Healy Lab

sdh11

Thursday 8 September 2022

Research Centre:

Group Highlights

Cognition In The Wild

Group website: https://cognitioninthewild.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/

Research

Nest construction

Introduction

“It is a somewhat remarkable fact that not withstanding the extreme popularity of the subject of Birds’ Nests, no book has yet been published entirely devoted to these beautiful and curious objects. And yet their study — the science of Caliology — is one of the most fascinating branches of Ornithology, perhaps more intimately connected with those difficult problems and questions relating to the mental attributes of what man in his ignorance is pleased to consider the ” lower animals,” than any other. Indeed, there are many of us who would fain deny the existence of any reasoning faculties whatever in birds, classing their expression in a thousand different ways, all under the vague, meaningless and ridiculous term “Instinct.”

A bird’s nest is the most graphic mirror of a bird’s mind. It is the most palpable example of those reasoning, thinking qualities with which these creatures are unquestionably very highly endowed.

Evidence of this reasoning power confronts the student of Birds’ Nests as he gazes upon each procreant cradle, no matter how crude on the one hand, or how elaborate on the other…”

Charles Dixon 1902

Examples of UK birds nests: the nest of a Eurasian goldfinch (left) and a Eurasian wren (right)

The role of cognition

Building a nest to hatch its eggs and raise its young in is probably one of the most important things a bird will do in its life time. The choices it makes about what sort of nest to build and what material to build it with will have a significant impact on the success of a nesting attempt. Despite some evidence that some learning is involved in such choices, nest building has historically been assumed to be largely genetically predetermined and inflexible. However, we believe that the ability to learn about which materials work best and refine building techniques would be so advantageous for improving the nest structure and therefore reproductive success, that learning and memory are probably more important to this process than has previously been considered. We are currently investigating the role of learning and memory in material choice and nest construction behaviour in both Weaverbirds and Zebra Finches.

The nest of a Southern Masked weaverbird from Botswana.

Foraging behaviour

Colour cues	Taste cues	Timing	Context dependance
Traplining	Risk sensitivity	Spatial memory	Food storing

Efficient exploitation of food resources is vital to animals survival and involves a number of different challenges including: finding food, remembering which resources provide the best quality food (e.g. flowers of a certain colour, in a certain place or at a certain time of day), remembering when food is available, assessing the quality of food (e.g. by taste or post ingestive feedback), choosing between resources of similar quality that differ in how variable they are, and choosing a optimal routes between different locations (e.g. traplining). We are interested in what aspect of resources animals pay attention to, how they assess them and how good they are at learning about and remembering them.

Most of our work is conducted in the Alberta, Canada with wild rufus hummingbirds (Selasphorus rufus). These nectar feeding birds are very bold so we can get close to them and are territorial so we can work with one individual at a time. Their simple sugar diet makes it easy for us to calculate how much energy they are obtaining from their meals and as they feed every ten minutes or so we can quickly gather enough data to answer our questions.

Vocal learning

Alarm calling by tits

Mimicry in bowerbirds

Vocalisations are important cues or signals that allow animals to communicate with one another. We are interested in what information vocalisations contain and how they are learnt.

Group Members

People

Principle Investigator

Professor Sue Healy

I have several avenues of research currently underway all stemming from an interest in relationships between behaviour and the correlated neural processing, specifically the processing of spatial information; adaptive specialisation of memory; effects of behavioural experience on the development of the avian hippocampus, particularly in migrant songbirds; field tests of spatial memory and context-dependent choice in hummingbirds.

Postdocs and fellows

PhD and Masters students

Interns

Collaborators

Publications

Books

Adaptation and the brain
Healy, S. D., 9 Mar 2021, Oxford: Oxford University Press. 162 p. (Oxford series in ecology and evolution)
Research output: Book/Report › Book

Chapters

Behaviour: Nesting, Brooding, Parental Care, Birds
Edwards, S., Bernard, A. & Healy, S. D., 2018, Encyclopedia of Reproduction. Skinner, M. K. (ed.). Second ed. Academic Press/Elsevier , Vol. 6. p. 102-105 4 p.
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

Chapter 22: Homing & Navigation
Pritchard, D. J. & Healy, S. D., Jan 2017, APA Handbook of Comparative Psychology. Call, J., Burghardt, G. M., Pepperberg, I. M., Snowdon, C. T. & Zentall, T. (eds.). Washington: American Psychiatric Association, Vol. 2. p. 485-508 (APA Handbooks in Psychology).
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

Nest construction behaviour: Nests, Eggs, and Incubation
Healy, S. D., Morgan, K. V. & Bailey, I. E., 2015, Nests, Eggs, and Incubation: New ideas about avian reproduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 3
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

Decision-Making: Foraging
Healy, S. D. & Morgan, K., 2010, Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior. Breed, M. D. & Moore, J. (eds.). Oxford University Press, Vol. 1. p. 466-469
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Entry for encyclopedia/dictionary

