Wild great and blue tits do not avoid chemical cues of predators when selecting cavities for roosting

Amo, Luisa; Tomás, Gustavo; Saavedra, Irene; Visser, Marcel E.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0203269

Cited by 9 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…This method of odor collection has been used in previous studies (Amo et al , , b, ). Ferret scent is recognized by blue tits as a predatory threat (Amo et al , , Saavedra and Amo ) and rabbit scent has been used as an odorous control in other studies (Amo et al , , ). The odorless control treatment was prepared by adding several drops of water to clean pieces of absorbent paper.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The importance of chemical, visual and behavioral cues of predators on the antipredatory behavior of birds

Saavedra

Amo

2020

Journal of Avian Biology

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Nesting mortality in birds is caused primarily by predation. The ability to use different predator cues to assess the level of predation risk could be essential to minimize the predation risk during the breeding period. Previous studies show that birds modified their parental behavior when they detected chemical or visual cues of predators in the surrounding of the nest. However, according to the threat sensitivity hypothesis, birds may use more than one predator cue in order to accurately assess the level of predation risk. In this assessment, the behavior of predators can provide important information to evaluate the motivation of the predator to launch an attack. However, there are no studies that examined the importance of chemical, visual and behavioral cues of predators on the antipredatory behavior of birds. We examined the antipredatory behavior of blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus parents when they were exposed to live predators or stuffed models of predators that also had predator chemical cues. Blue tits were able to detect the behavioral cues of predators and exhibited greater antipredatory behaviors when exposed to a live predator than to a stuffed model with chemical cues. The results suggest that birds use the chemical, visual and behavioral cues of the predators to assess the level of predation risk and adjust their antipredatory behavior accordingly.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We used water as an odorless control stimulus to mimic the humidity of the papers containing the other treatments. Water has been used as an odorless control stimulus in previous studies on chemical detection by birds (Amo et al 2008(Amo et al , 2017(Amo et al , 2018.…”

Section: Experimental Design and Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

The importance of chemical, visual and behavioral cues of predators on the antipredatory behavior of birds

Saavedra

Amo

2020

Journal of Avian Biology

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“…Anecdotally, we noted that the greater volume and coarseness of material and wastes in mammal, starling and raptor holes persisted longer than a year. Whether the feces or prey remains in former mammalian or raptor nests acted as an additional visual or scent-based deterrent for prospecting birds needs further experimentation (see Amo et al, 2018).…”

Section: Degradation In Cavity Qualitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sequential reuse of cavities may also cause a buildup of parasites (Short, 1979) or, in the case of prey remains and excrement left by raptors and mammals, a buildup of bacteria and pathogens that could deter reuse (Mazgajski, 2007a). Finally, experiments suggest that passerines may avoid cavities with visual cues of use or visitation by mammalian predators (Ekner and Tryjanowski, 2008;Mönkkönen et al, 2009) and these songbirds may or may not avoid holes with mammalian scent (review in Amo et al, 2018). Cavities with such cues may signal a high predation risk and discourage subsequent reuse of that nest site by other species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gaps and Runs in Nest Cavity Occupancy: Cavity “Destroyers” and “Cleaners” Affect Reuse by Secondary Cavity Nesting Vertebrates

et al. 2020

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Many animals require tree cavities for breeding and these sites may be reused by a diversity of secondary cavity nesters over a timespan of decades. It is unknown whether the reuse of holes changes their desirability as nest sites. We hypothesized that some species, "cavity destroyers," degrade the quality of holes by filling them with coarse nest material or waste whereas excavating species, "cavity cleaners," might prolong the use of a hole by removing debris or enlarging the hole. Using data gathered during 22 years from a field study in central British Colombia, we analyzed long-term patterns of cavity occupancy in relation to their sequential use by bird and mammal species, grouped by traits. Patterns of cavity occupancy were variable with 49% of 875 large-sized holes (excavated by northern flickers Colaptes auratus and pileated woodpeckers Dryocopus pileatus) and 19% of 652 smaller-sized holes incorporating runs of sequential use that lasted to 18 years. About 11% of large and 25% of small cavities also had gaps of 3-13 years between occupancies. Mammals, raptors and European starlings, consistent with the hypothesis, were cavity destroyers, occupying cavities as terminal users and before gaps more often than expected by chance. The pattern of occupancy by northern flickers was random in relation to gaps or prior use by other species. Although flickers did not target old holes to clean, neither did they avoid them. Small cavities that were renovated by flickers into larger cavities were reused at twice the rate after renovation. Runs of cavity occupancy that involved only cavity-destroying species were shorter than runs that involved periodic use by flickers, suggesting the woodpecker, through its cleaning and renovation, prolonged the use of such holes. Our study contributes insights on additional ecological factors, namely previous users, that can influence the use and availability of cavities over time.

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“…Birds may avoid cavities with remains from a visit of a mammal as shown by studies of birds where the content of the cavities used for roosting in winter and for nesting in spring was manipulated [12,13]. Tests of whether birds avoid only chemical cues in cavities have shown mixed results [13][14][15][16] compared with those presenting both visual and chemical cues of predators such as hair and faeces from mustelids [12,17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nest decoration: birds exploit a fear of feathers to guard their nest from usurpation

Slagsvold

Wiebe

2021

R. Soc. open sci.

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Many species of birds incorporate feathers into their nest as structural support and to insulate the eggs or offspring. Here, we investigated the novel idea that birds reduce the risk of nest usurpation by decorating it with feathers to trigger a fear response in their rivals. We let prospecting birds choose between a dyad of nest-boxes in the wild, both containing some nest materials, but where one had a few white feathers and the other had none. All three species of cavity-nesting birds studied, the pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca , the blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus , and the tree swallow Tachycineta bicolor , hesitated to enter boxes with white feathers. A similar avoidance of white feathers was found when the alternative nest-box of a dyad held black feathers. However, the birds readily collected white feathers that we placed in front of their nest-box, showing the fear of such feathers was context-dependent. We suggest that naive prospecting birds may perceive feathers in nests as the result of a predation event, and that owners decorate nests with bright feathers that can be seen from the opening to deter others from entering.

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Wild great and blue tits do not avoid chemical cues of predators when selecting cavities for roosting

Cited by 9 publications

References 50 publications

The importance of chemical, visual and behavioral cues of predators on the antipredatory behavior of birds

The importance of chemical, visual and behavioral cues of predators on the antipredatory behavior of birds

Gaps and Runs in Nest Cavity Occupancy: Cavity “Destroyers” and “Cleaners” Affect Reuse by Secondary Cavity Nesting Vertebrates

Nest decoration: birds exploit a fear of feathers to guard their nest from usurpation

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