Without trying to be too self-important, animals don’t come close to matching our own intelligence. Most can’t even recognize themselves in the mirror, so how is it possible they can recognize members of their own species?
The answer is complex and can be challenged from our human-centric way of thinking. Recognition relies on a wide combination of clues, so let’s check out what they are.
How Do Birds Recognize Their Own Species?
As humans, we are visually dominant. If I ask you to imagine a loved one, your mind will most likely jump to what they look like. This makes sense as humans use vision for a wide variety of reasons.
Our eyes are perfectly balanced. Whereas some animal eyes can specialize in light, motion, or detail but lack in other areas, our eyes are good at everything. Cats are a good example of this. Their eyes are incredible at detecting motion and low light, but their vision isn’t as sharp as ours and doesn’t have the same color definition.
We also have no natural predators, meaning we’ve evolved without the auditory (sound), sensory (touch), olfactory (smell) warning systems other animals have. Whereas we rely heavily on vision, other animals must balance their senses.
But what does this mean for birds? As humans, we know what we look like visually and know what other humans look like. Birds don’t solely rely on this and instead put together a wide range of different clues to find out that the bird they are looking at is a fellow member of their species.
Visual Recognition
Despite not relying on vision, it still plays a role. It is thought there may be an instinctive element where familiar shapes are hardwired into their brain. Just as a bird will instinctively learn how to fly, they can understand familiar shapes.
While they may not be able to see their full body, birds can also recognize that a fellow bird has similar plumage patterns, colors, and body shape. This plumage can be crucial for birds to differentiate between different species in the same family, such as tits.
Auditory Recognition
Bird calls and songs will also play a role in species recognition. This is especially true for birds that live in dense forests or migrate over long distances, as sound plays a more crucial role in their survival.
Many bird lovers enjoy working out the specific vocalizations each species has. Birds will know what they sound like and will presume another bird that sounds like that will be a part of the same species.
Birds are highly adept at knowing the unique structure and pitch of their natural calls. This is even true for birds that can mimic other sounds. They pick up vocal learning extremely quickly from their parents.
Behavioral Cues
Behavior is another key factor in species recognition. One such behavior is courtship displays, which are unique to each species. For some birds this may be an intricate dance, whereas for others it can be specific postures.
A bird will grow up learning these behaviors and will therefore understand them when it comes to their time to mate. Aside from mating, even the likes of feeding and social behaviors can form part of the puzzle when it comes to species recognition.
Each species will have its own foraging techniques based on its anatomy and instincts. An extreme example of this is the woodpecker, who famously drills into wood with their beak. Even the way a bird builds a nest can be another big clue.
In terms of sociality, birds can rely on collective movement patterns and social cues to stay with their kind. An obvious example here would be a solo bird knowing they don’t belong with a species that prefer to gather in large flocks.
Imprinting and Early Recognition
Another puzzle piece to help birds figure out their place in the world is imprinting. This is where birds form strong attachments to the first caregivers they see after hatching. It just so happens this is almost always their parents.
This early recognition essentially gives them a blueprint on how to recognize their own species. This blueprint will then be used for the rest of their life as they will rely on what they’ve learned from their parents.
How Do Birds Recognize Their Own Family?
Birds will recognize members of their own family in the same way that we recognize ours. To a bird, all humans probably look alike. In reality, humans are distinctly different. This is the same for birds, as they will notice slight variations that may not be noticed by a casual observer.
However, their recognition can go beyond this. In colonies, vocal cues can be critical as chicks and parents can develop unique calls. This is especially seen in penguins whose voices need to cut through a lot of noise.
Can Birds Be Fooled?
Sometimes birds can be fooled into misidentifying their own species, but this is exceptionally rare in the wild. This only really happens in forced situations, which is good as otherwise it would mess up social and reproductive behavior.
This lack of species recognition will only usually happen if the imprinting phase happens with another species, or they are raised in isolation. This only happens through experiments or conservation.
In natural circumstances, birds use a collection of puzzle pieces to work out species recognition. For example, if a bird looks like them but doesn’t sound like them, they’ll know it’s not an exact match.
It’s only when all those puzzle pieces fit that a bird will know they are looking at the same species. Of course, a bird can do this almost instantaneously without much thought, allowing it to make the right decisions for its survival and breeding.
