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Location
Mount Berry, GA
Start Date
25-3-2013 12:00 AM
Description
Pyrotechnics have long been used to frighten birds from specific areas but birds might habituate to them. Anecdotal and limited published reports suggest that killing a flock member can reduce habituation. However, little behavioral work has been conducted in this area. We exposed brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) to noise from either 0.22 caliber blanks or 15-mm pyrotechnics in a series of controlled, cage experiments to determine if killing a flock member increased the time that cowbirds respond to pyrotechnics. Cowbirds responded no differently to pyrotechnics following the death of a flock member either before or after habituation to pyrotechnics. Our results might have been influenced by cage effects or perceived inconsequence of the death of a conspecific. Further work with other species is warranted, particularly with regard to sociality.
Recommended Citation
Seamans, T. W., Blackwell, B. F., & DeVault, T. L. (2013). Brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater) response to pyrotechnics and lethal removal in a controlled setting. In Gallagher, G. R. & Armstrong, J. B. (Eds.), The Fifteenth Wildlife Damage Management Conference (pp. 56-62). Mount Berry, GA: Berry College.
Included in
Brown-Headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) Response to Pyrotechnics and Lethal Removal in a Controlled Setting
Mount Berry, GA
Pyrotechnics have long been used to frighten birds from specific areas but birds might habituate to them. Anecdotal and limited published reports suggest that killing a flock member can reduce habituation. However, little behavioral work has been conducted in this area. We exposed brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) to noise from either 0.22 caliber blanks or 15-mm pyrotechnics in a series of controlled, cage experiments to determine if killing a flock member increased the time that cowbirds respond to pyrotechnics. Cowbirds responded no differently to pyrotechnics following the death of a flock member either before or after habituation to pyrotechnics. Our results might have been influenced by cage effects or perceived inconsequence of the death of a conspecific. Further work with other species is warranted, particularly with regard to sociality.