ISSN:
1439-0361
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
Notes:
Summary The question of how territorial calls of the European pygmy owl come to elicit approach and/or mobbing responses from songbirds was investigated in areas both in and out of the owl's distribution. Great tits learned to respond to an artificial 800 Hz pure tone stimulus in both areas when the sound was presented in conjunction with both a multi-species mobbingchorus playback and a live pygmy owl placed near the nest. By substituting the live owl with a novel, “harmless” bird, i. e. a live Java sparrow, or by omitting either live bird as a reinforcing stimulus, learning success was significantly diminished, as measured in terms of mobbing incidence. Omission of either live bird during the conditioning process, however, led to the same proportion of Ss responding to the novel 800 Hz tone by silent approach and search behaviour, as when the owl was employed. Coal tits, strangely enough, did not learn to respond in either way to the owl's calls when a stuffed owl was substituted for a live specimen despite their vigorous mobbing during the conditioning.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01644592
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