Articles

The role of personal reproductive experience on nest building in a wild bird
Chapman, E. G., Edwards, S. C., Alexander, E. J. & Healy, S. D., Jul 2026, In: Behavioral Ecology. 37, 4, p. 1-10 10 p., arag049.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Anthropocentric bias may explain research disparities between animal tool use and nest building
Street, S. E., Hamilton, I. & Healy, S. D., 1 Aug 2025, In: Animal Behaviour. 226, 123240.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Applying movement ecology models to comparative cognition experiments: a field test in hummingbirds
Pritchard, D. J., Hurly, T. A., Photopoulou, T. & Healy, S. D., Jul 2025, In: Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B: Biological Sciences. 292, 2051, p. 1-12 12 p., 20250717.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Causes and consequences of material variation in avian nest building
Sugasawa, S., Hansell, M., Reilly, M. & Healy, S. D., 1 Mar 2025, In: Journal of Avian Biology. 2025, 2, 9 p., e03438.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Demonstrating the reproductive consequences of cognition: learning from experience
Healy, S. D., 26 Jun 2025, In: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 380, 1929, p. 1-10 10 p., 20240115.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Dynamic strategic social learning in nest-building zebra finches and its generalizability
Breen, A. J., Eckersley, T., Camacho-Alpízar, A., Lambert, C. T., Balasubramanian, G., Healy, S. D., McElreath, R. & Guillette, L. M., 17 Dec 2025, In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 292, 2061, 20251508.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Nest building and circulating testosterone dynamics in male zebra finches, Taeniopygia guttata
Hébert, M., Ihalainen, E., Edwards, S. C., Meddle, S. L. & Healy, S. D., Jun 2025, In: General and Comparative Endocrinology. 369, p. 1-7 7 p., 114753.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Previous reproductive success informs nest-building decisions
Alexander, E. J., Edwards, S. C., Chapman, E. G. & Healy, S. D., 1 Mar 2025, In: Behavioral Ecology. 36, 2, 10 p., araf009.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Anthropogenic nest material use in a global sample of birds
Sheard, C., Stott, L., Street, S. E., Healy, S. D., Sugasawa, S. & Lala, K. N., 25 Mar 2024, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Journal of Animal Ecology. Early View, 14 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Architectural traditions in the structures built by cooperative weaver birds
Tello-Ramos, M. C., Harper, L., Tortora-Brayda, I., Guillette, L. M., Capilla-Lasheras, P., Harrison, X. A., Young, A. J. & Healy, S. D., 30 Aug 2024, In: Science. 385, 6712, p. 1004-1009 6 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Papers

Animal learning and memory: an integration of cognition and ecology
Healy, S. D. & Jones, C., 2002, p. 321-327.
Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper

The ecology of the avian brain: Food-storing memory and the hippocampus
Krebs, J., Clayton, N., Healy, S. D., Cristol, D., Patel, S. & Jolliffe, A., Jan 1996, p. 34-46.
Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper

COMPARATIVE-STUDIES OF THE BRAIN AND ITS COMPONENTS
Healy, S. D. & HARVEY, P., 1990, p. 203-214.
Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper

MEMORY IN FOOD-STORING BIRDS - ADAPTIVE SPECIALIZATION IN BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR
KREBS, J., HILTON, S., Healy, S. D., Edelman, G., Gall, W. & Cowan, W., 1990, p. 475-498.
Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper

Reviews

Cognitive ecology: The evolutionary ecology of information processing and decision making.
Healy, S., May 1999, In: Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology: Section B Comparative and Physiological Psychology. 52, 2, p. 187-189 3 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review › peer-review

Other publications

Editorial: Current state of fish behaviour & welfare research: honoring Victoria Braithwaite
Franks, B., Healy, S. & Huntingford, F., 22 Mar 2023, In: Frontiers in Veterinary Science. 10, 3 p., 1179313.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial › peer-review

Nests and nest building in birds
Healy, S. D., 24 Oct 2022, In: Current Biology. 32, 20, p. R1121-R1126 6 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review

Manipulative and technological skills do not require a slow life history
Breen, A. J., Sugasawa, S. & Healy, S. D., 9 Feb 2021, In: Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 9, 3 p., 635802.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review

Animal cognition
Healy, S. D., 24 Mar 2019, In: Integrative Zoology. 14, 2, p. 128-131
Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial › peer-review

Costs and benefits of evolving a larger brain: doubts over the evidence that large brains lead to better cognition
Healy, S. D. & Rowe, C., Oct 2013, In: Animal Behaviour. 86, 4, p. E1-E3 3 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial › peer-review

Animal Cognition: The Trade-off to Being Smart
Healy, S. D., 9 Oct 2012, In: Current Biology. 22, 19, p. R840-R841 2 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial

Systematic Spatial Foraging Patterns in Hummingbird Rufous Hummingbirds (Selasphorus rufus)
Mishra, C. E. B., Bailey, I. E., Healy, S. D. & Hurly, T. A., Dec 2012, In: Canadian journal of experimental psychology-Revue canadienne de psychologie experimentale. 66, 4, p. 300-300 1 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Abstract › peer-review

Susan Healy
Healy, S., 22 Nov 2011, In: Current Biology. 21, 22, p. R907-R908 2 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial

Comparative evaluation and its implications for mate choice
Bateson, M. & Healy, S. D., Dec 2005
Research output: Other contribution

The hippocampus, spatial memory and food hoarding: a puzzle revisited
Healy, S. D., de Kort, S. & Clayton, N., Jan 2005
Research output: Other contribution

Contact

If you are interested in working with us please contact Dr Sue Healy to discuss possibilities: [email protected]

Related themes:

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