Problem solving and neophobia in a columbiform–passeriform assemblage in Barbados

Previous research suggests a link between innovation rate, neophobia and behavioural flexibility in the field and in captivity. In this paper we examine three correlates of flexibility in five opportunistic avian species that feed together in Barbados: three Passeriformes (the Carib grackle, Quiscalus lugubris, the Lesser Antillean bullfinch, Loxigilla noctis, and the shiny cowbird, Molothrus bonariensis) and two Columbiformes (the zenaida dove, Zenaida aurita and the common ground dove, Columbina passerina). The flexibility measures are habituation to a new food patch, willingness to feed near a novel object (neophobia) and ability to obtain food from a new apparatus (problem solving). Passeriformes (in particular grackles and bullfinches), as predicted from their high innovation rate in anecdotal data, outperformed Columbiformes on all three measures. The three tests yielded similar results in the field and in captivity. Grackles, which are members of the most innovative passeriform genus in North America after Corvus, were by far the most successful species on the problem solving test. Individual variation in attempts to obtain food from the new apparatus was predicted by latency to approach it, which was in turn predicted by latency to feed near novel objects. This study provides experimental evidence, both in the field and in captivity, for the taxonomic differences in innovative flexibility seen in anecdotal data and suggests that neophobia is an important intervening variable in response to new feeding problems.