Publications

behavioural type affects space use in a wild population of crows (corvus corone).	while personality-dependent dispersal is well studied, local space use has received surprisingly little attention in this context, despite the multiple consequences on survival and fitness. regarding the coping style of individuals, recent studies on personality-dependent space use within a habitat indicate that 'proactive' individuals are wider ranging than 'reactive' ones. however, such studies are still scarce and cover limited taxonomic diversity, and thus, more research is needed to explore ...	2016	27840464
blood parasites in hooded crows (corvus corone cornix) in northwest italy.	haemoparasites and their effects on hooded crows (corvus corone cornix) are poorly studied. the aims are to evaluate the prevalence of haemoproteus spp./plasmodium spp. or leucocytozoon spp., to correlate this with gross and histopathological findings, and to investigate the association among infection and geographical origin, age, gender, parasite distribution and prevalence among organs. hooded crows (n = 47) were collected within a regional culling programme from 3 districts in the province o ...	2016	27188825
thermal emissivity of avian eggshells.	the hypothesis has been tested that evolution has resulted in lower thermal emissivity of eggs of birds breeding openly in cold climates than of eggs of birds that nest under protective covering or in warmer climates. directional thermal emissivity has been estimated from directional-hemispherical reflectance spectra. due to several methodological difficulties the absolute emissivity is not accurately determined, but differences between species are obvious. most notably, small waders of the genu ...	2016	27033033
numerosity representations in crows obey the weber-fechner law.	the ability to estimate number is widespread throughout the animal kingdom. based on the relative close phylogenetic relationship (and thus equivalent brain structures), non-verbal numerical representations in human and non-human primates show almost identical behavioural signatures that obey the weber-fechner law. however, whether numerosity discriminations of vertebrates with a very different endbrain organization show the same behavioural signatures remains unknown. therefore, we tested the n ...	2016	27009227
an epizootic of emerging novel avian pox in carrion crows (corvus corone) and large-billed crows (corvus macrorhynchos) in japan.	in 2006-10, an epizootic of emerging avian pox occurred in carrion crows ( corvus corone ) and large-billed crows ( corvus macrorhynchos ), leading to mortality of juvenile crows in hokkaido, the northernmost island of japan. we diagnosed 27 crows with proliferative skin lesions (19 carcasses and eight biopsied cases [one in zoo captivity]) as avian pox clinically, histopathologically by detection of avipoxvirus-specific 4b core protein (p4b) gene, and epidemiologically. the fatal cases demonstr ...	2016	26967129
assessing animal welfare impacts in the management of european rabbits (oryctolagus cuniculus), european moles (talpa europaea) and carrion crows (corvus corone).	human-wildlife conflict is a global issue. attempts to manage this conflict impact upon wild animal welfare, an issue receiving little attention until relatively recently. where human activities harm animal welfare these effects should be minimised where possible. however, little is known about the welfare impacts of different wildlife management interventions, and opinions on impacts vary widely. welfare impacts therefore need to be assessed objectively. our objectives were to: 1) establish whe ...	2016	26726808
prevalence of mycoplasma gallisepticum and mycoplasma synoviae in commercial poultry, racing pigeons and wild birds in belgium.	mycoplasma gallisepticum is the most important pathogenic avian mycoplasma species and causes chronic respiratory disease in poultry. in addition, the prevalence of mycoplasma synoviae is of increasing concern in several eu member states. we investigated the prevalence of m. gallisepticum in commercial poultry (5220 layers, 1224 broilers and 1020 meat turkeys), 56 racing pigeons and 890 wild birds (order anseriformes, galliformes, pelecaniformes, accipitriformes, gruiformes, charadriiformes, col ...	2016	26814376
detection of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus from wild animals and ixodidae ticks in the republic of korea.	severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (sfts) is caused by sfts virus (sftsv), a novel bunyavirus reported to be endemic to central-northeastern china, southern japan, and the republic of korea (rok). to investigate sftsv infections, we collected serum samples and ticks from wild animals. using serum samples and ticks, sftsv-specific genes were amplified by one-step rt-pcr and nested pcr and sequenced. indirect immunofluorescence assay (ifa) was performed to analyze virus-specific antibody ...	2016	27043361
