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Innovation (i.e., a new solution to a familiar problem, or applying an existing behavior to a novel problem) plays a fundamental role in species’ ecology and evolution. It can be a useful measure for cross-group comparisons of behavioral and cognitive flexibility and a proxy for general intelligence. Among birds, experimental studies of innovation...
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... We analyzed 51 trials (trial length x ± s: 13.2 ± 5.4 min, range: 3.5-27.8 min) comprising 15 caracaras who participated in a maximum of five trials across 17 days (Table 1). Innovation rates during caracaras' first trial were as rapid as one solution per 1.6 min (i.e., 0.6 solutions per min, 0.3 ± 0.15 solutions per min, Figure 2). ...Context 2
... = 0.001). In later trials, some caracaras immediately started running from outside the arena toward the box once it became available, with one hatch-year (H17, Table 1) solving all tasks within 5 min 14 s (including post-solution exploration time). Temporarily captive wild-caught chimango caracaras (Milvago chimango), the only other species within the caracara subfamily to receive attention in cognitive studies, 27,29 also show decreased approach latencies and increased problem-solving success across trials when faced with a 4-task problem-solving box. ...Context 3
... right: a juvenile striated caracara uses a foot to solve the plank task. See also Figures S2, S3, and Table S1. with other birds that frequently manipulate items with their feet (e.g., barn owls Tyto alba, 32 see also Guti errez-Ibá n ˜ ez et al. 33 )-caracaras may have specialized sensory receptors in their foot pads that aid in haptic exploration. ...Context 4
... analyzing the panels separately, we found this effect differed depending on the task. In general, increased exploration led to faster solution times for all task panels except for the twig (see Table S1 for model results). Continued interactions with tasks after the reward was taken may reflect exploration or play tendencies modulated by stimulus complexity (e.g., size and number of distinct elements), which affects exploratory response in many species. ...Context 5
... an alternative, we fitted a model that included contact frequency as a test predictor together with trial number as a control predictor, to control for a general increased exposure to the panels. These models had low sample size and high levels of collinearity between predictors and are therefore presented as alternatives (Table S1). ...Context 6
... To keep Type I error rate at the nominal level of 5%, we included all possible identifiable random slopes within the random intercepts effects. 76,77 After fitting our models, we confirmed that (1) the model assumptions were not violated by visually inspecting QQ-plots (Field 83 ), (2) the 'Best Linear Unbiased Predictors' (BLUPS) were approximately normally distributed, 72 (3) overdispersion was not an issue for the logistic model (dispersion parameter = 1.07), and (4) the absence of collinearity by calculating the 'Variance Inflation Factor' using the R package 'car' version 3.0-12 (VIF = 1.001, 1.02, and 1.02, respectively for performance rate, proportion of tasks solved, and latency to contact; for VIF values for solution latency models see Table S1; Fox and Weisberg 78 ). We confirmed model stability by comparing model estimates of the full model to estimates of models in which levels of random effects were excluded one at a time 79 using a function written by Roger Mundry (Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Gö ttingen). ...Citations
... For researchers working with neophobic animals such as corvids, it can take weeks or even months to be able to fully habituate subjects to even enter a testing compartment that contains a new experimental apparatus. In contrast, working with highly investigative animals such as kea (Diamond & Bond, 1999) or striated caracara falcons (Harrington et al., 2024) may require the opposite approach to habituation as the animals tend to be initially more interested in the apparatuses than in the food reward inside. In extreme cases, this can lead to performances in which animals appear to prefer ineffective over the effective actions above chance expectation before falling into a solving routine (Gajdon et al., 2014), or in which animals continue to interact with tasks that no longer contain a food reward (Harrington et al., 2024). ...
... In contrast, working with highly investigative animals such as kea (Diamond & Bond, 1999) or striated caracara falcons (Harrington et al., 2024) may require the opposite approach to habituation as the animals tend to be initially more interested in the apparatuses than in the food reward inside. In extreme cases, this can lead to performances in which animals appear to prefer ineffective over the effective actions above chance expectation before falling into a solving routine (Gajdon et al., 2014), or in which animals continue to interact with tasks that no longer contain a food reward (Harrington et al., 2024). In multitask designs in which animals are given choices on multiple solutions, such playful or explorative species tend to show a lot of interindividual variation and try out many solutions, whereas other species stick to the ones that have worked before (e.g., Auersperg et al., 2011;Harrington et al., 2024). ...
