Ontogeny of chick behavior: a tool for monitoring the growth and development of lesser adjutant storks

Abstract

We studied the behavioral development of seven lesser adjutant stork (Leptoptilos javanicus) chicks from hatching to fledging over three breeding seasons at the Bronx Zoo. We developed an ethogram and compared the rate at which behaviors appeared in relation to brood size, sex, and the conditions in which the chicks were raised by their parents. Although sample sizes were small, there seem to be sex-related differences in the rate at which behaviors develop, with females developing more rapidly than males. Larger clutch size may be associated with slower growth rate because the single male developed faster than the two males in 2004. The slowest growth rate, observed in a single male chick in 1999, was most likely owing to nutritional deficiencies and other health complications. More research is needed, but these results can be used to help evaluate the age and health of lesser adjutant stork chicks in captivity and in the wild. Zoo Biol 26:533-538, 2007. (c) 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Hand‐Rearing and Sex Determination Tool for the Taveta Golden Weaver (Ploceus castaneiceps)

“…Additionally, males in most avian species, including passerines, do not possess a phallus, or copulatory organ [Wesotowski, ], therefore, visual vent sexing cannot be conducted on passerines. Finally, in some species, there are sex‐related differences in the rate at which behaviors develop [Maust et al, ]; however, we have not observed any obvious variation in Taveta weaver chick behavior. Thus, while these methods are useful in determining sex in other avian species or during later life stages, none are ideal for sexing small passerine chicks prior to fledging.…”

Kind to kin: weak interference competition among white stork Ciconia ciconia broodmates

“…Food disputes might give heavier chicks a competitive advantage, as in hen harriers Cyrcus cyaneus (Balfour and Macdonald 1970) and barn owls Tyto alba (Roulin et al 2008). Tug-of-war interactions have also been reported in lesser adjutant stork Leptoptilos javanicus nestlings (Maust et al 2007). We recorded the identity of the participants as well as the outcome of the dispute.…”