Beware of my face: The role of facial configuration in predator recognition.

Abstract

The composite perception of individual elements and their configurations on the face during its recognition, so-called holistic processing, has been demonstrated in humans and some animals. However, it is unknown whether similar processes apply, at least to some extent, to the recognition of ecologically relevant stimuli by birds. The important role of facial elements (hooked beak and conspicuous eye color) in recognizing avian predators has been repeatedly demonstrated. However, no attention has yet been paid to the importance of their configuration (i.e., the mutual position of the eyes and beak). We tested the ability of untrained wild great tits to recognize a dangerous predator with its eyes rotated by 90° around its beak (inline dummy) and by 180°around its beak (invert dummy) in an outdoor aviary experiment. A dummy of a sparrowhawk with its head devoid of eyes and beak (empty dummy) served as a behavioral baseline alongside dummies of an unmodified sparrowhawk and a pigeon (as a harmless control). The tits showed no more fear toward the empty dummy than they did toward the pigeon. Toward the invert dummy, the tits showed no less fear than toward the unmodified sparrowhawk. By contrast, in the case of the inline modification, their behavior can be interpreted as increased fear. Our results do not prove that tits use holistic processing in predator recognition, but sensitivity to the presence and configuration of facial elements in the predator's face suggests that this possibility should not be ruled out. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).