Bird Behaviour Flashcards
What kind of bird is a crow
Passerine (perching bird)
Why are crows so interesting (proof that they’re smart)
Intelligent, count to 3-4, puzzles, memory, mimic voices, associate noises/symbols with food
Describe a crows diet
Eat almost anything (600+ items), 1/3 animal matter
Describe the crows scavenging behaviour
Usually frequent sites inhabited by people, occasional hunt cooperatively
Pirate food
Sentinels while feeding
Describe a crows nesting behaviour
Near in early spring
Usually placed in tall tree
4-6 blue eggs incubate for 17-19 days by female (fed by male)
Fledge (leave nest) at 32-36 days
Describe the crows social system
Extended families
Assist each other in feeding chicks, cleaning best, defending territory
What are the reasons for brood loss
Predation by raccoons, great horned owls, starvation, weather
What is the crows average lifespan
Wild = 4-6 years (up to 14)
Captivity = up to 20 years
How long do crows stay with their parents? Why?
Around 5 years
Cognitive development, social learning
Learn to eat a variety of food items
What is caching
Agile thinking when storing food
Start at 5 months
What are some examples of play. Why is it helpful
Cannonball rolls and loop d loops (learn to evade hawks or attract mates)
Play helps animals encounter unexpected things
What kind of birds are parrots
Psittacines
Parrots are not sexually dimorphic, what is this
Males and females look alike
What is the crest in a bird
Head, used for display then retracted
Examples of parrots kept as pets
Macaws, cockatoos, budgies/parakeets, cockatiels
What is the challenge of keeping parrots as companion animals
Require enormous amount of attention, care and intellectual stimulation
What is the cockatoo/Amazon/macaw life span
80-100 years
Lifespan of lovebirds and budgies (smaller birds)
15-20 years
How do parrots spend most of their days
Grooming (allo as well), foraging
What is the parrots main form of communication
Eye contact and body language (visual)
“Evil eye”
Do parrots display social referencing?
Somewhat? Empathetic, their behaviour/mood may reflect their owners
How do parrots stay in contact in the wild
Social, use contact calls
Parrot main diet?
Seeds, nuts, fruits, buds, nectar, pollen, plants
Sometimes insects
Some eat small prey animals
Is a parrot a seed disperser or predator
Predator, only eat fruit to get seed
How do parrots avoid seed poisons
Remove the seed coat, consume clay to absorb compounds from gut
Describe parrot skull morphology
Prominent upper mandible, bill not fused to skull
Sideways eyes (limited binocular vision, good peripheral)
How does the bill not being fused aid birds
Increased biting pressure (crack seeds)
What is special about birds tongues
Strong, manipulate seeds/nuts into positions
What kind of nesters are most parrots
cavity nesters (in tree holes)
Where are parrots most common
Australasian and South American regions
Are parrots sedentary or migratory?
Some are either other, most are a mixture
What kind of breeders are parrots
Monogamous
What kind of territories do parrots hold
Only their nesting sites
Describe parrot/cockatoo pair bonds
Strong (even during non breeding season/they join larger flock)
Courtship bonds to find pair
Make “parades” “eye blaze” to reveal edge of iris
What kind of allo behaviour do parrots display
Allopreening
Parrot young are helpless at birth, what is the word for this?
Altricial
How long do young parrots spend in the nest
3 weeks to 4 months
How does learning occur in young parrots
Learn in early life (social learning)
Practice with siblings
Foraging behaviour from parents
How does play benefit parrots
Motor skills, social abilities
Play fight or predator evasion
How does an absence of stimuli affect parrots
Slow development
Stereotypic/harmful behaviours (self plucking)
How does parrot cerebral cortex compare to humans
Smaller
Birds use medio-rostral neostriatum/hyperstriatum ventrale as their seat of intelligence
How are human and parrot brains similar
Corvines brain/body ratio similar
Lower part of brain functionally similar (puzzles/tools)
How do parrots speak
No vocal cords
Expel air across mouth of bifurcated trachea
Change depth/shape of trachea
How long do parrot young spend in the nest
3 weeks to 4 months
