Magpies that bully other magpies are likely to be less intelligent and prefer to use their brawn rather than their brains, according to a new study

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• In short: A study of Australian magpies over two years has found birds that are aggressive are likely to be less intelligent than their victims.
• The study, run by the University of Western Australia, used a 'two-choice' test to trial the intelligence of magpies.
• What's next? The research will be used to work out what makes birds aggressive and how their social networks impact their intelligence.

Magpies that bully other magpies are likely to be less intelligent and prefer to use their brawn rather than their brains, according to a new study by Australian researchers.

The University of Western Australia has been observing groups of magpies in Perth for nearly a decade, and have established a baseline understanding of how their social networks look and how the birds interact with each other.

A recent study by researcher Dr Elizabeth Speechley aimed to use a cognitive test on groups of magpies to determine their intelligence.

Previous research done by the university had found birds who lived in bigger groups were often more intelligent than those who lived in smaller networks.

UWA associate professor Amanda Ridley supervised Dr Speechly's work, and said her study was the next 'logical step' in understanding why.

Associate Professor Amanda Ridley from the University of Western sits on the grass in a park and feeds a magpie.(ABC News: Jon Sambell)
"What is it about large groups that leads to this greater level of cognition?" she said.

"Group size is just a number, but within that, some might be more connected than others and some might be really central in this social network.

"They could be getting a lot of information from others, whereas some others in that large group, might be peripheral and they might not have many friends — so we might not see as much cognitive ability from them."

What did the researchers do?​

Researchers built a colour-coded toy to test the birds' brains, with a treat – small pieces of cheese- hidden behind a specific colour.

Called a 'two choice' test, the birds had to learn which colour had the cheese hidden behind it in order to get the treat.

They held the test during non-breeding seasons.

Researchers said they had to use varying shades of the same colour so the magpies would not choose a colour they had previous experience with.(Supplied: ResearchGate)
"They needed to make an association with a certain colour and food, and they needed to do that repeatedly – they needed to get it right 10 times out of 12 to be considered [intelligent]," Dr Ridley said.

The birds were kept apart in order to prevent social learning, and the tests were frequently changed to prevent birds going with learned behaviour.

Brains versus brawn​

Researchers analysed the data from 2020 to 2021, and found one pattern continuously emerged:

"Aggression is a predictor of your intelligence," Dr Ridley said.

According to the study aggressive behaviour in magpies could look like fighting, chasing, pecking, and certain vocalisations.

"[Aggressive magpies] are not picking up on social cues around them, whereas the less aggressive ones – the ones actually receiving aggression – were more intelligent," Dr Ridley said.

"They need to find alternative ways to access food resources when the bullies are there, and they need to innovate, they need to be aware of social cues and avoid those that are going to pick on them."

Dr Elizabeth Speechley with a magpie during her study at Crawford.(Supplied: ResearchGate)
The study identified the phenomenon observed by researchers as 'necessity driving innovation', and Dr Ridley said the research would now inform more study around the costs of aggression in magpies.

"The research is ongoing," she said.

"We're [now] looking at young [magpies] and their network, and how that is affecting their intelligence to truly get how cognition develops over time due to social influences."

The research was published by the Royal Society Journal, and was peer-reviewed.

Dr Speechley's research was funded by the Australian government, the Ecological Society of Australia, and an Ada Jackson Irwin Street Commemoration Award.

Other funding was provided by the Australian Research Council.

 

[romanstock]

I bet I know which ones the girls fuck, and why they remain useless birds instead of galactic civilisation animals.