Richard Collins: Plenty to reflect on as roosters pass the mirror test
A Malines rooster in front of a mirror. Picture: Sonja Hillemacher
Chauntecleer, the ' rooster, was "in al the land of crowyng nas his peer".
As the cognoscenti will know, that means: "in all the land none could equal him in crowing". Seized by a "col-fox, full of sly iniquitee", Chauntecleer was carried off. But, by playing on the fox’s inflated ego, our hero tricked his tormentor into opening his jaws, and the clever cock escaped.
This famous animal fable turns the normal social order of sly-fox-versus-stupid-cock on its head.
Farmyard fowl, we think, are simple souls, deficient in grey matter and fair game for foxes. Researchers at the University of Bonn, however, claim that we should not rush to judgement concerning the alleged inferiority of fowl. Cocks, they say, can recognise themselves in mirrors.
The sense of self was once thought to be unique to humans, but recently the great apes, dolphins, and elephants were admitted to our exclusive club. Nor can fish and birds be black-balled: rays, cleaner wrasse, and magpies also qualify for membership.
Candidates must pass the ‘mirror self-recognition test’. A mark is placed on a part of the body which can be seen only in a mirror. The marked individual is then shown its reflection. If it investigates the mark, it is deemed to be self-aware — it knows that the image is its own.
Surprisingly, some likely candidates have failed the mirror test. Monkey species, for example, have not made the grade and only one elephant passed the test. Sea lions, given the elaborate tricks they perform in shows, seem particularly sophisticated but, oddly, they also fail, as do dogs, cousins of the fox. That humble roosters have passed the mirror test is something to crow about.
But, the procedure has been criticised. A candidate may see the mark in a mirror but choose to ignore it. Undergoing tests is stressful and a creature’s behaviour may become abnormal. Nor is the test always easy to carry out. It makes little sense to place a mark on a bird’s plumage, for example — the bird can’t easily examine it.
The Bonn team got around this difficulty by focusing on rooster alarm calls. On seeing a predator, such as a fox or a hawk, a cock will broadcast a warning call. But it will only do so if there are other fowl present. When a bird is alone, it remains silent. This makes good sense. Calling out is risky — it alerts the predator to the caller’s presence.
The researchers allowed roosters to see their reflections in mirrors. Then they introduced images of predators. Issuing a warning call would indicate that a cock believed the mirror reflection to belong to another rooster. If, on the other hand, it recognised the reflection as its own, it would remain silent.
The test was applied to 58 individuals, three times over. During 174 applications, only 24 alarm calls were produced. Roosters, therefore, seem to know who they are.
"But ye that holden this tale a folye, As of a fox, or of a cok and hen, Taketh the moralite, goode men."
