It is already a known fact that crows, magpies and mockingbirds can differentiate individual humans.
The latest news coming out from the world of science is pretty much exciting, as a recent study suggests that skuas living in remote Antarctica are also capable of recognizing individual people who have previously intervened their nests or eggs. The new findings were first published in Animal Cognition oBirds in Antarctica n March 25, 2016.
The research was conducted under the leadership of Yeong-Deok Han from Inha University in Incheon, South Korea.
According to Yeong-Deok Han, skuas in Antartica have an impeccable cognitive ability, and their capability in recognizing humans is a clear cut evidence of this nature.
Yeong-Deok Han also added that he was compelled to defend himself from the mass attack from skuas. As per Han, the birds flew over him and attacked when he was with other researchers. He also made it clear that the attack continued even after changing the dress.
Series of experiments were conducted before making this conclusion. The nest was checked once a week during the breeding time, to test the status, and the birds continuously targeted repeated visitors.
To confirm their human identification nature, researchers targeted the nest as one intruder and one normal man walked in. The cluster of birds attacked only the intruder, and the other one was set scot-free.
Won Young Lee, another researcher in the study told that these birds have the rare capability to identify humans, that too within three or four visits. He confirmed that these birds have impeccable cognitive abilities.
Cognitive abilities of animals in Antarctica were never studied before. These brown skuas are known for stealing food from other birds, and they even used to steal breast milk of nursing elephant seals.
