Crows ‘count’ the number of self-generated vocalizations

Producing a specific number of vocalizations with purpose requires a sophisticated combination of numerical abilities and vocal control. Whether any animal possesses such a capacity to voluntarily control the number of self-generated vocalizations is yet unknown. We demonstrate that crows can flexibly produce a variable number of one to four vocalizations in response to arbitrary cues associated with numerical values. The acoustic features of the first vocalization of a sequence were predictive of the total number of vocalizations, indicating a planning process. Moreover, the acoustic features of vocal units were foretelling of their order in the sequence and could be used to read-out counting errors during vocal production. Together, the crows' vocal enumeration capability could be an evolutionary precursor to symbolic counting found uniquely in humans., , , # Crows ‘count’ the number of self-generated vocalizations

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.qjq2bvqpz](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.qjq2bvqpz)

This dataset contains behavioral data that is presented and analyzed in the corresponding manuscript. We trained three crows (Corvus corone) on a numerical vocal production task where they had to produce a flexible number of 1 to 4 vocalizations in response to arbitrary visual and auditory stimuli. We measured task performance, timing data, and the acoustic features of the vocalizations. Data was collected for 10 sessions per cue modality (i.e. visual and auditory) for a total of 20 sessions per crow.   

## Description of the data and file structure

Processed data is organized in a single Excel file with sheet names corresponding to relevant figure subplots.

Figure 1C/D: behavioral curves for visual and auditory cues in individual crows - BirdID corresponds to subject identity, Modality corresponds to the type of cue given (1: visual, 2: audi...