Blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) respond to an experimental change in the aromatic plant odour composition of their nest.
نویسنده
چکیده
Although the use of olfaction by birds is now widely recognised, the olfactory abilities of passerine birds remain poorly explored, for historical reasons. Several studies however suggest that passerines can perceive volatile compounds in several biologically relevant contexts. In Corsica, recent findings suggest that cavity-nesting blue tits may use volatile compounds in the context of nest building and maintenance. Although they build their nests mainly from moss, female blue tits also frequently incorporate fragments of several species of aromatic plants in the nest cup. In field experiments, breeding female blue tits altered their nest maintenance behaviour in response to experimental addition of aromatic plants in their nest. In aviary experiments, captive male blue tits could be trained to detect lavender odour from a distance. Here I report results from a field study aimed to test whether adult blue tits altered their chick-feeding behaviour after an experimental change in nest odour composition. I experimentally added fragments of aromatic plant species that differed from those brought in the nests before the start of the experiment in a set of experimental nests and added moss, the basic nest material, in a set of control nests. Both male and female blue tits hesitated significantly longer entering the nest cavity after addition of new aromatic plant fragments, as compared to moss addition. This response was especially observed during the first visit following the experimental change in nest plant composition. Nest composition treatment had no effect on the time spent in the nest. This study demonstrates that free-ranging blue tits detect changes in nest odour from outside the nest cavity.
منابع مشابه
Causes and Consequences of Intraspecific Variation in Nesting Behaviors: Insights from Blue Tits and Great Tits
Nest building is an important and yet under-studied stage of the reproductive cycle in many taxa, including birds, and whilst we have a decent understanding of interspecific variation in avian nesting behaviors, our understanding of intraspecific variation in nesting behaviors is much less developed. This is largely because an insufficient number of studies have been performed on any one specie...
متن کاملLocal Individual Preferences for Nest Materials in a Passerine Bird
BACKGROUND Variation in the behavioural repertoire of animals is acquired by learning in a range of animal species. In nest-building birds, the assemblage of nest materials in an appropriate structure is often typical of a bird genus or species. Yet plasticity in the selection of nest materials may be beneficial because the nature and abundance of nest materials vary across habitats. Such plast...
متن کاملThe intensity threshold of colour vision in a passerine bird, the blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus).
Many vertebrates use colour vision for vital behaviour but their visual performance in dim light is largely unknown. The light intensity threshold of colour vision is known only for humans, horses and two parrot species. Here, we first explore this threshold in a passerine bird, the blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus). Using classic conditioning of colour cues to food rewards in three individuals, w...
متن کاملOlfactory conditioning experiments in a food-searching passerine bird in semi-natural conditions.
Because passerine birds have a very small relative olfactory bulb size, they have been considered to have weak olfactory capacities for decades. Recent investigations however suggest that breeding female blue tits (Parus caeruleus) are sensitive to lavender odour in the reproductive context of building and maintaining the nest. Here, we present results of an olfactory conditioning experiment in...
متن کاملBrood size constrains the development of endothermy in blue tits.
Altricial birds are unable to maintain body temperature when exposed to low ambient temperatures during the first days after hatching. Thermoregulatory capacity begins to form as postnatal development progresses, and eventually nestlings become homeothermic. Several factors may influence this development at both the level of the individual and the level of the whole brood, but to our knowledge ...
متن کاملذخیره در منابع من
با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید
برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید
ثبت ناماگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید
ورودعنوان ژورنال:
- Behavioural processes
دوره 79 3 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2008