Birds live in complex social groups, similar to those of elephants or dolphins.
German researchers said they found such a multi-layered community among the Ethiopian eagle chickens in Kenya, as explained in their study, which published their findings in the current issue of the journal Current Biology.
Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Biology in Constance, together with colleagues from the University of Constance, have demonstrated that members of the same species coexist in many small, fixed groups that merge with each other. Researchers say humans do the same thing as some species of monkeys, elephants, giraffes, dolphins and sperm whales - living in multi-layered societies.
Scientists have so far believed that such a complex life requires a proportional level of intelligence, as members of these groups need to know who belongs to their circle and who does not.
The Ethiopian or Guinean chickens live on the ground and are from the Guinean chicken family, which has a relatively small brain. The bird can be 61 to 71 centimeters long and has feathers with white stripes and dots over a black background, as well as a blue chest. The Ethiopian chicken breed, which owes its name to its eagle-like head, lives in the wilds and forests of East Africa.
Constance researchers monitored social relations between members of a group of more than 400 adult birds over a year in Kenya and provided 58 of them with GPS transmitters.
The researchers found that they included 18 different social groups, each consisting of 13 to 65 individuals.
These groups remained stable, although they intersected with one or a number of groups on a regular basis day and night. In other words, the Ethiopian Eagle was able to identify the social associations that bind it to many other individuals.
The researchers also found that there are strong interactions between groups at certain times of the year, which are related to the distinct points of the spaces in which they live, which made the researchers believe that environmental elements play a role in the formation of multi-layered societies.
Biological behavioral researchers say that what makes the facts they observe particularly important is that although many species of birds live in groups, these groups are open or unstable in the long run, or they are very closely related to a particular land. The first time we have found such a social structure in birds, ”said Danai Papagiorgio, lead researcher for the Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Biology, in a statement.
"Observing hundreds of birds that come out of their numbness every day and are fully distributed in perfectly stable groups is commendable, as well as knowing how these birds behave," Papagiorgio said.
Questioned
`` This finding raises a number of questions about the basic mechanisms of complex societies and opens up exciting research perspectives on the qualities that led these birds to develop a social system closer to primate systems. ''
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