Corvid predators may be attracted to parental alarm calls that trigger fledging of nestlings in Oriental Tits (Parus minor)

Jungmoon Ha; Keesan Lee; Eunjeong Yang; Woojoo Kim; Ho-kyung Song; Injae Hwang; Jinseok Park; Chan-ryeol Park; Sang-im Lee; Piotr G. Jablonski

doi:10.1676/20-00090

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19 October 2021 Corvid predators may be attracted to parental alarm calls that trigger fledging of nestlings in Oriental Tits (Parus minor)

Jungmoon Ha, Keesan Lee, Eunjeong Yang, Woojoo Kim, Ho-kyung Song, Injae Hwang, Jinseok Park, Chan-ryeol Park, Sang-im Lee, Piotr G. Jablonski

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The Wilson J. of Ornithology, 133(1):145-150 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1676/20-00090

Abstract

Predators eavesdropping on prey communication is relatively little studied. Oriental Tits (Parus minor) use “jar” alarm calls toward snake predators near their nests. In response to this call, nestlings fly out of the nest if they are old enough to fledge. After fledging, chicks are vulnerable to predation by corvids. Here we present field observations consistent with the idea that corvids may be attracted to the “jar” alarm calls because these calls predictably trigger fledging of nestlings making them available as prey. Controlled field experiments should test this idea in the future.

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Jungmoon Ha, Keesan Lee, Eunjeong Yang, Woojoo Kim, Ho-kyung Song, Injae Hwang, Jinseok Park, Chan-ryeol Park, Sang-im Lee, and Piotr G. Jablonski "Corvid predators may be attracted to parental alarm calls that trigger fledging of nestlings in Oriental Tits (Parus minor)," The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 133(1), 145-150, (19 October 2021). https://doi.org/10.1676/20-00090

Received: 30 July 2020; Accepted: 11 June 2021; Published: 19 October 2021

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