Development of object permanence in food-storing magpies (Pica pica).
The development of object permanence was investigated in black-billed magpies (Pica pica), a food-storing passerine bird. The authors tested the hypothesis that food-storing development should be correlated with object-permanence development and that specific stages of object permanence should be achieved before magpies become independent. As predicted, Piagetian Stages 4 and 5 were reached before independence was achieved, and the ability to represent a fully hidden object (Piagetian Stage 4) emerged by the age when magpies begin to retrieve food. Contrary to psittacine birds and humans, but as in dogs and cats, no "A-not-B error" occurred. Although magpies also mastered 5 of 6 invisible displacement tasks, evidence of Piagetian Stage 6 competence was ambiguous.
Pollok
B
B
AE Biopsychologie, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany.
Prior
H
H
Güntürkün
O
O
D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D001717:Birds; D003071:Cognition; D005502:Food; D008568:Memory