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BILL‐CLAPPERING DISPLAY IN THE COMMON HERON ARDEA CINEREA
Author(s) -
Hudson M. J.
Publication year - 1965
Publication title -
ibis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.933
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1474-919X
pISSN - 0019-1019
DOI - 10.1111/j.1474-919x.1965.tb07331.x
Subject(s) - ardea , heron , zoology , biology , stork , geography , ecology , communication , sociology
SUMMARY Bill‐clappering is shown to be a normal feature of the early phases of the breeding cycle in the Common Heron Ardea cinerea and the circumstances of its occurrence are described. Possible origins of this behaviour and its probable function are suggested. An attempt is made to show the development of Ciconiiform display from the integration of more simple patterns. The significance of bill‐clappering in the Common Heron appears to lie in the fact that it suggests an ancestral type of behaviour from which the complex display of the White Stork has evolved.