I read recently that chickens pass the mirror test but don’t really give a damn about their own reflection so the researchers had to use an alternative method to prove it. They found that lone cockerals don’t crow because there are no other chickens to alert, they will crow in the presence of even one other chicken but will not crow when left with just their own reflection, implying they know its not another chicken.
Are we sure they can actually see their reflection and identify it as a chicken? I wonder if the results change when the scent of a chicken accompanies the reflection.
I read recently that chickens pass the mirror test but don’t really give a damn about their own reflection so the researchers had to use an alternative method to prove it. They found that lone cockerals don’t crow because there are no other chickens to alert, they will crow in the presence of even one other chicken but will not crow when left with just their own reflection, implying they know its not another chicken.
Do they crow in the presence of a photo of a different chicken?
No idea, that would be an interesting followup study.
It would work better if it were a video of a different chicken
Are we sure they can actually see their reflection and identify it as a chicken? I wonder if the results change when the scent of a chicken accompanies the reflection.