Social Learning in Birds

In 1921, a peculiar crime spree in Swaythling, England, involved birds piercing milk bottle caps to consume the cream. This behavior, initiated by great tits, spread across Europe through social transmission. Scientists study this phenomenon to understand how non-human animals learn new behaviors, including mischievous ones like cream stealing.

What unusual activity did birds in Swaythling, England, engage in during 1921?

• Building nests in chimneys

• Robbing banks

• Piercing milk bottle caps

• Stealing jewelry

What is the term for the process by which birds learned to pierce milk bottle caps from each other?

• Social transmission

• Natural selection

• Genetic mutation

• Environmental adaptation

How did the behavior of piercing milk bottle caps spread among birds?

• Due to environmental changes

• By birds teaching each other

• Through genetic inheritance

• By following human instructions

What kind of skills do scientists teach birds to study social transmission?

• Singing complex songs

• Building intricate nests

• Opening a puzzle box

• Flying long distances

What does studying social transmission in birds help scientists understand?

• The evolution of bird species

• How non-human animals learn new behaviors

• Animal migration patterns

• Human language development