This study investigates whether Japanese tits exhibit core-Merge, a cognitive capacity allowing the combination of two words into a sequence understood as a single unit. The researchers played alert and recruitment calls, either from a single speaker or two separate speakers. Results showed that tits responded to the calls from a single speaker, exhibiting antipredator behavior, but not to calls from separate speakers, demonstrating recognition of the two-call sequence as a single unit and supporting the existence of core-Merge in animals.
Publisher
Nature Communications
Published On
Sep 24, 2022
Authors
Toshitaka N. Suzuki, Yui K. Matsumoto
Tags
Japanese tits
core-Merge
cognitive capacity
antipredator behavior
animal communication
recruitment calls
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