Flocking behaviour - a hypothesis (1 Viewer)

[Kiteman001]

We are all familiar with the sight of thousands of birds wheeling in huge flocks.

Typically, the images we see doing this are starlings and waders.

On a smaller scale, a few tens of smaller birds like finches or tits will do the same when crossing an open space.

But...

Has anybody seen any of the corvids exhibiting similar behaviour?

Yes, we get flocks of crows, rooks etc, but do they respond in the same, unthinkingly instinctive manner to their neighbours' movements?

I have a hypothesis that there is a negative correlation between flocking behaviour (and, come to that, shoal-behaviour in fish) and intelligence.

That is, the cleverer the individuals of a species are, the less likely they are to act in flock-like unison.

Any thoughts?

(Admins - I don't know if this is the right board for this question, feel free to move it.)

 

[chris butterworth]

That is, the cleverer the individuals of a species are, the less likely they are to act in flock-like unison.

I'm not sure I've come across anything relating flocking behavior to intelligence - but if there is a correlationship, then where does that put humans?

( Misanthropic ) Chris :t:

 

[Reuven_M]

Parrots are supposed to be very smart...
http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=...1t:429,r:9,s:0&tx=114&ty=123&biw=1024&bih=653
http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=...&ndsp=12&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:26&biw=1024&bih=653

 

[fugl]

And California Quail, which don't do anything in unison, are supposed to be very dumb. . ..

 

[barelyb]

The research I've read indicates, at least for starling, that group feeding gives them significant advantages avoiding predators. Consequently, their response to danger falls from around 4.5 seconds (when alone) to around 3.5 seconds in the flock. A significant advantage. In flight, the research I've read also shows that an individual starling only watches, at most, its immediate 7 neighbors. So the flocking flight behavior is a natural result of the process. There doesn't appear to be any "psychic" ability as some have speculated. I can look up the references if you want them. The response times when feeding comes from Dr. Feare's book "The Starling".

 

[Kiteman001]

@Chris - mob mentality vs thoughtful individual?

@fugl - flocking is generally the reserve of "three dimensional" habitats (flying birds, fish in open water), isn't it, so I hadn't even considered quail / partridge / pheasant in my thinking.

@Reuven_M - those are [impressive] stills of flocks, but are they doing the same wheeling-in-unison behaviour as starlings etc?

@ barelyb - so you're thinking that flocking is a prey-species behaviour, and since most corvids predate to some degree, the correlation is between flocking behaviour and position on the food chain?

 

[fugl]

@fugl - flocking is generally the reserve of "three dimensional" habitats (flying birds, fish in open water), isn't it, so I hadn't even considered quail / partridge / pheasant in my thinking.

Not really. It’s just that when it’s in 2 dimensions (e.g., bison) it’s usually called “herding”, not “flocking” (or “schooling” in the case of fish).

 

[barelyb]

Hi Kiteman. I was just relaying what I've read. However, it does make sense to me that there is safety in numbers, and if I were to hang around with a large group of my own species, they could most probably lead me to where there is food.

 

[tomjenner]

It might depend a lot on the reason for the flock. A major reason, as stated before, is to avoid predation. However, another major importance of flocking is to optimise foraging. I would imagine this would be more important in corvids.

Tom

 

[Tideliner]

Quote “Has anybody seen any of the corvids exhibiting similar behaviour? “

I would like to turn that question around has anyone in the UK not seen corvids flocking. Its almost a daily occurrence for me with rooks , mixed flocks of jackdaws and rooks and though much rarer carrion crows.

In the case of corvids I suspect rather than predator avoidance its has a more social function , though information exchange on feeding sites may also be happening.

I do not think intelligence comes into the equation at all.

 

[carjug]

I bet you can find some corrleations! Flocking behavior definetly has something to do with food and nesting requirements, Woodpeckers usually don't flock, and they have to spread out to find ants to eat. They seem to have normal bird intelligence.
But crows? They flock like crazy and they are smart.
The thing to remember is that birds fly. Every brain cell is weight they have to lug around with feather-power, and if being intelligent makes them too heavy, then they won't live. So the question might become:
Does flocking behavior reduce the need to carry around extra head-weight?
I bet it does. If we compare birds with similar diets, do the birds that flock have smaller brains?

 

[fugl]

I bet you can find some corrleations! Flocking behavior definetly has something to do with food and nesting requirements, Woodpeckers usually don't flock, and they have to spread out to find ants to eat. They seem to have normal bird intelligence.
But crows? They flock like crazy and they are smart.
The thing to remember is that birds fly. Every brain cell is weight they have to lug around with feather-power, and if being intelligent makes them too heavy, then they won't live. So the question might become:
Does flocking behavior reduce the need to carry around extra head-weight?
I bet it does. If we compare birds with similar diets, do the birds that flock have smaller brains?

Interesting thought, but flocking itself--along with every other kind of complex behavior--also requires brain cells (& thus “extra head-weight”), just not the sort implicated in “intelligence” Or at least not necessarily implicated in intelligence.

 

[tomjenner]

Every brain cell is weight ... do the birds that flock have smaller brains?

Is there really any simple relationship between brain size and intelligence? Are Great Danes smarter than Chihuahuas, or is Mike Tyson smarter than Mini Me? (OK, bad choice). I have often wondered about this, as there are some quite intelligent small animals (such as rats) that seem to have more brain power than much larger ones (such as sheep). The relationship seems to be more related to lifestyle and especially the type of food eaten - with omnivores tending to be smarter than grazers, regardless of brain size.

Tom

 

[ovenbird43]

Is there really any simple relationship between brain size and intelligence?

Intelligence is roughly correlated with the ratio of brain size: body size, rather than absolute brain size per se.

Most research I've read about supports a predation-avoidance hypothesis for flocking behavior in most birds, and in some cases also some type of foraging benefit. Intelligence might be indirectly correlated with flocking behavior, although I doubt any such relationship would be causal. In birds, flocking behavior is seen in prey species more often than in predators, and as a broad generalization prey species tend to be less intelligent than predators.

 

[barelyb]

Intelligence is roughly correlated with the ratio of brain size: body size, rather than absolute brain size per se.

Most research I've read about supports a predation-avoidance hypothesis for flocking behavior in most birds, and in some cases also some type of foraging benefit. Intelligence might be indirectly correlated with flocking behavior, although I doubt any such relationship would be causal. In birds, flocking behavior is seen in prey species more often than in predators, and as a broad generalization prey species tend to be less intelligent than predators.

References? I'd like to see your research on this. I've been studying starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) over the past year for my documentary and they are very intelligent. If their predators are more intelligent I have not seen evidence of this.

 

[ovenbird43]

References? I'd like to see your research on this. I've been studying starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) over the past year for my documentary and they are very intelligent. If their predators are more intelligent I have not seen evidence of this.

I was making a very broad generalization, for which there are certainly many exceptions. I do not know if there even is a negative correlation between flocking behavior and intelligence, but I was arguing that IF such a correlation could be demonstrated then it is probably due to other covarying factors, of which foraging habits and intelligence is one possibility.

Many small birds (not ALL, but many) have innate, relatively inflexible foraging behaviors and are thus considered on average to be less intelligent than many omnivores or predators, which must learn a larger component of their hunting and foraging skills (again, only on average). For starlings in particular, I certainly don't disagree that they are smart.