2025-09-04 マックス・プランク研究所(MPG)
The naïve bird (in the front) passively observes a conspecific demonstrator interacting with a human trainer in the neighboring test room. The demonstrator performs ‘Wing flapping’ in response to a specific hand command while the naïve bird observes the interaction as a third-party.
© Adrian Azcárate (audiovisual@loroparque.com)
<関連情報>
- https://www.mpg.de/25325205/0905-orni-blue-throated-macaws-learn-by-imitating-others-154562-x
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-11665-9
第三者模倣は人間に限定されない Third-party imitation is not restricted to humans
Esha Haldar,Ariana Hernández Sánchez,Claudio Tennie,Sara Torres Ortiz,Janneke Vos,Maurice Valbert & Auguste M. P. von Bayern
Scientific Reports Published:04 September 2025
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-11665-9
Abstract
Imitation of cultural practices is ubiquitous in humans and often involves faithful copying of intransitive (i.e., non-object directed) gestures and societal norms which play a crucial role in human cumulative cultural evolution. Apart from learning these directly from a tutor, humans often learn passively as third-party observers from the interactions of two or more individuals. Whether third-party imitation has evolved outside humans remains unknown. In the current study, we investigated whether undomesticated blue-throated macaws (Ara glaucogularis) could imitate in a third-party setting. A naïve test group (N = 6) passively observed a conspecific demonstrator performing rare intransitive actions in response to specific human gestural commands. Directly afterwards, the observer received the same gestural commands and performance-contingent rewards. An equally naïve control group (N = 5) was tested correspondingly, in the absence of third-party demonstrations. The test group learned more target actions (mean = 4.16 versus mean = 2.2) in response to the specific commands, significantly faster and performed them more accurately than the control group. The test group also spontaneously imitated some of the actions even before they received any gestural commands or rewards. Our findings show that third-party imitation, even for intransitive actions, exists outside humans, allowing for rapid adaption to group specific behaviours and possibly cultural conventions in parrots.
