Silence is not golden: the hissing calls of tits affect the behaviour of a nest predator

Abstract

Nest predation is one of the most important mortality factors of birds. Field observations showed that tits (Paridae) produce hissing calls and, usually, have lower breeding losses than nesting Ficedula flycatchers, which do not make such calls. We hypothesise that differences in fledgling success can be directly attributed to the vocal reaction of tits. We tested experimentally whether the hissing calls can affect the behaviour of a potential predator, analysing the response of the Yellow-necked Mouse Apodemus flavicollis to playback of calls of three Parid species. The number of visits by mice to two types of cavities (with playback and control) was not significantly different, but the average time spent by mice in cavities with playback (3.9 s) was significantly shorter than in cavities without playback (26.3 s). This suggests that hissing behaviour of tits significantly changes the exploration activity of predators, which may ultimately increase the breeding success of this group of birds relative to the flycatchers.Significance statementNest predation is one of the most important mortality factors of small land birds, but some anti-predatory mechanisms are still poorly recognised. Numerous studies demonstrate that incubating tits make hissing sounds, when a predator is near, but despite almost a century of research, there is little evidence these calls indeed affect behaviour of predators. By using a simple laboratory experiment, we demonstrated that the hissing acoustic signals used by tits may change the behaviour of yellow-necked mice, which are an important predator of cavity-nesting birds in temperate forests. Intruding mice withdrew from cavities where hissing sounds were played back. Our results suggest that the hissing behaviour of tits can change the exploration activity of potential predators and may increase breeding success of this group of birds relative to the flycatchers, which stay silent when their nest is threatened.

Hissing like a snake: bird hisses are similar to snake hisses and prompt similar anxiety behavior in a mammalian model

“…In agreement with Batesian mimicry, bird hissing sounds have been suggested to deter mammals under playback experiments. The tits' hisses have been shown to deter: (i) feral cats (Krams et al 2014), (ii) woodpeckers (Dendrocopos major, Koosa and Tilgar 2016), and (iii) yellow-necked mice (Apodemus flavicollis, Zub et al 2017).…”

Patterns of predator behaviour and Wood Warbler Phylloscopus sibilatrix nest survival in a primaeval forest

“…In at least one-third of the occasions when a potential predator was foraging near a camera-monitored nest, it probably passed it by due to a failure to recognize or detect a nest (Schmidt 1999). On another six occasions, when predators inspected nests without attacking them, Wood Warblers might have deterred or repelled predators by producing 'hissing' calls (such defensive behaviour has been found in several songbirds, including Wood Warblers; Cramp 1992, Zub et al 2017). These defensive behaviours and 'near misses' could be important, as if all of the situations when a predator was recorded near a nest had ended with a successful attack, the proportion of depredated nests would be 71%.…”

Nest defence behavioural reaction norms: testing life-history and parental investment theory predictions

“…In the great tit ( Parus major ), hissing behaviour varies greatly among females and has been shown to be repeatable [35–37]. Since hissing behaviour is effective in startling and deterring predators it is very likely to decrease the chance of nest predation [35,38]. Hissing behaviour can also be costly, since actively lunging at the predator and uttering hissing calls is considered to be risky [35] and, although unexplored to date, likely to entail energetic costs [39,40].…”