Or is it simply returning it to its original meaning?
Two recent studies from the world of birds give us a glimpse into how far back in evolutionary terms complex behaviors that we would normally associate with humans go. One of these behaviors has a nice altruistic aspect to it. The other, not so much. But more on the morality question later.
Emily DuVal, a biologist at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Germany, found that male lance-tailed manakins display the behavior seen at nightclubs, where a person plays "wingman" or "wingwoman" to help a friend impress a potential mate.In a study of 457 lance-tailed manakins in Panama, DuVal found repeated instances of two males performing a skilled dance for the benefit of a female bird who was watching. The group performance, however, helped only one of the birds -- the alpha male. If only one lance-tailed manakin got to mate, why did the other bird, the beta male, cooperate in the dancing ritual when he had nothing to gain?
In a paper she published in the April issue of the American Naturalist, DuVal found there is evidence that good "wingbirds" are more likely than other birds to become alpha males themselves. What makes the behavior especially interesting is that one lance-tailed manakin might be helping another because some other bird will help the helper down the road. Such behavior suggests an intricate social system where investments pay off in the distant future.
Keep reading and you'll learn that cowbirds often behave like mafia members.
Ever since I first learned about the theory of evolution, it has always baffled me why we humans continue to think we are so unique. Sure, everything about our behavior is more complex than that of even our closest cousins in the animal kingdom, but it is a difference not of kind but of degree. Of course, part of our complexity is our ability to make things even more complicated than they might otherwise be, so perhaps that goes a long way to explaining it. Anyway, the story provides yet another example of how we're maybe just a little bit less unique than we might think.
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