Cooperative hunting in Brown-necked Raven (Corvus rufficollis) on Egyptian Mastigure (Uromastyx aegyptius)

Reuven Yosef, Nufar Yosef

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

26 Scopus citations

Abstract

We describe cooperative hunting by Brown-necked Raven (Corvus ruficollis) on Egyptian Mastigure (Uromastyx aegyptius) in the Arava Valley, Israel. At first, in all nine observed hunts, the ravens were observed to be in the vicinity and were seen simultaneously. The Mastigure was almost always at a distance from the burrow entrance and either foraging on the bushes or lying flattened on a bush sunning itself. The attack started when a circling pair of ravens flew in at high speed and landed on the entrance of the burrow, cutting off the escape route of the lizard. Following this maneuver, the other ravens attacked the lizard. The ravens pecked randomly at the most exposed part of the lizard, eventually causing its death. Only when the lizard was evidently dead did the two individuals that blocked the escape route join in the feeding ravens.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)385-388
Number of pages4
JournalJournal of Ethology
Volume28
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 2010
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Brown-necked Raven
  • Cooperative hunting
  • Corvus ruficollis
  • Egyptian Mastigure
  • Theory of mind
  • Uromastyx aegyptius

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Animal Science and Zoology

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