Current Ornithology

371 Pages·1996·9.39 MB·English

by  Peter Marler (auth.), Val Nolan Jr., Ellen D. Ketterson (eds.)

CURRENT
ORNITHOLOGY
VOLUME 13
Current Ornithology
Editorial Board
C. Davidson Ankney, UniversityofWestern Ontario,London, Ontario, Canada
Gregory F. Ball, JohnsHopkins University, Baltimore,Maryland
StevenR. Beissinger, UniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley, California
C. Ray Chandler, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, Georgia
Mary C. McKitrick, Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts
Patricia G. Parker, OhioState University, Columbus, Ohio
Theunis Piersma, NetherlandsInstitutefor SeaResearch (NIOZ),
DeWall-Texel,Netherlands
Robert E. Ricklefs, UniversityofMissouri, St. Louis,Missouri
Stephen1. Rothstein, UniversityofCalifornia, SantaBarbara, California
Charles F. Thompson, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois
John A. Wiens, Colorado State University, FortCollins, Colorado
Ken Yasukawa, BeloitCollege, Beloit, Wisconsin
AContinuationOrderPlanisavailableforthisseries.Acontinuationorderwillbring
deliveryofeachnewvolumeimmediatelyuponpublication.Volumesarebilledonly
uponactualshipment.Forfurtherinformationpleasecontactthepublisher.
CURRENT
ORNITHOLOGY
VOLUME 13
Edited by
JR.
VAL NOLAN
and
ELLEN D. KETTERSON
Indiana University
BJoomington, Indiana
SPRINGER SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, LLC
The Library of Congress cataloged the first volume of this title as follows:
Current ornithology.-Vol. 1-
New York:Plenum Press, c1983-
v.:ill.: 24 cm.
Annual.
Editor: Richard F. Johnston.
ISSN 0742-390X = Current ornithology.
1. Ornithology-Periodicals. I. Johnston, Richard F.
QL671.C87 598'.05-dc19 84-640616
(8509) AACR 2 MARC-S
ISBN 978-1-4613-7697-2 ISBN 978-1-4615-5881-1 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4615-5881-1
© 1996 Springer Science+Business Media New York
Origina11y published by Plenum Press, New York in 1996
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 1996
http://www.plenum.com
10 9 8 7 6 5432 1
AII rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
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recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher
CONTRIBUTORS
RUSSELL P. BALDA, DepartmentofBiological Sciences, Northern Ari
zona University, Flagstaff, Arizona 86011
PETER A. BEDNEKOFF, Department of Biological Sciences, Northern
Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona 86011; present address: In
stitute of Applied Mathematics and Centre for Biodiversity Re
search, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Colum
bia V6T 1Z2, Canada
MARGARET E. BROWN, Department of Bielogical Sciences, Purdue
University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907-1392
JOHN P. DUMBACHER, Department ofEcology and Evolution, Univer
sity of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637
MATTHEW D. EVENDEN, Department of History, York University,
North York, Ontario M3J 1P3, Canada
ALASDAIR I. HOUSTON, School of Biological Sciences, University of
Bristol, Bristol BS8 lUG, England
ALAN C. KAMIL, School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebras
ka, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588
DAVID A. KIRK, Aquila Applied Ecologists, Wakefield, Quebec JOX
3GO, andNationalWildlifeResearchCentre,CanadianWildlifeSer
vice, Environment Canada, Hull, Quebec K1A OH3, Canada
v
vi CONTRIBUTORS
PETER MARLER, Animal Communication Laboratory, Section of Neu
robiology,PhysiologyandBehavior,UniversityofCalifornia,Davis,
Davis, California 95616
JOHNM. McNAMARA, SchoolofMathematicalSciences,Universityof
Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TW, England
PIERRE MINEAU, National Wildlife Research Centre, Canadian Wild
life Service, Environment Canada, Hull, Quebec K1A OH3, Canada
STEPHENPRUETT-JONES,DepartmentofEcologyandEvolution,Uni
versity of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637
TAMAs SZEKELY, School ofBiological Sciences, University ofBristol,
Bristol BS8 lUG, England
JAMES N. WEBB, School ofMathematical Sciences, University ofBris
tol, Bristol BS8 1TW, England
PREFACE
As we assume the editorship ofCurrent Ornithology, it seems usefulto
review the objectives of the series. We cannot improve on the state
ments of our predecessors when they began their service as editors. In
his preface to Volume 1 (1983), Richard F. Johnston wrote:
The appearance of the first volume of a projected series is the occasion for
comment on scope, aims, and genesis of the work. The scope ofCurrent Or
nithology is all of the biology ofbirds. Ornithology, as a whole-organism sci
ence,isconcernedwithbirdsateverylevelofbiologicalorganization,fromthe
moleculartothecommunity,atleastfromtheJurassictothepresenttime,and
over every scholarly discipline in which bird biology is done; to say this is
merelytoexpandadictionarydefinitionof"ornithology."Theaimofthework,
toberealizedoverseveralvolumes,istopresentreviewsorpositionstatements
concerningthe activefields ofornithologicalresearch.
Dennis M. Power, who edited Volumes 6-12 (1989-1995), began
his preface to Volume 6 (1989) as follows:
Thiseditedserieshasthreeprincipalgoals.Thefirstisto provideinformation
in a relatively concise way for researchers needing an overview of specific
disciplines.Thesecondistoprovideanupdateonspecificschoolsofthought,
bringingtogetherideasfrom colleagueswhoseworks oftenappearinavariety
of journals. And the third is to stimul&te and suggest directions for new re
search.
Peter Marler in the first chapter of our initial effort calls attention
to the "cognitive revolution" that for some years has been a focus of
