Budgies find yawns irresistible too

Photo by Rachael

  "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.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 Unpublished work shows their yawns are more contagious after a sudden loud noise, suggesting yawning might help coordinate group alertness in the face of a threat."