Rosy-faced lovebirds’, Agapornis roseicollis (Aves: Psittaciformes), response to their own image reveals self-recognition behaviour

What is it about?

Self-recognition is the ability of an animal to identify itself when observing its reflected image and it is often associated with social animals. It may seem an easy task for us humans, but it reveals a great amount of cognitive skills and capacity of within-group social interactions. Many animal species have been tested by scientists in search of mirror self-recognition, but only a few of them showed clearly this behaviour, like chimpanzees, elephants and magpies. Researchers analysed the response of Rosy-face lovebirds, a small-sized parrot often found in many homes as a pet, to its image reflected in a mirror, concluding that the lovebirds are able to recognise themselves. In the wild, the lovebirds live in small social groups that cooperate to find food and partners. Since they have the ability of self-recognise, they probably have other related cognitive skills that help in social engagement. The Rosy-faced lovebird is the first species of parrot that clearly demonstrated self-recognition.

Featured Image

Photo by David Clode on Unsplash

Photo by David Clode on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Self-recognition is a complex cognitive skill. First demonstrated in mammals, only three bird species are able to clearly show it. This work expands the self-recognition field of research to a new bird Family (Psittacidae) and explore their particular behaviour when exposed to the mark test.