Pigeons Not Bird-Brained in Study of Abstract Number Knowledge
December 23, 2011, 9:45 PM ESTBy Michelle Fay Cortez
Dec. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Pigeons aren’t so bird-brained after all, according to researchers from New Zealand who proved they can learn abstract numerical rules.
In a landmark 1998 study, investigators showed rhesus monkeys could differentiate between the number of objects in a group and put them into ascending order. The ability was thought to apply only to humans and other primates, until now.
Damian Scarf from the University of Otago in Dunedin and his colleagues trained pigeons to do similar work, and they turned out to be just as deft as the monkeys. Given 35 three- item numerical lists, the pigeons could respond to them in order, first recognizing the single item, then two item groups, then three-item groups. They were also able to match pairs based on the number of items, even when they weren’t familiar with the objects, the report published in the journal Science found.
“Our results demonstrate a correspondence in the way monkeys and pigeons represent numbers and in their ability to acquire an abstract ordinal rule,” the researchers said. “Our results suggest that, at least with respect to numerical competence, pigeons are on par with primates and are well perched to inform us about the selection pressures and neural structures required for abstract numerical cognition.”
The investigators said they aren’t sure if pigeons and monkeys acquired their math skills from a shared common ancestor or if the numerical competence evolved independently.
“Irrespective of its origin, the results of the present experiment adds to a growing body of work demonstrating that birds possess a number of abilities that were, at one point in time, considered primate unique, such as episodic memory and the use and manufacture of tools,” the researchers said. “Indeed, over the past two decades, the intellectual status of birds has risen markedly.”
--Editors: Chris Staiti, Niamh Ring
To contact the reporter on this story: Michelle Fay Cortez in Minneapolis at mcortez@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reg Gale at rgale5@bloomberg.net