ecological role of vertebrate scavengers in urban ecosystems in the uk.	recent research has demonstrated how scavenging, the act of consuming dead animals, plays a key role in ecosystem structure, functioning, and stability. a growing number of studies suggest that vertebrate scavengers also provide key ecosystem services, the benefits humans gain from the natural world, particularly in the removal of carcasses from the environment. an increasing proportion of the human population is now residing in cities and towns, many of which, despite being highly altered envir ...	2016	28725378
socially driven consistent behavioural differences during development in common ravens and carrion crows.	consistent individual differences in behaviour, or 'personality', are likely to be influenced by development, social context, and species ecology, though few comparative, longitudinal studies exist. here, we investigated the role of development and social context on personality variation in two identically reared, social corvids: common ravens and carrion crows. we repeatedly presented subjects with a variety of novel food and objects, while alone and in a primarily sibling subgroup, from fledgi ...	2016	26848954
eurasian jays do not copy the choices of conspecifics, but they do show evidence of stimulus enhancement.	corvids (birds in the crow family) are hypothesised to have a general cognitive tool-kit because they show a wide range of transferrable skills across social, physical and temporal tasks, despite differences in socioecology. however, it is unknown whether relatively asocial corvids differ from social corvids in their use of social information in the context of copying the choices of others, because only one such test has been conducted in a relatively asocial corvid. we investigated whether rela ...	2016	27920957
key role in ecosystem functioning of scavengers reliant on a single common species.	the importance of species richness in maintaining ecosystem function in the field remains unclear. recent studies however have suggested that in some systems functionality is maintained by a few abundant species. here we determine this relationship by quantifying the species responsible for a key ecosystem role, carcass removal by scavengers. we find that, unlike those within largely unaltered environments, the scavenger community within our highly altered system is dominated by a single species ...	2016	27404915
comparing the face inversion effect in crows and humans.	humans show impaired recognition of faces that are presented upside down, a phenomenon termed face inversion effect, which is thought to reflect the special relevance of faces for humans. here, we investigated whether a phylogenetically distantly related avian species, the carrion crow, with similar socio-cognitive abilities to human and non-human primates, exhibits a face inversion effect. in a delayed matching-to-sample task, two crows had to differentiate profiles of crow faces as well as mat ...	2017	28905251
evolution of cognitive and neural solutions enabling numerosity judgements: lessons from primates and corvids.	brains that are capable of representing numerosity, the number of items in a set, have arisen repeatedly and independently in different animal taxa. this review compares the cognitive and physiological mechanisms found in a nonhuman primate, the rhesus macaque, and a corvid songbird, the carrion crow, in order to elucidate the evolutionary adaptations underlying numerical competence. monkeys and corvids are known for their advanced cognitive competence, despite them both having independently and ...	2017	29292361
formal comment to soler et al.: great spotted cuckoo nestlings have no antipredatory effect on magpie or carrion crow host nests in southern spain.		2017	28922382
serologic evidence of west nile virus and usutu virus infections in eurasian coots in the netherlands.	west nile virus (wnv) and usutu virus (usuv) are arboviruses that are maintained in enzootic transmission cycles between mosquitoes and birds and are occasionally transmitted to mammals. as arboviruses are currently expanding their geographic range and emerging in often unpredictable locations, surveillance is considered an important element of preparedness. to determine whether sera collected from resident and migratory birds in the netherlands as part of avian influenza surveillance would also ...	2017	28688117
carrion crows (corvus corone) of southwest germany: important hosts for haemosporidian parasites.	avian malaria parasites (plasmodium spp.) and other haemosporida (haemoproteus and leucocytozoon spp.) form a diverse group of vector-transmitted blood parasites that are abundant in many bird families. recent studies have suggested that corvids may be an important host for plasmodium spp. and leucocytozoon spp.	2017	28899382
crows rival monkeys in cognitive capacity.	the present study compares the 'bandwidth of cognition' between crows and primates. working memory is the ability to maintain and manipulate information over short periods of time - a core component of cognition. the capacity of working memory is tightly limited, in humans correlated with individual intelligence and commonly used synonymously with cognitive capacity. crows have remarkable cognitive skills and while birds and mammals share neural principles of working memory, its capacity has not ...	2017	28821812
