Autonomic responses of Large-billed Crow Corvus macrorhynchos to approaching humans

Abstract

Urban birds exhibit flexible behavior towards humans, such as deciding to fly or stay, depending on their distance from an approaching human. To date, no studies have examined the physiological activity of urban birds in response to an approaching human. Here, we report the autonomic responses of captive Large-billed Crow Corvus macrorhynchos to approaching humans in an experimental setting. Electrocardiograms of the crows, recorded while the experimenter approached the bird, were analyzed to determine the autonomic activity. We found a drastic reduction in heart rate and sympathetic nervous activity when the human reached a distance of ≤10 m.