Seasonal Changes in Times of Awakening, Retiring, and Roosttime Restlessness in Captive American Robins (Turdus Migratorius)

1980 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 277-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonard A. Eiserer
Keyword(s):  
Seasonal Changes ◽  
Turdus Migratorius ◽  
American Robins

scholarly journals Erratum to: Unlike American Robins (Turdus migratorius), European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) do not display roost-time restlessness

1989 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 481-481
Author(s):  
Leonard A. Eiserer ◽  
Roger K. R. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Sturnus Vulgaris ◽  
Turdus Migratorius ◽  
European Starlings ◽  
American Robins

scholarly journals Seasonal Fruit Preferences for Lipids and Sugars by American Robins

The Auk ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 117 (3) ◽  
pp. 709-717 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher A. Lepczyk ◽  
K. Greg Murray ◽  
Kathy Winnett-Murray ◽  
Paul Bartell ◽  
Eric Geyer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fast Rate ◽  
Physiological State ◽  
Assimilation Efficiency ◽  
Spatial Arrangement ◽  
Energy Gain ◽  
Nutritional Content ◽  
Turdus Migratorius ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
American Robins ◽  
Fruit Preference

AbstractFruit preference by birds is a complex process based upon the morphology and spatial arrangement of fruits and on the physiological needs and capabilities of birds. In North America, most fruits can be divided into two groups based on nutritional content: those rich in sugars relative to lipids, and those rich in lipids relative to sugars. To investigate how fruit preference may change seasonally and to determine if it is correlated with physiological state, we designed a simple laboratory experiment using American Robins (Turdus migratorius) and artificial fruits. During summer and autumn, we offered eight robins a choice between synthetic sugar-rich and lipid-rich fruits of equal caloric value and then measured food intake and assimilation efficiency for each fruit type. Overall, robins preferred sugar-rich to lipid-rich fruits during both seasons. Robins had a higher assimilation efficiency for sugars than for lipids during both seasons, although assimilation efficiency of lipids increased significantly from summer to autumn. During experiments, robins consumed significantly more sugar-rich than lipid-rich fruits in summer but not in autumn. Coupling fruit intake with assimilation efficiency indicates that in summer, robins had a higher rate of energy gain from sugars than from lipids, but by autumn the rate of energy gain from lipids increased to nearly the same level as that from sugars. Our results suggest that robins prefer sugar-rich fruits because of their simple and fast rate of digestion, enabling higher rates of energy gain, but that lipid-rich fruits become important with the onset of autumn.

scholarly journals DNA Vaccination of American Robins (Turdus migratorius) Against West Nile Virus

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 377-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Marm Kilpatrick ◽  
Alan P. Dupuis ◽  
Gwong-Jen J. Chang ◽  
Laura D. Kramer
Keyword(s):  
West Nile Virus ◽  
Dna Vaccination ◽  
Turdus Migratorius ◽  
West Nile ◽  
American Robins

scholarly journals Mimicry-dependent lateralization in the visual inspection of foreign eggs by American robins

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (7) ◽  
pp. 20190351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah M. Scharf ◽  
Katharine Stenstrom ◽  
Miri Dainson ◽  
Thomas J. Benson ◽  
Esteban Fernandez-Juricic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Processing ◽  
Species Recognition ◽  
Molothrus Ater ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Brain Lateralization ◽  
Turdus Migratorius ◽  
Brain Hemispheres ◽  
Brood Parasites ◽  
Visual Hemifield ◽  
American Robins

Brain lateralization, or the specialization of function in the left versus right brain hemispheres, has been found in a variety of lineages in contexts ranging from foraging to social and sexual behaviours, including the recognition of conspecific social partners. Here we studied whether the recognition and rejection of avian brood parasitic eggs, another context for species recognition, may also involve lateralized visual processing. We focused on American robins ( Turdus migratorius ), an egg-rejecter host to occasional brood parasitism by brown-headed cowbirds ( Molothrus ater ) and tested if robins preferentially used one visual hemifield over the other to inspect mimetic versus non-mimetic model eggs. At the population level, robins showed a significantly lateralized absolute eyedness index (EI) when viewing mimetic model eggs, but individuals varied in left versus right visual hemifield preference. By contrast, absolute EI was significantly lower when viewing non-mimetic eggs. We also found that robins with more lateralized eye usage rejected model eggs at higher rates. We suggest that the inspection and recognition of foreign eggs represent a specialized and lateralized context of species recognition in this and perhaps in other egg-rejecter hosts of brood parasites.

scholarly journals Endocrine regulation of egg rejection in an avian brood parasite host

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 20200225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikus Abolins-Abols ◽  
Mark E. Hauber
Keyword(s):  
Stress Response ◽  
Stress Physiology ◽  
Endocrine Regulation ◽  
Egg Rejection ◽  
Brood Parasite ◽  
Potential Mechanism ◽  
Turdus Migratorius ◽  
American Robins ◽  
Defence Behaviour ◽  
Behavioural Adaptations

Parasite–host coevolution can lead to novel behavioural adaptations in hosts to resist parasitism. In avian obligate brood parasite and host systems, many host species have evolved diverse cognitive and behavioural traits to recognize and reject parasitic eggs. Our understanding of the evolution and ecology of these defences hinges on identifying the mechanisms that regulate them. We hypothesized that corticosterone, a hormone linked to stress response, vigilance and the suppression of parental behaviour, stimulates the rejection of foreign eggs by brood parasite hosts. We experimentally reduced circulating glucocorticoid levels with mitotane injections in American robins Turdus migratorius and found that the mitotane-treated birds rejected foreign eggs at a lower frequency compared to the sham-treated subjects. This is the first study to causally identify a potential mechanism of a widespread defence behaviour, and it is consistent with egg rejection being mediated by stress physiology.

Individual Variation in Fruit Choice by American Robins (Turdus migratorius)

The Auk ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 109 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin E. Jung
Keyword(s):  
Individual Variation ◽  
Turdus Migratorius ◽  
Fruit Choice ◽  
American Robins

Sucrose avoidance by American robins (Turdus migratorius): Implications for control of bird damage in fruit crops

1991 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 455-460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin E. Brugger ◽  
Curtis O. Nelms
Keyword(s):  
Fruit Crops ◽  
Turdus Migratorius ◽  
American Robins ◽  
Bird Damage
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