BUDGIES agree: a yawn is a difficult thing to resist. The highly social birds are the latest animals to join the contagious yawning club.
Many animals yawn, but only humans and a few other primates are known to trigger cascades of yawns around a group. Andrew Gallup at Binghamton University in New York watched 21 budgies over 15 days and counted their yawns – a wide open beak and slightly closed eyes, followed by a brief stretch of the neck. Each bird yawned one to three times an hour, but was more likely to do so if their neighbour had just yawned (Behavioural Processes, DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2011.12.012).
It’s the first good evidence for contagious yawning in a non-primate, says Gallup. Unpublished work shows their yawns are more contagious after a sudden loud noise, suggesting yawning might help coordinate group alertness in the face of a threat.
