We thought that only humans, apes, elephants and dolphins were self-conscious enough to recognise themselves in mirrored surfaces, but it should come as no surprise that magpies – and perhaps other members of their extended crow family – should be able to do so too. Now, what about those cephalopods?
“Dr Prior and colleagues from Ruhr-University Bochum tested the magpie’s self-discriminatory powers in experiments involving five magpies marked with coloured dots on their throats, which could only be seen by looking at their own reflection.
Two of the magpies – named Gertie and Goldie – quickly learnt that the image they could see in a mirror placed in their cages was of themselves and tried to dislodge the coloured dots they could see on their throat feathers.
The “mark test” is frequently used as an indicator of self-recognition in animals and young children as, if done properly, there is only one way the individual can see that the mark is on themselves rather than someone else.”
Full story over at the Independent