Publications

azure-winged magpies fail to understand the principle of mirror imaging.	mirror self-recognition (msr) is considered a crucial step in the emergence of self-cognition. the msr paradigm has become a standard method for evaluating self-cognition in several species. for example, eurasian magpies and indian house crows have passed the mark test for self-cognition, whereas efforts to find msr in other corvid species have failed. however, no literature has conducted msr tests on azure-winged magpies, a species of corvids. therefore, the current research aimed to investigat ...	2020	32485232
investigation of cognitive mechanisms and strategy on solving multiple string-pulling problems in azure-winged magpie (cyanopica cyanus).	string-pulling tasks are a widely used paradigm in animal cognition research. the present study tested whether ten azure-winged magpies (cyanopica cyanus) could solve a series of multiple-strings problems with the aim of systematically investigating which rules this species uses to solve different-patterned string tasks, i.e., tasks in which subjects have to choose between two strings only one of which is connected to bait. when the subjects faced the parallel strings task (t1), five birds (c3, ...	2020	32638171
azure-winged magpies' decisions to share food are contingent on the presence or absence of food for the recipient.	helping others is a key feature of human behavior. however, recent studies render this feature not uniquely human, and describe discoveries of prosocial behavior in non-human primates, other social mammals, and most recently in some bird species. nevertheless, the cognitive underpinnings of this prosociality; i.e., whether animals take others' need for help into account, often remain obscured. in this study, we take a first step in investigating prosociality in azure-winged magpies by presenting ...	2020	32999416
azure-winged magpies solve string-pulling tasks by partial understanding of the physical cognition.	string-pulling is one of the most widely used paradigms in animal cognition research. we investigated how azure-winged magpies cyanopica cyanus solve multiple-string problems that they have never encountered before. in experiment 1, the strings were arranged in parallel, slanted, or crossed to investigate what rules azure-winged magpies use to solve multiple spatial relations of strings. experiment 2 assessed whether the subjects understood the connection between the string and the bait while ta ...	2019	31413711
gastrointestinal parasites in captive and free-ranging birds and potential cross-transmission in a zoo environment.	gastrointestinal parasites are commonly reported in wild birds, but transmission amongst avifauna in zoological settings, and between these captive birds and wild birds in surrounding areas, remains poorly understood. a survey was undertaken to investigate the occurrence of gastrointestinal parasites in captive and free-ranging birds at bristol zoo gardens between may and july 2016. a total of 348 fecal samples from 32 avian species were examined using the mini-flotac flotation method. parasites ...	2018	29517437
[peculiarities of the contour feather microstructure in the corvidae family].	the results of comparative electron microscope study of the fine structure of the definitive contour feathers often crows species (perisoreus infaustus, garrulus glandarius, cyanopica cyanus, pica pica, podoceus panderi, nucifraga caryocatactes, corvus monedula, c. frugilegus, c. cornix, c. corax) are presented. the results of the research allowed us to conclude that crows, along with the traditional elements of feather architectonics, have a number of species-specific microstructure characteris ...	2016	21870493
proactive prosociality in a cooperatively breeding corvid, the azure-winged magpie (cyanopica cyana).	one of the contemporary hypotheses concerning the evolution of human altruism is the cooperative breeding hypothesis (cbh) which has recently been tested in non-human primates. using a similar paradigm, we investigated prosociality in a cooperatively breeding corvid, the azure-winged magpie. we found that the magpies delivered food to their group members at high rates, and unlike other corvids, they did so without any cues provided by others. in two control conditions, the magpies stopped partic ...	2016	28120800
differences in relative hippocampus volume and number of hippocampus neurons among five corvid species.	the relative size of the avian hippocampus (hp) has been shown to be related to spatial memory and food storing in two avian families, the parids and corvids. basil et al. [brain behav evol 1996;47:156-164] examined north american food-storing birds in the corvid family and found that clark's nutcrackers had a larger relative hp than pinyon jays and western scrub jays. these results correlated with the nutcracker's better performance on most spatial memory tasks and their strong reliance on stor ...	2013	23364270
first data on the genetic diversity of avian haemosporidians in china: cytochrome b lineages of the genera plasmodium and haemoproteus (haemosporida) from gansu province.	a total of 76 birds belonging to 23 species and 14 families was examined for the presence of plasmodium spp. and haemoproteus spp. birds were trapped at four localities in gansu province, china, in june-july 2011. dna was isolated from blood samples and parasite detection, and identification was based on pcr assays and sequences of 479 bp of cyt b gene. the total prevalence of haemosporidians was 21.0%. haemoproteus spp. were detected in 14 birds (prevalence 18.4%). the lineage cyapic1 from cyan ...	2013	23851731
