In the last decades, the assumption that complex social life is cognitively challenging, and
thus can drive mental evolution, has received much support from empirical studies in …

Highlights•Studies in corvids have mostly focused on their complex cognitive
abilities.•Corvids are songbirds but are not traditionally studied for sensorimotor processes …

Dominance hierarchies typically emerge in systems where group members regularly
encounter and compete for resources. In birds, the 'open'and dynamic structure of foraging …

As Darwin first recognized, the study of emotional communication has the potential to
improve scientific understanding of the mechanisms of signal production as well as how …

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 …

Producing a specific number of vocalizations with purpose requires a sophisticated
combination of numerical abilities and vocal control. Whether this capacity exists in animals …

A growing body of research demonstrates that humans can accurately perceive the
emotional states of animals solely by listening to their calls, highlighting shared evolutionary …

A fundamental attribute of social intelligence is the ability to monitor third-party relationships,
which has been repeatedly demonstrated in primates, and recently also in captive ravens. It …

In many terrestrial species, there is a relationship between the acoustic features of vocal
signals and the underlying motivational state and arousal level of the signaller. This …

Encoding of emotional arousal in vocalisations is commonly observed in the animal
kingdom, and provides a rapid means of information transfer about an individual's affective …