Work

Gaze following in pigeons increases with the number of demonstrators

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: ). Using motion capture to track fine-scale head and body movements, we presented attention-getting stimuli to subsets of pigeons (demonstrators), while others (observers) could not see them. Observer pigeons followed the gaze of demonstrators, specifically toward the target object rather than a perceptually similar distractor, and the frequency increased with the number of demonstrators. We found no evidence for nonlinear effects under our experimental conditions. In group-living species like pigeons, multiple individuals looking in the same direction may serve as a more reliable social signal, highlighting the critical role of collective context in animal social cognition.

Source: iScience

DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.112857

Authors: Mathilde Delacoux, Akihiro Itahara, Fumihiro Kano

Institutions: University of Konstanz, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University

Language: English

Topic: Child and Animal Learning Development

Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,240

Funders: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Kyoto University