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Behaviour of birds after release from capture as an indicator of territorial status
Author(s) -
MATTHYSEN ERIK,
DHONDT ANDRÉ A.
Publication year - 1988
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.1988.tb00957.x
Subject(s) - generality , geography , ecology , biology , zoology , demography , psychology , sociology , psychotherapist
Territorial Nuthatches which are captured and released within their territory generally start to call within a few seconds after release. Birds released outside of their territory and non‐territorial individuals rarely call. This behavioural rule is found in both males and females throughout the year, and was tested experimentally by moving birds from the site of capture and releasing them elsewhere. Birds captured and released near the border of the territory show a higher tendency towards weak or undetermined responses. The generality of the behaviour makes it useful for detecting changes in territorial status of known individuals, or predicting status of unknown individuals. Some hypotheses are presented to explain the functional significance of calling after release.