Study
Long-term memory for affiliates in ravens
Boeckle, Markus; Bugnyar, Thomas
Current Biology, 2012
Ravens were played recordings of calls from birds they had lived with years earlier — some former allies, some former rivals — as well as calls from unfamiliar ravens. Their vocal responses were recorded and compared.
- Studied in
- Corvus corax
- Sample size
- ravens tested with playback of former group members
Ravens responded differently to former group members than to strangers up to three years after separation, and their responses distinguished former affiliates from former rivals.
What it means
The authors' reading, and ours. Where they differ, that difference is the point.
How the authors put it
Ravens retain socially differentiated memories of individuals for years after last encountering them.
How NatureHQ reads it
This is the study that gives the popular "ravens hold grudges" claim its serious core, and also shows how far the popular version overshoots. What is demonstrated is durable memory of individuals with the relationship attached — allies remembered as allies, rivals as rivals. A grudge implies an intention to act on it, which nothing here measures.
- Captive birds whose social groups were arranged by researchers.
- Vocal response is a narrow measure of what a bird remembers.
- Cannot establish whether the memory would influence behaviour on a real encounter.
What this study is used for on NatureHQ
One study can inform several subjects. Here is everywhere this one is cited.
Published by: Cell PressPublished in a Cell Press journal.
doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2012.03.023
This reference was resolved automatically against Crossref and OpenAlex on 2026-08-11.
NatureHQ summarises research in its own words and does not reproduce published text. Reviewed 2026-08-09.