Corticosterone metabolites in blue tit and pied flycatcher droppings: Effects of brood size, ectoparasites and temperature
The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis of birds induces the secretion of corticosterone (CORT) as a response to different ecological variables. In this study we tested experimentally if manipulations of brood size or ectoparasitism led to subsequent differences in the concentration of excreted CORT metabolites of adult and nestling blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus). No significant effect of […]
Vertical and horizontal transmission of nest site preferences in titmice
Social learning is widely used among vertebrates to acquire information about a variable environment. We conducted a study of social learning in the wild which involved cross-fostering eggs of blue tits, Cyanistes caeruleus, to nests of great tits, Parus major, and vice versa. This allowed us to quantify the consequences of being reared in a […]
Milk bottles revisited: social learning and individual variation in the blue tit, Cyanistes caeruleus
Blue tits are famous for the ‘milk bottle’ innovation, which emerged at numerous sites across Britain in the early 20th century. However, overall we still know little about the factors that foster or hinder the spread of innovations, or of the impact of individual differences in behaviour on social transmission. We used a two-action and […]
Immediate effects of capture on nest visits of breeding blue tits, Cyanistes caeruleus, are substantial
Although capture, handling and marking of birds as well as taking samples from them are ubiquitous and, in most cases, unavoidable procedures in ornithological research, their immediate effects on the individuals remain largely unstudied. Here, we present data over 3 years from a long-term field study on the breeding biology of the blue tit. Parents […]