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Antarctic Seabird Can Recognize Human Faces
Antarctic Seabird Can Recognize Human Faces
Another bird scores high on the IQ test — Brown skuas (Stercorarius antarcticus) are apparently much more intelligent than previously believed. In fact, it appears that their IQ stretches to facial recognition in humans. It’s an ability that was known only of mockingbirds, magpies, and crows, in terms of birds.
A team of researchers from South Korea was studying brown skuas in the Antarctic, observing their breeding habits and checking the status of their eggs. Once a week, their nests were checked and measured, including both their nests and hatchlings. The skuas, however, did not seem to enjoy humans meddling in their business. In fact, they were pretty annoyed and knew exactly who to target.
Each time the researchers checked the nest, the birds got more and more aggressive. Specifically, they seemed to target the humans who had been through their nest. They screeched, following the scientists, and even kicked them in the head. Researcher Yeong-Deok Han stated that he had to defend himself multiple times from the brown skuas. Changing clothes didn’t seem to help either, which hinted that the Antarctic birds might be recognizing his face.
The researchers conducted an experiment to see if this is true.
Two scientists walked together for a little while before they separated and went in different directions. One of them had inspected their nests and measured the hatchlings, while the other did not. The former seemed to be the preferred target of the birds. They followed and screeched at him, and largely ignored the other scientists who hadn’t been spotted around their home.
Lead researcher, Dr. Won Young Lee from the Korea Polar Research Institute, expressed his amazement at the fact that the brown skuas remembered the scientists after just three or four visits. It appears that they have impressive cognitive abilities. It’s especially more interesting given that they haven’t had a lot of contact with humans before.
There are two theories on how animals distinguish humans. One would be that they possess pre-existing intelligence that lets them comprehend who they are. The second would be that they developed the ability to differentiate between humans with time.
According to Dr. Young Lee, the brown skuas likely developed those skills due to the latter. Due to the fact that the birds had interaction with humans only after the Antarctic research stations were installed, it’s more likely that they learned that ability. And they did it over a very short period.
The intelligence of brown skuas has not been well studied before, even though they have been known to steal food or even breast milk from elephant seals. And now, they have been observed to recognize even humans. They’re opportunistic and cleverer than believed.
If you're clever about eating, you won't be stealing food from elephant seals or anyone else, for that matter. You'll be surfing over to http://KindMeal.my to see the latest promotions on meat-free dining all over Malaysia. Enjoy delicious and nutritious meals without harming any of the sentient and intelligent species on the planet. Could anything be more clever?
Source: http://goo.gl/lzKoYO
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