Birds do not use social learning of landmarks to locate favorable nest sites

• Published in: Behavioral ecology and sociobiology Vol. 78; no. 6; p. 71
• Main Authors: Slagsvold, Tore, Wiebe, Karen L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.06.2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animal Ecology; Animals; Behavioral Sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Bird migration; Boxes; Breeding seasons; Cavities; Cavity nesting; Cyanistes caeruleus; Eggs; Females; Ficedula hypoleuca; Holes; Learning; Life Sciences; Migratory birds; Nest boxes; Nesting; Nests; Orientation behavior; Original Article; Parus major; Predators; Social discrimination learning; Trees; Triangles; Zoology; Social learning; Animal navigation; Cavity nesting; Spatial memory

Experiments since the classic studies of Niko Tinbergen have provided evidence that animals use visual landmarks to navigate. We tested whether birds use visual landmarks to relocate their nest sites by presenting two species of cavity nesting birds with a dyad of nest boxes with different white mar...