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in my opinion, derived from just sitting in the woods being observant of the bird song, I don't think any individual bird has much to say (besides the requisite 'somebody screw me' and 'get the fuck away') but there is a lot of nuance'd information being transmitted in aggregate. How long its been since there was a predator, how soon is the next rain, are we in agreement that just about all the food is gone here (quorum sensing / collective decision making).

Crows and other corvids of course are another level of sophistication. When they're gathering in trees (like when instead of leaves a tree has crows, that kind of gathering) somebody told me that there's elections going on, which individuals will be given decision making power are being chosen through bickering and persuasion.

As for dogs (and a brief google doesn't recall my source so take it with a grain of salt, but,) I'll add that they're the only animal besides humans that have been observed making pacts, promises, "if you go I'll go" style. IANA-consensus-in-animal-populations however, and body language goes a long way in signaling submission, agreeableness, resistance, doubt etc.



It's a fair bet that anything intellectual that a dog can do, many other animals can do, too. If it appears that it's only dogs, that's almost certainly just because we get to observe them so much more than other creatures.

https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2023-09-13/pacts-amo...




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