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Does substrate quality influence take‐off decisions in Common Starlings?
Author(s) -
Bonser R. H. C.,
Norman A. P.,
Rayner J. M. V.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
functional ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.272
H-Index - 154
eISSN - 1365-2435
pISSN - 0269-8463
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2435.1999.00290.x
Subject(s) - perch , biology , leaps , fishery , fish <actinopterygii> , financial economics , economics
1. An instrumented perch was used to measure the reaction forces during take‐off of starlings from perches of three thicknesses. There was no significant decrease in reaction force with decreasing perch thickness; however, over the range of perch sizes there was a 10‐fold decrease in safety factor and a 400‐fold increase in the energy of deflection of the thinnest perch. 2. The implications of these results are that birds do not change their take‐off strategy when faced with perches of variable thickness and that, as a result, leaps from thin perches are very much less efficient than those from thicker perches. Birds appear not to adjust their leaping behaviour to minimize the risk of substrate failure during take‐offs.