comparative phylogeography of two widespread magpies: importance of habitat preference and breeding behavior on genetic structure in china.	historical geological events and climatic changes are believed to have played important roles in shaping the current distribution of species. however, sympatric species may have responded in different ways to such climatic fluctuations. here we compared genetic structures of two corvid species, the azure-winged magpie cyanopica cyanus and the eurasian magpie pica pica, both widespread but with different habitat dependence and some aspects of breeding behavior. three mitochondrial genes and two n ...	2012	22842292
cognitive representation in transitive inference: a comparison of four corvid species.	during operant transitive inference experiments, subjects are trained on adjacent stimulus pairs in an implicit linear hierarchy in which responses to higher ranked stimuli are rewarded. two contrasting forms of cognitive representation are often used to explain resulting choice behavior. associative representation is based on memory for the reward history of each stimulus. relational representation depends on memory for the context in which stimuli have been presented. natural history character ...	2010	20708664
[animal predation and dispersal of sorbus pohuashanensis fruits and seeds].	sorbus pohuashanensis is an important non-timber tree species in northeast china. there are two approaches for its fruit- and seed dispersal, i. e. , natural dispersal and animal dispersal. in this paper, a field observation was conducted to study the characteristics of animal predation and dispersal of s. pohuashanensis fruits and seeds, and the effects of the predation and dispersal on the natural regeneration of the tree species. during the fruit-ripening stage of s. pohuashanensis in 2008 an ...	2010	21328960
effect of frugivorous birds on the establishment of a naturally regenerating population of chinese yew in ex situ conservation.	the chinese yew (taxus chinensis) is catalogued as an endangered species in china because of the small size and senescent status of most populations. its lack of natural regeneration is the most important reason for its endangered status. we investigated the regeneration of an ex-situ conservation population, which was introduced into the nanjing botanical garden memorial sun yat-sen in the 1950s, and evaluated the role of frugivorous birds on the establishment of this regenerating population. t ...	2008	21396068
polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans in eggs of eight avian species from dongting lake, china.	concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (pcdds) and dibenzofurans (pcdfs) were determined in eggs of eight avian species collected from dongting lake of china to assess residue levels, accumulation patterns, and toxic potential in different avian species. concentrations of total 2,3,7,8-substituted pcdd/fs were in the range of 10.8-182pgg(-1) lipid weight. eggs of great egret and lesser pied kingfisher contained higher levels of pcdd/fs than eggs of other species, indicating the spec ...	2007	17582463
phylogeographic patterns in widespread corvid birds.	intraspecific genetic diversity and phylogeography of corvus corone was investigated using the mitochondrial (mt) control region as a molecular marker. a split into two distinct mt lineages was observed. one represents individuals from a wide geographic range spanning from england to the russian far east (kamchatka), while the other one was found in the primorye and khabarovsk regions (southern parts of russian far east) as well as japan. for comparison, we investigated several widespread palear ...	2007	17920300
feathers at nests are potential female signals in the spotless starling.	although the presence of feathers in the nest is widespread among birds, it has not been previously suggested that feathers can be used as sexual signals. females of the spotless starling (sturnus unicolor) regularly carry feathers to their nest, mostly during laying and incubation. we show that the arrangement of these feathers was non-random with respect to the side (obverse or reverse) placed upwards (which can be viewed from the nest entrance). feathers of the wood pigeon (columba palumbus) ...	2005	17148200
inferring the phylogeny of disjunct populations of the azure-winged magpie cyanopica cyanus from mitochondrial control region sequences.	the azure-winged magpie (awm), cyanopica cyanus, is found in asia and iberia. this remarkable disjunct distribution has been variously explained by either the sixteenth-century introduction of birds into iberia from the far east, or by the loss of individuals from the central part of their range as a result of pleistocene glaciations. we have used the mitochondrial control region to undertake a molecular phylogenetic analysis of the awm, with sequences examined from individuals collected from ac ...	2002	12204127
[karyological study of some corvine birds (corvidae, aves)].	karyotypes were studied in the hooded and carrion crows, their naturally occurred hybrids, the jungle crow, the azure-winged magpie (2n = 80 in all aforementioned birds), and the magpie (2n = 82). corvine birds of primorskii krai were karyotyped for the first time. in addition to the similarity in the diploid chromosome sets, corvine birds were shown to have a similar structure of karyotype: in all studied birds, 14 macrochromosomes (mchs) classified into three groups according to their size wer ...	2001	11558237
occurrence of campylobacter jejuni in free-living wild birds from japan.	campylobacter jejuni was isolated from 44 of 313 free-living birds from japan. the highest isolation rate was found in 30 of 87 (34%) crows (corvus levaillanti and corvus corone), followed by 2 of 10 (20%) blue magpies (cyanopica cyanus), 5 of 35 (14%) gray starlings (sturnus cineraceus), 2 of 16 (13%) domestic pigeons (columbia livia domestica), 4 of 36 (11%) bulbuls (hypsipetes amaurotis), and 1 of 62 (2%) eastern turtledoves (streptopelia orientalis). one-fourth of the contents of the crop an ...	1988	3411703