primatologists and psychologists but has escaped the scrutiny ofmany
students of bird behavior. He compares what is known about social
cognition in birds with the more widely recognized findings in pri
mates and, it will surprise some, concludes provisionally "that there
are more similarities than differences betweenbirds and primates." He
vii
viii PREFACE
also argues that students ofbird behavior, in concentrating on ultimate
evolutionary questions, have neglected the study of proximate mecha
nisms that mediate social behavior, and he urges that "ornithologists
... redress the balance."
In a related paper, Russell P. Balda, Alan C. Kamil, and Peter A.
Bednekoff reject the old view that "much avian behavior is, by mam
malian standards, fragmentary, stereotyped, and at times ... stupid."
They examine the cognitive abilities and ecologies of four species of
corvids and analyze the ecological conditions that may have been se
lected intheevolutionofmechanismsfor acquiringand using different
kinds of knowledge. Cognition is an important component of a bird's
repertoire ofadaptations, they argue: Cognitive abilities are aresult of
the same evolutionary processes thataffectmorphology. Theythen dis
cuss methodologies for studying cognitive traits, giving primary atten
tion to the comparativemethodand thechallenges ofapplyingitto the
cognitive process.
In her chapter on methods of assessing body condition in birds,
Margaret E. Brown first considers possible conceptual and operational
definitions of condition. She then reviews the ornithological literature
ofthe last 20years andfinds that someorders (e.g., Anseriformes) have
beenwell studied, while inothersthe potentialinterplaybetweencon
dition and aspects of fitness has been neglected. Proceeding to a de
tailedanalysis ofeachmethod ofassessingcondition, she pointsout its
critical assumptions, its advantages and deficiencies, and the kinds of
questions for which it is most likely to provide useful information.
Recent discoveries about toxic defenses used by members of the
genus Pitohui led John P. Dumbacher and Stephen Pruett-Jones to re
view the subject of chemical defense in birds. They present what is
known about species that are toxic to other animals, including man,
and species that are merely noxious. Defenses range from toxicity of
tissue and metabolic products to behavioral employment of exogenous
chemicals used to modifythe nestenvironment. The chapterdiscusses
sources of chemicals, the ecology and evolution of defenses, and phe
nomena associated with toxicity, such as aposematism and mimicry.
Inathoroughreviewoftherole ofbirdsas predatorsofinsectpests
oftemperate-zoneagriculture,DavidA. Kirk, MatthewD. Evenden,and
Pierre Mineau present informationthat should be of particular interest
to "economicornithologists," conservationists and land managers, and
entomologists (who helped review the manuscript). The authors divide
their subject according to bird taxa, crop types, and insect pests and
analyze factors (e.g., prey density and sexratio, bird foraging behavior)
that determine the impact of avian predation on insects. They include
PREFACE ix
an interesting historical review of work done before and after 1950,
touching on birds as natural controls in the developing world, and
conclude with consideration of options for managing agricultural eco
systems.
Finally, Tamas Szekely, James N. Webb, Alasdair I. Houston, and
John M. McNamara presentanevolutionary (i.e.,behavioral ecological)
analysis ofwhat is known aboutoffspringdesertionamongbirds. They
discuss uniparental and biparental desertion, single-sexand game-the
oretical models and theirshortcomings, and (for eachsex) comparethe
benefits ofcaringforyoungwiththebenefitsofdesertingthem. Finally,
theymakebriefreferenceto associatedhormonalmechanismsandoffer
recommendations for future research.
Our own greatest contribution to this volume was probably our
selection of its Editorial Board, listed on page ii. These colleagues re
viewed the prospectuses that we ask all would-be authors to send us,
and the papers herein owe a great deal to the careful evaluations and
insightful suggestions ofthe Board. TruetoJohnston's prescriptionthat
Current Ornithology cover every aspect of the study of birds at the
whole-organism level, the fields of interest of the Board's members
comprise molecular biology, systematics, communication, physiology,
migration, populationbiology, community ecology, behavioral ecology,
neurobiology, biogeography, and conservation biology.
We have enjoyed working with the authors of these chapters, and
we thank them for their good-humored cooperation and patient accep
tance of our suggestions. Finally, we are grateful to ourreviewers. Edi
tors uniformly acknowledge that they could not have done their work
without the expert guidance of their reviewers; however much that
acknowledgment may sound like ritual, it is entirely accurate, and we
gladly make it here.
Val Nolan Jr.
Ellen D. Ketterson
CONTENTS
CHAPTER1
SOCIAL COGNITION: ARE PRIMATES SMARTER THAN BIRDS?
PETER MARLER
1. Preamble 1
2. Introduction 2
3. Social Learning: The Acquisition of New Stimulus Controls
for Behavior 3
4. Social Learning: The Acquisition of New Motor Patterns 5
5. Tool Use and Its Acquisition 8
6. Cooperative Hunting 11
7. Complex Social Cognition 15
8. Communicative Behavior 20
9. Conclusions 21
References 23
CHAPTER2
PREDICTING COGNITIVE CAPACITY FROM NATURAL HISTORY:
EXAMPLES FROM FOUR SPECIES OF CORVIDS
ROSSELL P. BALDA, ALAN C. KAMIL, AND PETER A. BEDNEKOFF
1. Introduction 33
2. General Problems and Approach 34
3. The Study of Cognitive Adaptations 36
xi