great spotted cuckoo nestlings have no antipredatory effect on magpie or carrion crow host nests in southern spain.	host defences against cuckoo parasitism and cuckoo trickeries to overcome them are a classic example of antagonistic coevolution. recently it has been reported that this relationship may turn to be mutualistic in the case of the carrion crow (corvus corone) and its brood parasite, the great spotted cuckoo (clamator glandarius), given that experimentally and naturally parasitized nests were depredated at a lower rate than non-parasitized nests. this result was interpreted as a consequence of the ...	2017	28422953
responses of urban crows to con- and hetero-specific alarm calls in predator and non-predator zoo enclosures.	urban animals and birds in particular are able to cope with diverse novel threats in a city environment such as avoiding novel, unfamiliar predators. predator avoidance often includes alarm signals that can be used also by hetero-specifics, which is mainly the case in mixed-species flocks. it can also occur when species do not form flocks but co-occur together. in this study we tested whether urban crows use alarm calls of conspecifics and hetero-specifics (jackdaws, corvus monedula) differently ...	2017	27796660
encoding of global visual motion in the nidopallium caudolaterale of behaving crows.	songbirds possess acute vision. how higher brain centres represent basic and parameterised visual stimuli to process sensory signals according to their behavioural importance has not been studied in a systematic way. we therefore examined how carrion crows (corvus corone) and their nidopallial visual neurons process global visual motion information in dynamic random-dot displays during a delayed match-to-sample (dms) task. the behavioural data show that moderately fast motion speeds (16° of visu ...	2017	27718536
occurrence and relevance of mycoplasma sturni in free-ranging corvids in germany.	several mycoplasma spp. are well-known pathogens in poultry. in birds of prey, white storks ( ciconia ciconia ), and some waterfowl (anatidae, pelecanidae) species, mycoplasmas occur commonly and seem to be apathogenic or commensal and most likely belong to the physiologic microbial flora of the respiratory tract. in other bird species, such as common nightingales ( luscinia megarhynchos ) and tits (paridae), mycoplasma spp. are absent in healthy birds. in corvids, the prevalence and role of myc ...	2017	28099075
differences in exploration behaviour in common ravens and carrion crows during development and across social context.	exploration is particularly important for young animals, as it enables them to learn to exploit their surroundings. it is likely to be affected by species ecology and social context, though there are few comparative, longitudinal studies that control for effects of early experience. here, we investigated group level exploration behaviour in two closely related and identically reared, generalist corvid species: common ravens (corvus corax) and carrion crows (c. corone, c. cornix), during developm ...	2017	26097282
allometry and integration do not strongly constrain beak shape evolution in large-billed (corvus macrorhynchos) and carrion crows (corvus corone).	a recent geometric morphometric study on certain landbird lineages revealed that a major part of the variation in beak shape is accounted for by skull size and cranial shape. the study interpreted this result as evidence for the presence of strong evolutionary constraints that severely prevented beak shape from evolving substantially away from predictions of allometry and morphological integration. however, there is another overlooked but similarly plausible explanation for this result: the reas ...	2018	30397447
isolation of brachyspira hyodysenteriae from a crow (corvus corone) in close proximity to commercial pigs.	the aim of this study was to determine whether crows (corvus corone) can harbour brachyspira hyodysenteriae, the cause of swine dysentery, and whether the organism carried by crows is related to strains infecting pigs. b. hyodysenteriae was isolated from one crow in close proximity to two pig farms in switzerland. this isolate, along with five isolates of b. hyodysenteriae from one of the farms, belonged to sequence type (st) 66 using multilocus sequence typing. this finding suggests that crows ...	2018	29871743
neurons in the crow nidopallium caudolaterale encode varying durations of visual working memory periods.	adaptive sequential behaviors rely on the bridging and integration of temporally separate information for the realization of prospective goals. corvids' remarkable behavioral flexibility is thought to depend on the workings of the nidopallium caudolaterale (ncl), a high-level avian associative forebrain area. we trained carrion crows to remember visual items for three alternating delay durations in a delayed match-to-sample task and recorded single-unit activity from the ncl. sample-selective de ...	2018	29128976
