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Raven food calls indicate sender’s age and sex

13.03.2018

Ravens (Corvus corax) facing problems in accessing food express special feed-associated sounds to call for help from members of the same species.

According to a study by behavioural scientists from the University of Vienna and the University of Cambridge, these calls include clues about the age and gender of the calling raven. The scientistst have observed a wild population of ravens regularly present at feedings in the Cumberland Wildpark Grünau in the Almtal (Austria). The scientists filmed the feedings in order to subsequently identify and analyze the frequency, duration and loudness of the ravens' special sounds. It turned out that passing ravens distinguish potential feed calls based on age and gender information. The results are currently published in the journal "Frontiers in Zoology". [read more]

Raven food calls indicate sender’s age and sex. Markus Boeckle, Georgine Szipl and Thomas Bugnyar in: Frontiers in Zoology (2018) 15:5 doi.org/10.1186/s12983-018-0255-z

Ravens (corvus corax) express special feed-associated sounds to call for help from members of the same species. (c) Georgine Szipl