27. Call matching by ravens, jays, and other corvids.
5. More about Song Learning
Song (and call) matching
From page 59 in the book.
Call matching by ravens, jays, and other corvids. With a raven or any of his corvid relatives (members of the family Corvidae are everywhere, and include jays, scrub-jays, magpies, the nutcracker, and crows—-see page 174), focus first on the calls of one individual. Realize that from its vast repertoire of calls, it has chosen one with these particular qualities for the occasion. Then, when you are ready, expand your field of hearing to what other individuals of the species are doing. Do they "agree" or "disagree" with each other? If your bird changes its call, does it do so to match the other birds, or do they match it? What patterns emerge over time?