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Corvids

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science

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Synonyms

Birds

Definition

Corvids are birds within the taxonomic family Corvidae and include crows, ravens, magpies, jays, and other species.

Introduction

The family of birds known as the Corvidae is an expansive family of over 120 species (including crows, ravens, magpies, and jays, among others; Clayton and Emery 2007). Many species within Corvidae are known for their sociality and intelligence (Clayton and Emery 2007; Seed et al. 2009). As such, they are an excellent target for studying the convergent evolution of social behaviors, in contrast to primates and other mammals. One area of social behavior of particular interest is morality; morality is an integral part of being human, yet whether it exists in other animals to the same degree as in humans is contentious.

Morality can be broken down into three levels of study: moral behavior, moral motivation or intent, and moral systems (Allchin 2009). Moral behaviors include altruistic behaviors such as cooperation and helping...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Zoe Johnson-Ulrich

Authors
  1. Zoe Johnson-Ulrich
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Correspondence to Zoe Johnson-Ulrich .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Lisa L. M. Welling

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Johnson-Ulrich, Z. (2017). Corvids. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_494-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_494-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

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