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Full-Text Articles in Animal Sciences
Trigeminal Repellents Do Not Promote Conditioned Odor Avoidance In European Starlings, Larry Clark
Trigeminal Repellents Do Not Promote Conditioned Odor Avoidance In European Starlings, Larry Clark
Larry Clark
Birds, and in particular European Starlings (Stumus vulgaris), avoid con sumption of fluid and food treated with the natural plant products, methyl anthranilate and o-aminoacetophenone. Avoidance is an unlearnedresponse most likely mediated via chem ically sensitive fibers of the trigeminal nerve. The trigeminal nerve codes for chemical irritation and pain. Starlings are not repelled by the odor of the compounds, nor is olfaction important in the avoidance response. Moreover, starlings fail to learn to avoid the odor of the repellents, even after direct oral contact with liquid repellent. While trigeminal irritants can be powerful repellents, the absence of associative learning …
Capsaicin Effects On Consumption Of Food By Cedar Waxwings And House Finches., Donald Norman, Russell Mason, Larry Clark
Capsaicin Effects On Consumption Of Food By Cedar Waxwings And House Finches., Donald Norman, Russell Mason, Larry Clark
Larry Clark
Capsaicin effects on consumption of food by Cedar Waxwings and House Finches. Capsaicinoids (e.g., N-vanillyl-n-nonamide. norcapsaicin, nordihydrocapsaicin, capsaicin, dihydrocapsaicin, homocapsaicin, homodihydrocapsaicin; Hoffman 1983) are aromatic am ides and the pungent principles in Capsicum peppers. Although these substances are strong chemical irritants for most mammals (e.g.. Rozin et a!. 1979), the available data suggest that they are inoffensive to some birds. For example. European Starlings (Sturn us vulgaris) and Rock Doves (Columba Iivia) are unresponsive to these compounds, even when con centrations greatly exceed those which mammals avoid (Szolcsanyi et al. 1986; Mason et a!.. in press).
Thermal Constraints On Foraging Activity Of Adult Starlings, Larry Clark
Thermal Constraints On Foraging Activity Of Adult Starlings, Larry Clark
Larry Clark
The operative temperature of the environment was estimated for starlings using hollow, unheated taxidermic mounts. On average, adults foraging in full sun were characterized by shorter foraging bouts than those adults foraging in full shade. Simultaneous observations of air temperature, operative temperature, and the foraging duration of adults indicated that air temperature was a poor predictor of the maximum length of a foraging bout. The operative temperature of the environment was not correlated to the maximum and mean length of foraging bouts for temperatures below 31.5 ~ C, but was negatively related to maximum and mean foraging duration for values …
Olfactory Discrimination Of Plant Volatiles By The European Starling, Larry Clark, J Russell Mason
Olfactory Discrimination Of Plant Volatiles By The European Starling, Larry Clark, J Russell Mason
Larry Clark
Passerine species that re-use nest sites often incorporate fresh green vegetation into their nests, a behaviour consistent with the possibility that some birds may use chemical properties of plants to counteract the selective potential of parasites and pathogens. We tested adult starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) for their physiological capacity and behavioural ability to detect and discriminate between volatiles emitted from plant material. Multi-unit electrophysiological recordings from olfactory nerves of adults indicated that strong responses were reliably elicited by volatiles from six plant species. After pairings of plant volatiles with gastro-intestinal malaise, birds exhibited conditioned avoidance in behavioural experiments, and made all …