Study
Ravens notice dominance reversals among conspecifics within and outside their social group
Massen, Jorg J. M.; Pašukonis, Andrius; Schmidt, Judith; Bugnyar, Thomas
Nature Communications, 2014
Ravens heard staged playback sequences implying that a dominance relationship between two other birds had reversed — a known subordinate appearing to defeat a known dominant. Sequences involved birds from the listener’s own group and from a neighbouring group. Responses were compared with sequences consistent with the existing hierarchy.
- Studied in
- Corvus corax
- Sample size
- ravens across several captive groups
Ravens responded more strongly to sequences implying a reversal, including reversals among birds in a group they merely lived alongside rather than belonged to.
What it means
The authors' reading, and ours. Where they differ, that difference is the point.
How the authors put it
Ravens track the dominance relationships of third parties, including individuals outside their own group.
How NatureHQ reads it
Noticing that two other animals have swapped rank requires holding a relationship in mind that does not involve you. Doing it for a neighbouring group is harder still, since there is no direct stake. It is one of the better arguments that corvid social cognition is about relationships rather than individuals — while resting, like most of this literature, on playback in captivity.
- Playback constructs a social event that did not happen, which the birds may find odd for reasons unrelated to rank.
- Captive groups have unusually stable, well-known hierarchies.
- Response strength is an indirect measure of what was understood.
What this study is used for on NatureHQ
One study can inform several subjects. Here is everywhere this one is cited.
Published by: Nature PortfolioPublished in a Nature Portfolio journal.
This reference was resolved automatically against Crossref and OpenAlex on 2026-08-11.
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