1988/11/01 by Bernd Heinrich · 6 citations
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Environmental Science · #Plant and animal studies #Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior #Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies
paper · doi:10.2307/1368859
Numerous animals show shyness or neophobia at food and other things with which they are unfamiliar (Franchina and Gilley 1986, Jones 1986).Neophobia is predicted at food items which a specialist rarely uses, or which a generalist infrequently encounters.Common Ravens, Corvus corax, are opportunistic feeders (Nelson 1934) which are often "bold and fearless" enough to harass mammalian carnivores and large predatory birds, and to hunt and successfully dispatch rabbits, young seals, and even caribou calves (Bent 1946).Sometimes the raven is also, relative to many other corvids, a carcass specialist (see Heimich, in press for review).Both American Crows, C. bruchyrhynchos, and Blue Jays, Cyanocitta cristata.feed at carcasses but they do not specialize on them.It might therefore be predicted that ravens would show little hesitation in utilizing carcasses, but that crows and Blue Jays would show considerable hesitation in doing so.Furthermore, a large powerful bird such as a raven should have less to fear than its smaller relatives and therefore have less reason to evolve neophobia at carcasses.As part ofanother study involving the social foraging behavior of ravens in the winter in western Maine I