Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany; Center for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
Marietta Hengl
Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Eulen- und Greifvogelstation Haringsee, Haringsee, Austria
Ei-Ichi Izawa
Department of Psychology, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan
Tim Oortwijn
Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Christiane Rössler
Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
Clara Scheer
Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Faculty of Psychology, Education and Sports, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
Martina Schiestl
Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
Masaki Suyama
Department of Behavioral Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
Alex H Taylor
School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Lisa-Claire Vanhooland
Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
Auguste MP von Bayern
Max-Planck-Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
Yvonne Zürcher
Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Jorg JM Massen
Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Animal Ecology Group, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
The investigation of prosocial behavior is of particular interest from an evolutionary perspective. Comparisons of prosociality across non-human animal species have, however, so far largely focused on primates, and their interpretation is hampered by the diversity of paradigms and procedures used. Here, we present the first systematic comparison of prosocial behavior across multiple species in a taxonomic group outside the primate order, namely the bird family Corvidae. We measured prosociality in eight corvid species, which vary in the expression of cooperative breeding and colonial nesting. We show that cooperative breeding is positively associated with prosocial behavior across species. Also, colonial nesting is associated with a stronger propensity for prosocial behavior, but only in males. The combined results of our study strongly suggest that both cooperative breeding and colonial nesting, which may both rely on heightened social tolerance at the nest, are likely evolutionary pathways to prosocial behavior in corvids.