... In extreme cases, this can lead to performances in which animals appear to prefer ineffective over the effective actions above chance expectation before falling into a solving routine (Gajdon et al., 2014), or in which animals continue to interact with tasks that no longer contain a food reward (Harrington et al., 2024). In multitask designs in which animals are given choices on multiple solutions, such playful or explorative species tend to show a lot of interindividual variation and try out many solutions, whereas other species stick to the ones that have worked before (e.g., Auersperg et al., 2011;Harrington et al., 2024). ...
In humans, a mental state of flow--an interesting phenomenon driven by intrinsic motivation (e.g., Hintze & Yee, 2023) in which a state of settlement in an activity is perceived as rewarding--requires a careful balance between skill and challenge throughout the activity (van der Linden et al, 2021). A mental state of flow may also explain some animal activities such as, for example, some patterns of play (Burghardt, 2010; Held & Špinka, 2011; Hintze & Yee, 2023) or exploration for the sake of exploring (see interest; Kashdan et al., 2018; but not exploration to reduce anxiety states caused by knowledge gaps; e.g., Löewenstein, 1994). Perhaps most of all, it could help to explain some instances of contrafreeloading in animals. Contrafreeloading is defined as a preference to deliberately invest work to obtain an extrinsic reward that is also freely available (Inglis et al., 1997). Notably, to be explained by flow, contrafreeloading needs to remain challenging to the animal. In this issue, Carroll and Pepperberg (see record 2025-20600-001) present a new study targeting contrafreeloading in four captive umbrella cockatoos, a large species known for their loud calls and their flamboyant display routines. The almost antioptimal foraging tendencies of captive parrots led researchers around Pepperberg to study them as avian models for contrafreeloading (e.g., Inzlichet et al, 2018; Inglis et al, 1997, de Jonge et al, 2008, Tarte et al, 1973). In the current study, prior to testing, the four Ss received two deshelled nuts as a choice to determine possible side biases in their choices. All had some side preferences. Thereafter, they received a choice between a shelled and a deshelled almond. The results were individually quite variable with two birds preferring deshelled almonds over shelled almonds. Nevertheless, one bird, Poly preferred shelled almonds over deshelled almonds at 70%. Moreover, all of the others chose the shelled nuts at least sometimes (one other bird at 60%). This is remarkable considering that, according to optimal foraging theory, they should always go after the effortless option. Large interindividual differences and small samples made it hard to draw strong conclusions at this point. With more zoos, sanctuaries, and laboratories joining large collaborative projects, testing the play hypothesis and/or playful flow in contrafreeloading across species may become more feasible soon. Understanding intrinsically rewarding routines, such as contrafreeloading and flow, has great potential to inform us on the optimization of enrichment and welfare routines in large-brained animals and thus promises to remain an exciting topic in comparative psychology in the forthcoming years. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).
... Large-brained crows and parrots have dominated the field of avian cognition 38 , but recently there has been a move towards studying rarer and smaller-brained species 39,40 . Our study provides empirical evidence of technical innovation in palaeognath birds, in the context of novel food extraction. ...
... This bird's lack of prior task experience rules out innovation through insight (i.e., a sudden and pre-informed solution, presumed to arise from cognitive re-structuring of the problem following an impasse) 50 so points towards using a previously learned behaviour (albeit a complex one) in a novel situation. We also assume there was an element of playful interaction, similar to striated caracaras (Phalcoboenus australis) whose interaction with a puzzle-box was reinforced by task sound or movement 40 . However, if the rapid bolt innovation had been witnessed in a crow or parrot, we suspect it would have been acceptable, perhaps expected of us, to attribute it to insight or causal reasoning, based on prior findings in these taxa 38 . ...
