Angry ravens might kick and chase each other, but if they are close allies they make up afterwards.
Plenty of primates and other mammals reconcile after a conflict, but previously no birds were known to do so, says of the University of Vienna in Austria.
Monitoring a group of seven captive ravens (), Fraser and colleague found that pairs of birds were likely to be more friendly to each other if they had fought each other in the previous 10 minutes.
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鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 just standard friendly behaviour,鈥� Fraser says. Rather the ravens sat touching each other, and sometimes touched their beaks together or preened each other. Ravens are not tactile like primates, so sitting in contact is a strong social signal.
Unusual behaviour
鈥淭hat鈥檚 very good evidence for reconciliation,鈥� says of Liverpool John Moores University in the UK. Comparing animals鈥� typical behaviour with the behaviour they display in the minutes immediately after a fight is a 鈥渨ell-established method鈥� to look for such behaviour, he adds.
Ravens that had squabbled were more likely to reconcile if they were allies. 鈥淭hese are valuable partners who share food and support each other in fights,鈥� says Fraser.
鈥淢any animals have mechanisms for maintaining valuable relationships,鈥� says of the University of Stirling, UK. Social animals that can recognise other individuals and form long-term relationships with them are most likely to be able to reconcile, she says.
Fraser and Bugnyar previously showed that ravens sometimes .
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