Social Learning in Arabian Babblers: How Groups Shape Their Own Traditions
New research reveals that in wild Arabian Babblers, foraging techniques spread through complex social dynamics – often diverging from what the original demonstrator intended
Setting the stage for social learning
Arabian Babblers (Argya squamiceps), desert-dwelling cooperative breeders of the Middle East, live in tight-knit groups where social bonds and shared responsibilities are the norm. A new study by Naama Aljadeff, Oded Keynan and Arnon Lotem, published in Behavioral Ecology, has shed light on how these birds adopt and transmit new foraging behaviours. By introducing demonstrators trained in a specific feeding method – either lifting or pecking at covers to access food – researchers set out to observe whether group members would copy the demonstrated behaviour or innovate independently.
What they found was far more complex than simple imitation. While most birds quickly learned a method and stuck to it, the technique they adopted was not always the one demonstrated. Instead, groups often converged on a shared behaviour, but the outcome could drift away from the demonstrator’s example, depending on subtle interactions within the flock.
From demonstrators to secondary teachers
Although demonstrators were highly consistent in showing one method, the study revealed that naïve birds did not always copy them directly. Sometimes, a single bird that stumbled on the alternative method became a “secondary demonstrator”, and the rest of the group followed suit. Even rare instances of a demonstrator briefly using the other technique could tip the balance, seeding a shift in group-wide behaviour.
This ripple effect underscores the dynamic nature of social learning: knowledge does not flow in one direction but circulates among group members, with individuals influencing each other in turn. Once a bird adopted a method, it remained consistent in its use, reinforcing cultural cohesion within the group.
Competition, conformity and chance
The experiments were designed under competitive conditions, with limited food available in each well. Theoretically, such competition might favour diversity, allowing different birds to specialise in different methods. Instead, the babblers generally converged on a single solution within each group. This conformity,
The findings suggest that while demonstrators provide motivation and initial guidance, the trajectory of learning is open-ended. Innovations by naïve individuals – whether by accident or trial-and-error – could cascade into new group norms. Over time, the flock’s collective behaviour emerged as a cultural tradition, not predetermined by its original teacher.
Implications for animal cultures
The study highlights the subtle complexity of cultural transmission in wild animals. Unlike controlled laboratory settings, real-world social learning is messy, involving feedback loops between demonstrators and learners, and shaped by competition and opportunity. Arabian Babblers show how cultures can diverge from their seeds, with group-level traditions shaped as much by chance and peer influence as by deliberate teaching.
As the authors note, these dynamics provide insight not only into the evolution of cooperative breeding but also into the foundations of culture in animal societies. Even in the desert territories of the Middle East, the traditions of a babbler group may hinge on a single bird’s moment of innovation.
September 2025
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