Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A October 2016 PMID 27638211

Orthographic processing in pigeons (Columba livia).

Damian Scarf, Karoline Boy, Anelisie Uber Reinert, Jack Devine, Onur Güntürkün, Michael Colombo

Mentions

25
Peak: 5 in Apr 2020
across 7 sources since Oct 2016

Extended reach

2,953,456
potential audience

Total likes

108,709

Video views

2,937,605

Mentions per month

Oct 2016 – Oct 2025

Where it's discussed

  • X / Twitter7 posts
  • News6 articles
  • Facebook5 posts
  • Instagram3 posts
  • YouTube2 videos
  • Bluesky1 posts
  • Blogs1 articles

AI synopsis

What people are saying

Overall, discussions praise the study for revealing pigeons' ability to recognize written words, emphasizing their intelligence and the evolutionary implications of shared visual systems. Words like 'feathered fact' and comments about teaching pigeons to read reflect excitement and curiosity, driving a positive perception of the research’s significance.

AgreementModerate agreement

Most posts express enthusiasm and support for the research, highlighting pigeons' ability to process written language with positive remarks like 'Sehr geil' and recognition of the study’s significance.

InterestHigh interest

The discussions demonstrate high curiosity about the topic, with mentions of teaching pigeons to read and their impressive visual processing abilities.

EngagementModerate engagement

Posts show moderate engagement by referencing specific points like visual cues, but mostly remain at a surface level without deep analysis.

ImpactModerate impact

The posts suggest the research could influence perspectives on animal cognition and orthographic processing, though the overall impact is more enthusiasm-driven than transformative.

Abstract in brief

  • Pigeons, despite being very different from humans and separated by over 300 million years of evolution, can process written words and recognize their orthographic properties.
  • The study shows that pigeons learn to distinguish words from nonwords by focusing on letter patterns, bigram frequencies, and the internal structure of words, indicating they can generalize from their training.
  • These findings suggest that the neural basis for orthographic processing may not be unique to humans and might be a result of shared visual system features across vertebrates, indicating a possible evolutionary recycling of visual recognition circuits.]

Top posts

Most liked on X and Bluesky
Association of Avian Veterinarians (AAV)
@aavonline · X

Did you know that research has been done on teaching pigeons to read? Birds are extremely smart and process visual cues in interesting ways! #featheredfactfriday Orthographic processing in #pigeons (Columba livia) | PNAS https://t.co/fqTkkJlOIF https://t.co/XH40Y4vvle

Apr 17, 2020 · 6 likes · 4 shares · 1,649 followers View post →
vanilla_crow
@vanilla_crow · X

RT @aavonline: Did you know that research has been done on teaching pigeons to read? Birds are extremely smart and process visual cues in i…

Apr 17, 2020 · 4 shares · 10,981 followers View post →
ギリュウ
@Gryu_2nd · X

RT @aavonline: Did you know that research has been done on teaching pigeons to read? Birds are extremely smart and process visual cues in i…

Apr 17, 2020 · 4 shares · 1,457 followers View post →
I Doctor Birbs (and other creatures)
@DrShibe2 · X

RT @aavonline: Did you know that research has been done on teaching pigeons to read? Birds are extremely smart and process visual cues in i…

Apr 17, 2020 · 4 shares · 557 followers View post →
GeoScience.net
@GeoSciences · X

Orthographic processing in pigeons (Columba livia) https://t.co/hAz0PYiIVA

Feb 24, 2022 · 403 followers View post →
クルルヤック 88位
@smuryou_ya_ku · X

RT @aavonline: Did you know that research has been done on teaching pigeons to read? Birds are extremely smart and process visual cues in i…

Apr 17, 2020 · 4 shares · 362 followers View post →

All mentions

Tommy Beam
@TommyBeam4 · X

Sehr geil: Stadttauben kann man Rechtschreibung beibringen. Im Gegensatz zum durchschnittlichen #noafd-Wählenden. https://t.co/9j0sH0Bl0h

