Proceedings. Biological sciences
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Social animals encountering natural dangers face decisions such as whether to freeze, flee or harass the threat. The American crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos, conspicuously mobs dangers. ⋯ However, despite this consistent behavioural and neural response, the sight of a person who previously captured the crow, a person holding a dead crow and a taxidermy-mounted hawk activated distinct forebrain regions (amygdala, hippocampus and portion of the caudal nidopallium, respectively). We suggest that aspects of mobbing behaviour are guided by unique neural circuits that respond to differences in mental processing-learning, memory formation and multisensory discrimination-required to appropriately nuance a risky behaviour to specific dangers.