Siberian Jay

Siberian jays demonstrate kin-directed teaching where adults actively instruct juvenile relatives in predator recognition and avoidance. Breeding adults give more alarm calls when juvenile kin are present, use more urgent call types around naive juveniles, and physically guide juveniles away from predators. This intensive teaching investment occurs only for relatives—non-kin juveniles receive minimal instruction.

The alarm call system encodes predator category with behavior-specific information. Distinct calls for hawks in flight, perched hawks, and ground predators trigger appropriate responses. Flight triggers freezing in cover, perched triggers mobbing, ground triggers aerial escape. The categorical specificity enables precise response selection.

Learning requires repeated exposure. Juvenile jays initially respond inappropriately to alarm calls—sometimes approaching threats they should flee. Adults increase call repetition and physically intervene when juveniles make mistakes. This active correction accelerates learning beyond what mere exposure would achieve.

Non-breeding helpers preferentially teach younger siblings. Helpers can't breed themselves but increase their inclusive fitness by improving sibling survival. The teaching investment represents alternative reproductive strategy—investing in relatives' survival rather than direct reproduction.

For organizations, Siberian jays illustrate how teaching investment follows relatedness patterns. People invest more in training those whose success benefits them. Explicit mentorship relationships create 'fictive kinship' that triggers the teaching investment otherwise reserved for relatives.