Close social bonds help wild jackdaws hold feeding spots but come with waiting costs
Close social relationships are known to contribute to the survival of many animals, including humans. Maintaining social bonds over time, however, can also require effort and sacrifices.
A study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences reveals how close social bonds among wild jackdaws, a species of crow, can provide advantages in accessing food resources. Researchers from the University of Exeter and Swansea University examined the foraging behavior of these birds, which are known to form strong social relationships similar to humans.
While maintaining social bonds can necessitate effort and sacrifices, the findings suggest that these connections can enhance feeding opportunities for jackdaws.
The researchers provided feeding stations where one bird could eat while another waited in line. They observed that jackdaws tended to associate with bonded partners, such as mates and close relatives, and coordinated their activities with them. Bonded pairs also displayed higher social tolerance and potentially provided social support, enabling the feeding individual to access food more easily.
Waiting birds faced time and opportunity costs by not being able to feed themselves, but they appeared to accept these costs to let their bonded partner feed. The study indicates that social bonds can be beneficial for jackdaws during foraging, even though sharing a feeding station with another bird requires them to wait longer.
These results suggest that social relationships can optimize food intake, which may impact survival or reproductive success in natural conditions where resources are scarce and competitive. Further research could explore additional benefits and costs of social bonds among jackdaws.
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