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Breeding cycle aggression in domesticated zebra finches ( Poephila guttata )
Author(s) -
Case Verna Miller
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
aggressive behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.223
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 1098-2337
pISSN - 0096-140X
DOI - 10.1002/1098-2337(1986)12:5<337::aid-ab2480120504>3.0.co;2-f
Subject(s) - zebra finch , nest (protein structural motif) , aggression , hatching , biology , zoology , seasonal breeder , ecology , agonistic behaviour , brood , domestication , taeniopygia , psychology , developmental psychology , biochemistry , neuroscience
Patterns of breeding cycle aggressive behavior were examined in colonies of domesticated zebra finches ( Poephila guttata ). Aggressive behaviors of zebra finch pairs were low during non‐nesting periods but were maintained at high levels during the three nesting periods: the incubating, hatching, and nestling periods. Defense of the nest site was the prominent functional category of aggression, followed by defense of individual distance. Defense of mate, defense of young, and defense of nesting material rarely occurred. Male and female members of pair bonds shared the duties of defense of the nest site and parental care. During observation times males exhibited greater frequencies of aggressive actions throughout the breeding cycle and females spent a greater amount of time in the nest during the three nesting periods. The pattern and functional categories of aggressive behavior in the zebra finch colonies correspond most closely to the nest site defense hypothesis for the evolution of breeding season aggression.