Researchers have recently observed that the Japanese tit, when in a pair and positioned in front of its nest, signals for the other bird to enter the nest first in a sort of “after you” gesture.
This is the first time scientists have observed birds making symbolic gestures. While many animals, such as crows, fish, and monkeys, make direct gestures like pointing to objects, gestures meant to express abstract concepts are considered to be cognitively more complex.
Japanese tits produce specific vocal sounds to convey messages combined into phrases with grammatical rules (for birds…)
Female tits perform the wing-fluttering gesture more often, after which their male mate usually enters the nest box. When the female bird does not flutter, she enters the nest first.
One hypothesis behind the development of this skill draws from human evolution. Walking on two legs allowed early humans to use their hands more freely, leading to the advancement of hand gestures. Suzuki suggests that when birds perch on a branch, their wings similarly become free, which could have led to the development of gestures like the “after you” wing flutter.
According to Mike Webster, an ornithologist unaffiliated with the research, the findings suggest that birds possess a “higher level of understanding of symbolism” than humans may realize.
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