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1 June 2013 Mobbing Calls of Japanese Tits Signal Predator Type: Field Observations of Natural Predator Encounters
Toshitaka N. Suzuki, Keisuke Ueda
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Abstract

Avian nests face a wide variety of nest predators, which pose different risks that could select for the ability of parents to notify conspecifics of nest predator type. We previously demonstrated that the Japanese Tit (Parus minor) produces acoustically distinct mobbing calls for different nest predators (crows and snakes), thereby eliciting different and appropriate anti-predator responses not only in parents, but also in nestlings. However, the variation in mobbing call behavior may have been caused by differences in the experimental methods used, whereby each nest was presented with either a mounted crow or a live caged snake. In the present study, we observed a total of seven natural encounters of Japanese Tits with crows (n  =  4) and snakes (n  =  3) near their nests. Consistent with the previous experiments, Japanese Tits produced distinct mobbing calls, namely, “chicka” calls for crows (4/4) and “jar” calls for snakes (3/3). Thus, we conclude that mobbing calls of Japanese Tits signal nest predator type to both parents and nestlings.

2013 by the Wilson Ornithological Society
Toshitaka N. Suzuki and Keisuke Ueda "Mobbing Calls of Japanese Tits Signal Predator Type: Field Observations of Natural Predator Encounters," The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 125(2), 412-415, (1 June 2013). https://doi.org/10.1676/12-128.1
Received: 31 July 2012; Accepted: 1 October 2012; Published: 1 June 2013
KEYWORDS
alarm call
communication
Japanese Tit
mobbing call
nest predation
Parus minor
predator
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