a review of predation as a limiting factor for bird populations in mesopredator-rich landscapes: a case study of the uk.	the impact of increasing vertebrate predator numbers on bird populations is widely debated among the general public, game managers and conservationists across europe. however, there are few systematic reviews of whether predation limits the population sizes of european bird species. views on the impacts of predation are particularly polarised in the uk, probably because the uk has a globally exceptional culture of intensive, high-yield gamebird management where predator removal is the norm. in a ...	2018	29790246
monitoring of heavy metal burden in wild birds at eastern/north-eastern part of hungary.	concentrations of different heavy metals (as, cd, cr, cu, hg, pb, zn) were examined in the contour feathers of long-eared owl (asio otus), little owl (athene noctua), tawny owl (strix aluco), barn owl (tyto alba), eurasian sparrowhawk (accipiter nisus), rook (corvus frugilegus), hooded crow (corvus cornix), carrion crow (corvus corone), common buzzard (buteo buteo) and barn swallow (hirundo rustica). the samples were collected from the hortobágyi madárpark (bird hospital foundation) in hungary. ...	2018	29249025
selecting appropriate focal species for assessing the risk to birds from newly drilled pesticide-treated winter cereal fields in france.	identifying focal bird species appropriate to the situation in which a plant protection product is used is important for refined risk assessment (efsa ). we analyzed the results of extensive field observations of newly drilled cereal fields in france in autumn over 2 seasons to determine real bird focal species. in 2011, birds were observed before and after drilling on wheat and barley fields drilled with imidacloprid-treated seeds (i.e., "treatment" fields) or seeds treated with compounds other ...	2019	30515968
dominance relationships and coalitionary aggression against conspecifics in female carrion crows.	cooperation is a prevailing feature of many animal systems. coalitionary aggression, where a group of individuals engages in coordinated behaviour to the detriment of conspecific targets, is a form of cooperation involving complex social interactions. to date, evidence has been dominated by studies in humans and other primates with a clear bias towards studies of male-male coalitions. we here characterize coalitionary aggression behaviour in a group of female carrion crows consisting of recruitm ...	2019	31685854
waste disposal sites as all-you-can eat buffets for carrion crows (corvus corone).	in cities and densely populated areas, several corvid species are considered nuisance animals. in austria, particularly carrion (corvus corone) and hooded crows (c. cornix) are regarded as pests by the general public that frequently cause damage to crops, feed on human waste, and thus spread trash. we conducted a detailed one-year field survey to estimate the abundance of carrion crows in relation to potential anthropogenic food sources and reference sites in the austrian rhine valley. our resul ...	2019	31060242
epistatic mutations under divergent selection govern phenotypic variation in the crow hybrid zone.	the evolution of genetic barriers opposing interspecific gene flow is key to the origin of new species. drawing from information on over 400 admixed genomes sourced from replicate transects across the european hybrid zone between all-black carrion crows and grey-coated hooded crows, we decipher the interplay between phenotypic divergence and selection at the molecular level. over 68% of plumage variation was explained by epistasis between the gene ndp and a ~2.8-megabase region on chromosome 18 ...	2019	30911146
antimicrobial resistant and extended-spectrum β-lactamase producing escherichia coli in common wild bird species in switzerland.	a total of 294 fecal swabs from 294 wild birds in switzerland were cultivated for antimicrobial resistant (amr) escherichia coli. samples were also subcultivated to detect e. coli with extended-spectrum β-lactamases (esbl), carbapenemases, and plasmid-mediated aminoglycoside or colistin resistance, respectively. samples from 17 (5.8%) of the birds contained 19 amr e. coli, whereof 26.3% were multidrug resistant. five (1.7%) esbl-producing e. coli were detected. the isolates harbored blactx-m-1 ( ...	2019	31006991
volitional control of vocalizations in corvid songbirds.	songbirds are renowned for their acoustically elaborate songs. however, it is unclear whether songbirds can cognitively control their vocal output. here, we show that crows, songbirds of the corvid family, can be trained to exert control over their vocalizations. in a detection task, three male carrion crows rapidly learned to emit vocalizations in response to a visual cue with no inherent meaning (go trials) and to withhold vocalizations in response to another cue (catch trials). two of these c ...	2019	31454343
neuronal correlates of spatial working memory in the endbrain of crows.	birds are renowned for their excellent spatial cognition. corvid songbirds, in particular, rely on explicit representation of spatial cues in memory when caching food and retrieving caches for later consumption. however, the neuronal correlates of flexible spatial memory abilities are largely unknown in birds. we therefore trained carrion crows (corvus corone) on a spatial delayed-response task in which they had to maintain the variable location of a visual item for a few seconds in working memo ...	2019	31378607
