energy responding to things that pose no threat.
"Our study shows that nestling jackdaws can learn about dangers they might encounter in the future by listening to adults," said Hannah Broad, who led the study during a Master's by Research at Exeter's Penryn Campus in Cornwall.
"As they nest in cavities, jackdaws are fairly safe as nestlings. However, learning through trial-and-error after leaving the nest can be dangerous - so social learning as a chick could be highly valuable."
The recorded birdcalls came from a possible predator of jackdaws, the Eurasian goshawk, and a non-predator, the American golden plover.
The study took place in Cornwall, UK, where sightings of these species are exceptionally unlikely - so the jackdaw chicks would not have heard their calls before.