... The rotary task was different to prior innovation puzzle box designs (that involve moving an obstacle away from a food chamber; for example by manipulating a door) 14,32 and we hoped this would provide novel insights into innovation. The modular design was beneficial because it offered birds several food extraction opportunities in a row before it needed to be refilled, which is more representative of foraging in a natural food patch 40 . To this end, we defined a trial as a continuous period of voluntary task-use beginning with a bird's approach within one body length and ending as soon as the bird retreated over one body length and did not return to use the task within 1 min. ...
The ability to innovate implies flexible cognition, and is used as a broad metric of intelligence. Innovation in birds has been intensively studied in the larger and more taxonomically diverse Neognathae clade (particularly crows and parrots) and overlooked in the smaller and more ancestral Palaeognathae clade. The current study provides the first known evidence of technical innovation in palaeognath birds. We tested the ability of nine individuals of three species to move a hole towards a chamber to access a food reward. This problem was different to traditional innovation puzzle-boxes where an obstacle is moved away from a food chamber. Three emus and one rhea produced a wheel-turning innovation, moving the hole in the most efficient direction (closer to the nearest food item) in 90% of cases. One rhea dismantled the task twice by removing the central bolt, which we suggest is a second type of innovation, and it did not persist once they innovated the wheel turning solution. Ostriches did not innovate. We classify innovation in palaeognaths as low level/simplistic, relying on general exploration and asocial trial and error learning. Our research suggests that technical innovation may have evolved far earlier in birds than previously thought, and palaeognath birds are a compelling taxonomic group for further cognitive research.
... Most long-term memory research is with captive species, focusing on spatial, individual or object recognition, with less known about wild species and the retention of motor task abilities, as in the case of complex foraging skills 2,3 . We have examined whether wild striated caracaras (Phalcoboenus australis), recently shown to rapidly and fl exibly innovate with an eight-task puzzle box 4 , retain task memories one year later. We found that, despite no reinforcement, caracaras repeated motor techniques that led to their most recent success on tasks the year prior, solving nearly twice as fast as a naïve control group and four times faster than when naïve. ...
Long-term memory — information retention over long timescales — can allow animals to retain foraging skills and efficiently respond to seasonal and changing environments. Most long-term memory research is with captive species, focusing on spatial, individual or object recognition, with less known about wild species and the retention of motor task abilities, as in the case of complex foraging skills. We have examined whether wild striated caracaras (Phalcoboenus australis), recently shown to rapidly and flexibly innovate with an eight-task puzzle box, retain task memories one year later. We found that, despite no reinforcement, caracaras repeated motor techniques that led to their most recent success on tasks the year prior, solving nearly twice as fast as a naïve control group and four times faster than when naïve. Our results suggest long-term memory may be important for non-migratory opportunistic generalists, particularly in remote island environments with seasonal resources, and further highlight how striated caracaras are promising candidates for avian cognitive studies.
... Las especies pertenecientes a la subfamilia Polyborinae (Falconiformes: Falconidae), mejor conocidas como caracaras, integran un clado de rapaces presentes desde el sur de norteamérica hasta las estribaciones e islas más australes del continente americano (Ferguson-Lees & Christie, 2001). Como grupo exhiben una notable flexibilidad trófica (Sazima, 2007), no sólo en la variabilidad de las presas que eligen, sino que también en la variedad de comportamientos de alimentación e innovación que presentan (Jones, 1999;Biondi et al., 2022;Harrington et al., 2024). ...