culicoides species composition and molecular identification of host blood meals at two zoos in the uk.	culicoides biting midges are biological vectors of arboviruses including bluetongue virus (btv), schmallenberg virus (sbv) and african horse sickness virus (ahsv). zoos are home to a wide range of 'at risk' exotic and native species of animals. these animals have a high value both in monetary terms, conservation significance and breeding potential. to understand the risk these viruses pose to zoo animals, it is necessary to characterise the culicoides fauna at zoos and determine which potential ...	2020	32178710
counting crows: population structure and group size variation in an urban population of crows.	social complexity arises from the formation of social relationships like social bonds and dominance hierarchies. in turn, these aspects may be affected by the degree of fission-fusion dynamics, i.e., changes in group size and composition over time. whilst fission-fusion dynamics has been studied in mammals, birds have received comparably little attention, despite some species having equally complex social lives. here, we investigated the influence of environmental factors on aspects of fission-f ...	2020	30846892
crows control working memory before and after stimulus encoding.	the capacity of working memory is limited and this limit is comparable in crows and primates. to maximize this resource, humans use attention to select only relevant information for maintenance. interestingly, attention-cues are effective not only before but also after the presentation of to-be-remembered stimuli, highlighting control mechanisms beyond sensory selection. here we explore if crows are also capable of these forms of control over working memory. two crows (corvus corone) were traine ...	2020	32094457
a comparative analysis of the dopaminergic innervation of the executive caudal nidopallium in pigeon, chicken, zebra finch, and carrion crow.	despite the long, separate evolutionary history of birds and mammals, both lineages developed a rich behavioral repertoire of remarkably similar executive control generated by distinctly different brains. the seat for executive functioning in birds is the nidopallium caudolaterale (ncl) and the mammalian equivalent is known as the prefrontal cortex (pfc). both are densely innervated by dopaminergic fibers, and are an integration center of sensory input and motor output. whereas the variation of ...	2020	32020608
revisiting an old question: which predators eat eggs of ground-nesting birds in farmland landscapes?	nest predation is a major cause of reproductive failure in birds, but predator identity often remains unknown. additionally, although corvids are considered major nest predators in farmland landscapes, whether breeders or floaters are involved remains contentious. in this study, we aimed to identify nest predators using artificial nests, and test whether territorial or non-breeders carrion crow (corvus corone) and eurasian magpie (pica pica) were most likely involved. we set up an experiment wit ...	2020	32721676
carrion crows (corvus corone corone) fail the mirror mark test yet again.	the mirror mark test is generally considered to be an indicator of an animal's ability to recognize itself in the mirror. for this test, an animal is confronted with a mirror and has a mark placed where it can see the mark only with the help of the mirror. when the animal extensively touches or interacts with the mark, compared with control conditions, the mirror mark test is passed. many nonhuman animal species have been tested, but few have succeeded. after magpies and indian house crows passe ...	2020	32463251
extra-pair paternity as a strategy to reduce the costs of heterospecific reproduction? insights from the crow hybrid zone.	within hybrid zones of socially monogamous species, the number of mating opportunities with a conspecific can be limited. as a consequence, individuals may mate with a heterospecific (social) partner despite possible fitness costs to their hybrid offspring. extra-pair copulations with a conspecific may thus arise as a possible post hoc strategy to reduce the costs of hybridization. we here assessed the rate of extra-pair paternity in the hybrid zone between all-black carrion crows (corvus (coron ...	2020	32069366
crows (corvus corone ssp.) check contingency in a mirror yet fail the mirror-mark test.	mirror reflections can elicit various behavioral responses ranging from social behavior, which suggests that an animal treats its own reflection as a conspecific, to mirror-guided self-directed behaviors, which appears to be an indication for mirror self-recognition (msr). msr is scarcely spread in the animal kingdom. until recently, only great apes, dolphins, and elephants had successfully passed this test. the range of convergence was, however, expanded by an avian species, the eurasian magpie ...	2020	31589059