Is this nature’s politest bird? Japanese tit uses wing movements to convey the message ‘after you’

By William On Mar 25, 2024

Whether it’s a wave or a thumbs up, in the animal kingdom it’s usually just humans who make wordless gestures to communicate.

But new research from the University of Tokyo shows that a smart bird species – the Japanese tit (Parus minor) – does this too.

Scientists have discovered that it flaps its wings to tell its mate to enter the nest first – a polite gesture as if to say ‘after you’.

The biologists describe this as a refined form of ‘symbolic gesture’ that until now only primates were capable of.

The Japanese chickadee also produces sounds in a specific sequence to convey complex messages to each other, underscoring its claim as one of nature’s smartest birds.

A small bird species, the Japanese tit (Parus minor), uses wing movements as a gesture to convey the message ‘after you’

“I have been studying these fascinating birds for more than 17 years,” said study author Toshitaka Suzuki, an associate professor at the University of Tokyo.

‘They not only use specific calls to convey certain meanings, but also combine different calls into sentences using syntactic rules.

‘These diverse vocalizations prompted me to initiate this research into their possible use of physical gestures.

‘In our latest discovery, we revealed that the Japanese chickadee uses gestures to communicate with its mate.’

Japanese great tits are closely related to the great tit species common in gardens in Britain and throughout Europe – Parus major.

Professor Suzuki said it is possible that this European species also exhibits this behavior, although “more birdwatching” is needed to confirm this.

In the spring, Japanese tits form mating pairs and build their nest in a tree cavity with a small entrance.

Professor Suzuki and his co-researcher Norimasa Sugita filmed the behavior of 16 birds (eight pairs in total) with young living in nest boxes in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, Japan.

A fluttering of the wings towards its partner (photo) indicates that he or she wants to enter the nest first

Professor Suzuki and his co-researcher Norimasa Sugita observed the behavior of 16 birds (eight pairs) while the young lived in nest boxes

Japanese great tits (pictured) are closely related to the great tit species common in gardens in Great Britain

When carrying small pieces to feed their nestlings, the birds enter the nest one by one.

But the researchers noticed that upon returning to the nest, the birds first found a perch nearby and then one flapped its wings toward the other.

Analyzing 321 of these nest visits, they saw that the wing-flapping display prompted the partner being fluttered to enter the nest box first, while the one that was flapping entered the nest second.

According to the team, the birds deliberately directed the flapping at their partner – and not at the entrance to the nest, as if to indicate where it was located.

Interestingly, the gesture was performed more often by the females, after which the male usually entered the nest box, regardless of which one arrived first.

When the female wasn’t flapping her wings, she usually entered the nest box before the male – indicating that the female dominates how the whole process unfolds.

‘On nest visits where both parents approached the nest at the same time, females performed wing flapping in 42 percent of cases, while males did so in only 6 percent of the time,’ Professor Suzuki told MailOnline.

‘We need further research to investigate why females flap their wings more often than males.’

The graph shows the order of nest entry (percentage of nest visits where each sex entered the nest first) in relation to the females’ wing flapping

Professor Suzuki’s research has already shown that this smart bird speaks in sentences to warn others in times of danger

Researchers call this clever wing flapping a “symbolic gesture” (a gesture that conveys messages) rather than a “deictic gesture” (a gesture that simply points to objects or other living things).

Their discovery challenges the previous belief that symbolic gestures – which require complex cognitive skills – are only prominent in humans and great apes.

Professor Suzuki’s research has already shown that this smart bird speaks in sentences to help find food or warn others in times of danger.

By combining calls, they produce messages that convey different meanings, such as “come here” or “scan for danger.”

The new research was published in Current biology.

From humans to chimpanzees and now tits, these smart animals use wordless gestures

In humans, gestures – such as pointing at things, giving a thumbs up or waving your hand – are an integral part of the way we communicate.

It has been hypothesized that walking on two legs allowed humans to adopt an upright posture, freeing their hands for greater mobility, which in turn contributed to the evolution of gestures.

They were once thought to be used exclusively by humans, but closer observations of great apes, such as chimpanzees and bonobos, revealed that they too move their bodies to communicate without making sounds.

In more recent years, studies in other animals, such as ravens and fish, have shown that they also use some simple gestures to point to objects or show something of interest – called deictic gestures.

However, symbolic gestures, such as showing an open hand to indicate ‘after you’, require complex cognitive skills.

Researchers have discovered that the Japanese chickadee (Parus minor) uses wing movements as a gesture to convey the message ‘after you’.

This is a sophisticated form of symbolic gesture and has never been seen before in birds, claims study author Toshitaka Suzuki.

“A previous study showed that common ravens pick up inedible objects (e.g. a twig) to show to other ravens, possibly similar to a ‘show’ gesture in humans,” he said.

‘However, in the case of Japanese tits, wing flapping behavior and nest entry order may appear to be unrelated.

‘In other words, chickadees are able to use wing flapping as a symbolic signal, thus using a symbolic gesture to arbitrarily convey a specific meaning.’