4 ms·
Number one question when reading this headline: which animals are in the list? Number two question: what does a laughing bird even look like? What do they laugh
by Aachen 5y ago
Number one question when reading this headline: which animals are in the list? Number two question: what does a laughing bird even look like? What do they laugh at? You want to see it, of course. There's none of that, bit of a disappointing article.
On the bright side, the article this article is about seems to contain at least the list of animals, see table 1: https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/05/from-apes-to-birds-there-are-65-animal-species-that-laugh/ https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/05/from-apes-to-birds-t...
This table of 65 animals is "play vocalizations", though, and includes animals like domestic cats and dogs. I've never seen a cat laugh at a situation, in real life or on the Internet, so it seems this arstecchnica article about "laughing animals" should be taken with a few grains of salt and is really more about playing and making a noise to indicate that they're playing (and shouldn't feel attacked) to their playmates.
I do like that humans are categorized with the great apes.
- isoskeles 5y agoLinking the image / table referenced: https://www.tandfonline.com/na101/home/literatum/publisher/tandf/journals/content/tbio20/0/tbio20.ahead-of-print/09524622.2021.1905065/20210519/images/large/tbio_a_1905065_f0001_oc.jpeg https://www.tandfonline.com/na101/home/literatum/publisher/t...
- cs2818 5y agoNot an example from the wild, but our parrot (a caique) likes to laugh when he accomplishes a goal or encounters an unexpected challenge. I’m sure a lot of his use of laughter stems from living with humans though.
- sroussey 5y agoI have a caique that has a dark sense of humor. He laughs when he hears a put down or when something bad happens. His timing is hilarious.
- jb775 5y agoHere's the url for the list: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/figure/10.1080/09524622.2021.1905065?scroll=top&needAccess=true https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/figure/10.1080/09524622.2021...
- underwater 5y agoWe have a cat they we allow outside sometimes. She doesn't have a sense of humour, but the local birds certainly act differently when she's outside. They sit just out of reach and squawk loudly at her. It doesn't seem to be a fear response. It could be a defensive mechanism of actively and continually watching the potential threat. But in my mind they're taunting and laughing at her.
- monkeybutton 5y agoThere are bird species that use alarm calls to alert the presence of predators [1,2], some (including blue jays, another corvidae) even exhibit mobbing behaviour and will gang up (cooperating with other species!) to attack the predator [3]. [1] https://www.bl.uk/the-language-of-birds/articles/alarm-and-mobbing-calls https://www.bl.uk/the-language-of-birds/articles/alarm-and-m... [2] https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/nuthatches-chickadees-communication-danger https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/nuthatche... [3] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobbing_(animal_behavior) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobbing_(animal_behavior)
- abruzzi 5y agoMy pet parrot definitly laughs. It sounds like a staccato clucking sound. He usually does it when he's lying on my belly playing with me. He lays on his back, both feet grabbing my finger (or fingers) and play-biting my finger with his beak. I've gotten to where I can do a pretty good imitation which I do when he's clearly playing. (he does sometimes get too agressive in his play, and I usually stop clucking when he pushes too far, but I doubt that registers with him.) EDIT: Just for completeness, he's a Mitered Conure. Conure's are probably the most gregarious parrots I've encountered.