Conflict, Cooperation, and Cognition in the Common Raven
2011
Heinrich, Bernd
In this overview of the modern study of the behavior of the Common raven, Corvus corax, I integrate recent experiments and observations of both field and captive-held birds. A primary contention and original focus concerned the apparently enigmatic behavior of juveniles and non-breeders recruiting others to share food bonanzas. I review how and why the sharing behavior was revealed to be an evolutionary stable strategy with benefits exceeding costs, by examining its mechanisms. The birds; social behavior probably arose from intense competition, and underlying mechanisms of dealing with it involve the interactions of instincts, learning, culture and insight. The birds; feeding strategies evolved in the context of interactions with dangerous carnivores and close and often repeated interactions of the same individuals of their own and other kinds at potentially long-lasting carcasses in the winter. Such social setting probably evolved “theory-of-mind” abilities, which in conjunction with memory helps to explain aspects of the ravens' food-caching behavior as well as possible insight of means-ends problem solving.
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