Exploring the bird mind: A review of episodic memory and metacognition studies of western scrub-jays

Abstract

The view that episodic memory and metacognition are human-unique abilities has been challenged over the recent decades. While much of the focus of nonhuman studies has been on primates, western scrub-jays contributed extensively towards the understanding of these abilities. Western scrub-jays demonstrate episodic-like memory by remembering what, where, and when they cached food items and by using this information flexibly during recovery to change their behaviour according to the situation. In addition to episodic-like memory, recent studies suggest that these birds are also capable of self-reflection in a form of metacognition. Further investigation of their self-reflective ability may be the critical approach in deepening our understanding of episodic memory in nonhuman animals.