Responses of Caged Red-winged Blackbirds to Methiocarb on Wild Rice

Red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) were offered a choice between cultivated wild rice (Zizania aquatica) treated with methiocarb and untreated wild rice. Unhulled wild rice soaked in methiocarb solution was highly effective in repelling blackbirds at residue levels <132 ppm. The responses of blackbirds to methiocarb residues <132 ppm on soaked rice were variable. Most of the blackbirds conditioned to avoid treated rice at 132 ppm of methiocarb were subsequently repelled by treated rice with residues as low as 30 ppm.