When stalking a predator, the Siberian jay ( Perisoreus infaustus ), a bird of the corvid family, uses more than a dozen different call tones and around 25 different vocalizations , thus managing to "explain" the level of danger and category of the predator to the rest of the members of its group.
It is the conclusion of a new study by scientists at the University of Uppsala (Sweden) that shows that some birds can develop warning systems as sophisticated as those used by primates and meerkats. "The harassment chatter from jays is quite complex," explained researcher Michael Griesser, who has identified specific calls targeting owls and hawks . "My study supports the idea that the need to survive in encounters with predators has played an important role in the evolution of animal communication ," he adds. Details of their work are published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society Biological Sciences .
