A study from the University of Tokyo, led by two Japanese researchers, Toshitaka Suzuki and Norimasa Sugita, reports the discovery of complex gestural communication in the Chinese titmouse.
The two ornithologists observed eight pairs of tits around a nest box for eleven days. They were able to notice that they used gestures to communicate between partners. In the images, we see one of these birds begin to beat its wings rapidly. He is not preparing to fly away, but is communicating. According to the study, this flapping of wings could be compared to “after you”.
Here is the scenario most often observed by the two scientists: the female arrives near the nest box, with food in her beak, and positions herself within sight of the male. A few seconds after she flaps her wings, the male leaves his branch and enters the perch. The female then stops flapping her wings and follows suit with her companion.
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What makes the two Japanese scientists believe that this is indeed a means of communicating is that they noticed that the tits never did this when they were alone near the nest box. They also observed that without this gesture, the other tit took longer to enter.
What is surprising is that more or less recent research has been more interested in the songs of birds and their chirps, rarely in their gestures. Rapidly flapping its wings to encourage another individual to enter first would be a symbolic gesture. This flapping of wings is likened in humans to gently shaking your hand to say hello, or raising your thumb to say that everything is fine. Chickadees may have more complex means of communication than previously thought.