AVIS-IBIS

Birds of Indian Subcontinent

Do pinyon jays alter nest placement based on prior experience?

Publication Type:Journal Article
Year of Publication:1988
Authors:Marzluff, JM
Journal:Animal Behaviour
Volume:36
Issue:1
Date Published:1988
ISBN Number:0003-3472
Keywords:Corvidae, Corvus, Corvus brachyrhynchos, Corvus corax, Garrulus, Garrulus glandarius, Gymnorhinus, Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus
Abstract:The role of prior experience in nest-site selection by a long-lived corvid, the pinyon jay, Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus, was investigated. The major sources of nest failure were loss to avian predators (Corvus corax and Corvus brachyrhynchos) and abandonment after cold and snowy spring weather. Cold weather favours exposed nesting because solar radiation reduces the energetic costs to nesting females and quickly melts snow in and around the nest. Predation favours cryptic nests. The relative height at which individual jays nested (an index of nest exposure) was compared to their previous nest height and to the fate of that nesting attempt. For the following reasons jays appear to associate nest exposure with the fate of a particular nesting attempt: (1) after nesting in exposed sites, subsequent nests were 27·3% lower (more concealed) in the nest tree following predation, but only 9·7% lower when predation did not occur; (2) concealed nest sites were avoided only after failure due to cold weather; and (3) nest placement following the successful fledging of young did not differ significantly from the previous nest placement. The frequency of nesting in exposed locations dropped from 80% to 55% after individuals suffered their third predatory experience when nesting in exposed locations. Experienced jays nested relatively low throughout the season, which enhances concealment, but nested farther out from the trunk early in the season, which reduces incubation costs. The use of prior experience in nest-site selection is adaptive because sites can include properties associated with past success and exclude those associated with past failure.
URL:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003347288802446
Short Title:Animal Behaviour
Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith