Prosociality, social cognition and empathy in psittacids and corvids

TL;DR: The results suggest that an emotional link exists between affiliated individuals and that this special bond drives their prosocial and empathic behavioral responses.

Abstract: In the animal kingdom some species form complex social groups in which elaborated relationships between individuals occur. Prosocial behaviors, i.e. actions that benefit others, preferentially occur between closely affiliated individuals and may be driven by empathy, the ability to identify and share the emotional states of others. Birds, particularly corvids and parrots, are excellent candidates for investigating the link between social relationship and other-regarding behavior. They are long-lived and form long-term monogamous pair-bonds in which a high level of cooperation is seen throughout the year. The aim of this thesis is to study how the nature of a relationship (sibling, mate or friend) can modulate prosocial behavior and its underlying emotions in parrots and a corvid species. The approach was to study food-sharing or behavioral reactions to stressful situations such as distress call playback or exposure to novel objects, in different social contexts. Cockatiels (Nymphicus hollandicus) reacted more to the distress calls of a closely affiliated partner than to those of a non-partner, and they preferably shared food with affiliated, related individuals. Different species of parrots preferentially chose a prosocial option over a selfish one, but it remains unclear whether they took the other’s perspective into account. Confronted with intimidating novel objects, jackdaws (Coloeus monedula) spent more time in mutual proximity when paired with their mate than when with a familiar opposite-sex non-partner. However, they were not bolder when accompanied by their mate compared to a non-partner. These results suggest that an emotional link exists between affiliated individuals and that this special bond drives their prosocial and empathic behavioral responses.