THE more sociable parrots show a more complex language with richest vocabulary. This is because the social ties of an individual influence the calls of these birds. The research was led by Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior (Germany), conducted in particular on monks.
The social networks of animals
As the researchers explain, monks parrocchetti thrive in huge colonies where they communicate to each other using them Many distinct soundsThis offers scientists a single window on understanding the interaction between individual social relations and vocal variety.
In general, it is known that for social animals communication is the key that unlocks the benefits of group life and that those with more complex social lives tend to have more intricate ways of communicating, from the schiocchi and whistles of the dolphins to the calls of primates.
A study of 2021 led byUniversity of Californiato mention an example, has documented the social life of Golden Terricolo squirrel (Callospermophilus lateralis), native of the West of the United States and Canada, analyzing the personality of small rodents on four main sections, namely courage, aggression, level of activity and sociability.
And, although the squirrel is not a species at risk of extinction, the results of the study, which has collected data for over thirty years, have shown, among other things, that the most courageous and aggressive individuals are able to find more food or to defend their territory better, but a contemptuous behavior of the risk makes them at the same time more vulnerable to predation and accidents.
Interesting that courage is also associated with greater social skills and that in general The personality of the animal affects the use of space and resourceswith important consequences on the conservation of the entire species.
What was discovered on parrots
The researchers of Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior (MPI-AB), analyzing the social networks of Munich Parrocchetti in Spain, have discovered how the social ties of an individual influence the calls of these birds.
The scientists have spent several months over two years observing 337 parrocchetti monaci, documenting their social life and recording all their scarce, screeching and whistles, for a total of 5,599 vocalizations.
The team then examined these calls in terms of diversity of the repertoire (how many different sounds a bird can emit) and diversity of the call of contact (how much this specific type of recall differs) and mapped the social networks of the birds, analyzing every aspect, from the frequency of interactions with others to the strength of their relationships.
On the basis of these data, the team concluded that the individual parrocchetti who live in larger groups actually produce a repertoire of more variable sounds and that Females have a more diversified repertoire Compared to males, which is actually unusual for birds.
This research is a really important first step – explains Simeon Smeele, the first author of the study – really seems that there are some types of calls used exclusively in social situations. And it is really interesting to see that the females seem to produce more, which suggests that they are the most social sex
The analysis of social networks showed that the parrocchetti with more central positions in the social structure – those potentially most influential in the group – tended to have more diversified vocal repertoires. In other words, The most social individuals seemed to have a better vocabulary compared to less social individuals.
What I find really exciting is that we managed to connect what individuals say to very specific levels of sociality. For example, the intimate friends who allowed themselves to get closer to the cunned distance played less similar to each other, as if they tried to appear unique in their small group
Much more than a curiosity about parrots
As reported by the authors, these results offer indications on the evolution of complex communicationincluding human language. Previous research They had shown that sociality is linked to a more diversified repertoire in other species. But this study goes further, showing how vocal communication is shaped by the social network of an individual.
The next big step is better understand the meaning of each sound – concludes Smele – a truly titanic task, since most of the social cries take place in large groups with many individuals who speak simultaneously
The work was published on The Royal Society Publishing.
Sources: Sciencedaily / The Royal Society Publishing
