MOCKINGBIRDS NEED A PLACE TO FLY (original) (raw)
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Ornithology
In this study, we documented for the first time singing on the nest (SOTN) in 74% of 65 Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) nests that were monitored with continuous-running video cameras (8,353.9 hr sampled). As predicted, higher rates of SOTN significantly decreased daily survival rates of nests. SOTN occurred almost exclusively by females during the egg stage and in 86% (48 of 56) of nests for which we had sampling from the egg stage. While extensive at the population level, the average rate of SOTN per individual was low (5.24 ± 1.24 s SOTN per hour of video sampled). We found mixed support for the hypothesis that SOTN functions in territory maintenance. We found no support for the hypotheses that SOTN functions to coordinate parental care, defend nests, or aid in vocal learning. Given the limited attention SOTN has received and the mostly anecdotal accounts of it, our understanding of its costs and benefits is lacking. We conclude that while individual rates of SOTN are qu...
Nestling Sex Ratios in Two Populations of Northern Mockingbirds
Southeastern Naturalist, 2011
... Acknowledgments. We thank members of the MOXIE lab at Xavier University: Hank Kerschen, Patrick Quinn, Matt Hoffmann, Geoff Putney, Matt Broderick, Dan Schoeff, Amsul Khanal, Whitney Wauligman, Brian Carlson, Molly McCarrick, Kelsey Burns, and Alyssa McMahon. ...
Feeding decisions of eastern bluebirds are situationally influenced by fledgling plumage color
The relative amount of resources that avian parents provide to individual offspring within a brood represents a strategy that can have large effects on reproductive success. We tested whether parental feeding decisions of eastern bluebirds Sialia sialis are influenced by offspring plumage color by presenting pairs of differently colored fledglings side by side and observing how they were provisioned by parents. After a control period, we manipulated blue plumage color so that one sibling in each trial became relatively dark and one became relatively bright. During neither the control nor the experimental periods did either parent consistently feed naturally brighter or experimentally brightened sons more than drab sons. Under specific circumstances, however, both parents directed a higher proportion of their feeding attempts to more brightly colored sons. Paternal feeding attempts to brighter offspring during both the control and experimental periods increased in relation to the brightness of these fledglings relative to their brothers. Maternal feeding decision, on the other hand, were influenced by numerous variables during control and experimental periods including the date of the trial, the difference in mass between fledglings, the feeding behavior of fathers during the trial, the relative investment by fathers during the nestling stage, and the amount of UV chroma in fledgling plumage. Taken together, these results suggest that equal provisioning of offspring is the strategy most commonly adopted by eastern bluebirds but more brightly colored offspring will be fed preferentially when resources for offspring are limited.