Carrion crows are sensitive to human head, but not eye, orientation

Carrion crows are sensitive to human head, but not eye, orientation | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Carrion crows are sensitive to human head, but not eye, orientation Katy Ablett, Edward R Morrison This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8841247/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 4 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Escape is a vital survival mechanism, shaped by numerous factors relating to risk assessment. Birds rely on flight as a primary escape mechanism with flight initiation distance (FID) commonly used to quantify responses. In this study we tested whether carrion crows ( Corvus corone ) were sensitive to human gaze when approached with direct gaze and head orientation, direct head but averted eyes, or averted head and eyes. We also explored how contextual variables such as the birds’ initial orientation, starting distance, temperature, and weather affect FID. We conducted an independent groups field experiment with 172 naturally foraging crows randomly assigned to one of three gaze conditions. Each was approached by the experimenter, while recording their position throughout. Once the subject left their initial location, the distance between experimenter’s initial position and subject’s location (starting distance), where the experimenter stopped and the subject’s location (FID), and environmental and situational factors were recorded. Results demonstrated a significant difference in FID based on gaze condition: FID was about 3.5m shorter when head and eyes were averted than when both were direct or head was direct and eyes were averted. Initial orientation and starting distance also significantly affected FID but weather and temperature had no significant effects. These findings suggest that carrion crows are sensitive to human head orientation but not eye direction specifically. They also contribute to our understanding of human-wildlife interactions. Gaze sensitivity flight initiation distance crow Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 23 Mar, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 18 Mar, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 18 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 10 Feb, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8841247","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":610880505,"identity":"3635cda2-d5e0-4322-92dc-ea7e89ce1319","order_by":0,"name":"Katy Ablett","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Portsmouth","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Katy","middleName":"","lastName":"Ablett","suffix":""},{"id":610880507,"identity":"6b0e53d0-58b2-43f3-b4cc-e2b8545d412b","order_by":1,"name":"Edward R Morrison","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA7UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFCCBDDJA8SMDxCiB4jTwmwAJCSI1gICbBJEaeFnT2Dd8HHPPRn59t5j1QUV9+oY2A8/YOY5g1uLZM8DtpsznhXzGJw5l3Z7xpliCQaeNANmnhu4tRjcSGC7zXMggcdAIsfsNm9bAtBhOQzMPB9wa7GHaZGfkWNWDNbC/wa/FgMJqBaGGzlmzGAtEiBb8DhM4szDtpszQA47c8ZYesaZBMk2iWcGB+fg8T5/e/KxGx8OJNjLt/cYfi6oSODn509++ODNMdxagHHeAGcygwg2BgIRiQKYiVY5CkbBKBgFIwoAAO1mTCtwL74wAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"University of Portsmouth","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Edward","middleName":"R","lastName":"Morrison","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-02-10 12:53:57","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8841247/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8841247/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":108711101,"identity":"51cfb0a3-e6b4-4ed4-9b78-3680aaee4b81","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-07 14:21:09","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":442421,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"AblettMorrisonready.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8841247/v1_covered_79923808-9855-4fcb-a7d1-98e443e139fe.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Carrion crows are sensitive to human head, but not eye, orientation","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"behavioral-ecology-and-sociobiology","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"beas","sideBox":"Learn more about [Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology](http://link.springer.com/journal/265)","snPcode":"265","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/beas/default.aspx","title":"Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Gaze sensitivity, flight initiation distance, crow","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8841247/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8841247/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eEscape is a vital survival mechanism, shaped by numerous factors relating to risk assessment. 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