Behavior and Ethology Commons^™

Perceived Predation Risk And The Responses Of Adult And Nestling Tree Swallows (Tachycineta Bicolor), Natalia May Maass

Online Theses and Dissertations

Some species of birds have alarm calls that are functionally referential and provide their nestlings with information about the level of threat predators may pose. Although several investigators have examined the responses of nestlings of species with open-cup nests to the anti-predator calls of adults, few have conducted such studies with cavity-nesting species of birds. Therefore, the objectives of my study were to examine the vocal responses of cavity-nesting adult Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) to different nest predators, some able and others unable to enter nest cavities, and to examine the responses of nestlings to those vocalizations. My study was …