Las invasiones biológicas, especialmente en islas, son una causa importante de pérdida de biodiversidad. Aunque su impacto suele ser negativo para la biota nativa, depredadores como las aves rapaces pueden beneficiarse de la incorporación de presas invasoras en su dieta. Para comprender este tipo de interacciones los estudios tróficos son fundamentales, sobre todo antes de realizar acciones de control sobre las invasoras. El carancho austral (Phalcoboenus australis) es una rapaz insular, endémica del sur de Argentina y Chile, que se asocia durante la época reproductiva a colonias de aves marinas. El objetivo de este trabajo fue investigar la ecología trófica del carancho austral en la isla Observatorio durante la época reproductiva, centrándose en el uso de presas introducidas como el conejo de Castilla (Oryctolagus cuniculus) y la rata (Rattus sp.), y comparándolo con el sitio estudiado previamente en bahía Franklin. Mediante análisis de isótopos estables (AIE) de sangre de los pichones y análisis de egagrópilas de los nidos, se caracterizó la dieta de los individuos reproductivos de isla Observatorio y se la comparó con la de los de bahía Franklin. En dos días de trabajo de campo (17 y 18 de diciembre de 2021) se censó a los pares reproductivos en la isla (16 nidos activos). Se tomaron muestras de sangre de 17 pichones de 14 nidos y se recolectaron 102 egagrópilas de 13, junto a muestras de tejido de presas potenciales. Se registró el consumo de especies invasoras en el 69% de los nidos muestreados de isla Observatorio, y el nicho isotópico de los pichones fue hasta más de seis veces mayor que el de los de bahía Franklin, en la que no se detectaron presas introducidas. El principal componente de la dieta en isla Observatorio fue el pingüino magallánico (Spheniscus magellanicus), posiblemente facilitado por la depredación de lobos marinos (Otaria flavescens) sobre los pingüinos, registrada en la bibliografía y en los días de trabajo de campo. El AIE permitió
inferir que la mayor amplitud en el nicho isotópico de los pichones de isla Observatorio por sobre los de bahía Franklin estuvo dada por la inclusión de conejo y rata enriquecidos en 15N. La inclusión
de invasoras en la dieta de los pichones tiene implicancias en las acciones de manejo a realizar y probablemente también en la dinámica poblacional del carancho austral. El control con rodenticidas debería realizarse con especial cuidado, debido al peligro de envenenamiento secundario de los caranchos, sabiendo que se alimentan de las invasoras. Es posible que el subsidio de las invasoras aumente la densidad de nidos y la supervivencia invernal de la especie en isla Observatorio, por lo que es recomendable que futuros trabajos profundicen en esas líneas.
Problem solving in animals is often studied by measuring an animal's ability to solve man-made puzzles, such as puzzle feeders. Outside of scientific studies, puzzle feeders are also presented to captive animals housed in zoos, aquaria, and sanctuaries as a form of enrichment. Footage of these interactions is commonly posted on social media accounts to increase public engagement with the institution. However, because these puzzle feeders are not presented to animals for research purposes, the problem-solving abilities of numerous species may not be recorded in the scientific literature. Therefore, we searched through three social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram and X) for footage of captive animals solving problems to determine if social media could be a useful tool for behavioural scientists. For each video, we recorded what species was featured, what the puzzle was, how it was solved, and whether this was the first documentation of problem solving for the species (to the best of our knowledge). We found 111 records of successful problem solving across 74 species, including mammals (n = 57), birds (n = 13), and reptiles (n = 4). Overall, this was the first record of problem solving in 29 of these species. We suggest that social media could be a useful tool for researchers studying problem solving, particularly of mammalian and avian species.
In this study, we analyzed the variation in cognitive flexibility in the Chimango Caracara (Milvago chimango), across areas with different levels of urbanization. To assess this, we utilized the reversal learning assay which measures the ability to adapt behavior in response to changes in environmental contingencies. We also investigated the impact of neophobia on this variation. All chimangos studied succeeded in acquiring a color-reward association and reverting this learned association when the contingencies changed. Urban chimangos were faster than their rural and suburban counterparts during the initial discrimination and reversal phases. The reversal phase proved to be the most challenging task. The analysis of the errors made during this phase revealed that acquiring a new association (i.e., regressive errors) was challenging for the individuals studied, in comparison to inhibiting a previously learned one (i.e., perseverative errors). Neophobia was found to be lower in urban individuals compared to suburban and rural raptors. Moreover, neophobia showed a correlation with regressive errors during the reversal phase among rural and suburban chimangos, while no such correlation was observed among city-dwelling chimangos. We suggest that neophobia acted as a regulating factor of cognitive flexibility, mainly for individuals expressing relatively high levels of this personality trait.