Aug 23, 2024 · 253 followers View post →
GeoScience.net
@GeoSciences · X

Orthographic processing in pigeons (Columba livia) https://t.co/hAz0PYiIVA

Feb 24, 2022 · 403 followers View post →
クルルヤック 88位
@smuryou_ya_ku · X

RT @aavonline: Did you know that research has been done on teaching pigeons to read? Birds are extremely smart and process visual cues in i…

Apr 17, 2020 · 4 shares · 362 followers View post →
ギリュウ
@Gryu_2nd · X

RT @aavonline: Did you know that research has been done on teaching pigeons to read? Birds are extremely smart and process visual cues in i…

Apr 17, 2020 · 4 shares · 1,457 followers View post →
I Doctor Birbs (and other creatures)
@DrShibe2 · X

RT @aavonline: Did you know that research has been done on teaching pigeons to read? Birds are extremely smart and process visual cues in i…

Apr 17, 2020 · 4 shares · 557 followers View post →
vanilla_crow
@vanilla_crow · X

RT @aavonline: Did you know that research has been done on teaching pigeons to read? Birds are extremely smart and process visual cues in i…

Apr 17, 2020 · 4 shares · 10,981 followers View post →
Association of Avian Veterinarians (AAV)
@aavonline · X

Did you know that research has been done on teaching pigeons to read? Birds are extremely smart and process visual cues in interesting ways! #featheredfactfriday Orthographic processing in #pigeons (Columba livia) | PNAS https://t.co/fqTkkJlOIF https://t.co/XH40Y4vvle

Apr 17, 2020 · 6 likes · 4 shares · 1,649 followers View post →
Francesco Santini
@fsantini2015.bsky.social · Bluesky

Orthographic processing in pigeons (Columba livia) http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/long/113/40/11272

Oct 4, 2016 View post →
Elisa Aaltola - Nyt se on täällä! Eläinrääkkäys kaikissa sen ...
Facebook

10.1073/pnas.1607870113. Turner, Brandon & Wasserman, Edward (2023). “The pigeon as a machine: Complex category structures can be acquired by a simple ...

Dec 13, 2025 View →
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Dreaming of a Chance, Pleasant Valley. 874 likes · 111 talking about this · 159 were here. We are a 501(c)(3) bird rescue focused on saving abandoned...

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https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1607870113 · Crossref. Elizabeth A. Krupinski,; Richard M. Levenson,; Victor Navarro,; Edward A. Wasserman,. The potential of ...

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Teaching Pigeons to Recognize Words and Objects: A Fascinating ...
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Photo by Pigeon Rescue | Bird Sanctuary | Avian Advocates on October 17, 2025.

Oct 17, 2025 View →
He loved it — he was in there lifting his wings, washing his armpits ...
Instagram

Link to the study: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1607870113. Pigeons really are amazing. I'm going to be making this into a series ...

Oct 8, 2025 View →
The drama #petstagrams #animalslovers #birdslover #pigeonlove ...
Instagram

Link to the study: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1607870113. Pigeons really are amazing. I'm going to be making this into a series ...

Oct 6, 2025 View →
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Orthographic processing in pigeons (Columba livia). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 113: 11272-11276. 10.1073/pnas. 1607870113.

Aug 9, 2024 View →
Pigeons can identify words | ScienceBlogs
Blogs

doi: 10.1073/pnas.1607870113. Tags. Life Science · orthography · pigeon · read · words. More like this. Pigeons in the lead mine? The detachable ...

Dec 29, 2016 View →
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Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 10.1073/pnas.1607870113, 2016. Download (kostenlos). Diesen Artikel empfehlen: Schreiben Sie uns! Beitrag schreiben.

Nov 1, 2016 View →
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... 10.1073/pnas.1607870113). (Ruhr-Universität Bochum/ PNAS, 20.09.2016 – NPO). 20. September 2016. Keine Meldungen mehr verpassen – mit ...

Sep 20, 2016 View →
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), is the first to ... DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1607870113. Provided by University of Otago. 2/3 ...

Sep 19, 2016 View →
Bird brain? Pigeons have quite a way with words | ScienceDaily
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Originalarbeit der Forscher: PNAS, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1607870113. © wissenschaft.de – Martin Vieweg. © wissenschaft.de.

Sep 19, 2016 View →