tag:theconversation.com,2011:/fr/topics/great-tit-1971/articlesGreat Tit – The Conversation2023-12-07T17:40:51Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2191422023-12-07T17:40:51Z2023-12-07T17:40:51ZHow bird feeders help small species fight infection<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563607/original/file-20231205-27-lbvm0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C16%2C3660%2C2620&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Great tits are familiar visitors to gardens. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/parus-major-great-tit-male-351769433">allanw/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Every day, throughout the world, people put huge quantities of food out at feeding stations for birds and other wild animals. </p>
<p>Although we know that connecting with nature benefits human health and wellbeing, scientists still know relatively little about the consequences of providing <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.0908-8857.2008.04271.x">food for wildlife</a>. My team’s <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2656.13914">most recent research</a>, however, has found that feeding garden birds in wintertime seems to make them more resilient to infection. </p>
<p>Winter can be tough for small birds. During cold winter nights, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/24263568_Patterns_and_dynamics_of_rest-phase_hypothermia_in_wild_and_captive_Blue_Tits_during_winter">small birds reduce their body temperature</a> by several degrees. While this would be lethal for a human, it saves lots of energy, helping birds to survive particularly cold nights. However, reducing body temperature is risky, and hypothermic birds are slow to wake and respond to a predator.</p>
<p>A reliable food supply at bird feeders can help small birds avoid starvation and <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3544122?origin=crossref">survive the harsh winter</a>. <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2020.0133">Our previous research</a> showed that birds with access to feeders do not need to reduce their night-time body temperature as much as birds that did not have access to feeders. The extra energy birds get from human-provided food means they don’t have to take the risk of becoming severely hypothermic.</p>
<p>Supplementary feeding is controversial since it can also negatively affect wildlife. Birds congregate at feeders, often in large numbers, coming into close contact with one another. Some studies suggest bird feeders have contributed to the spread of infectious diseases <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2017.0091">such as trichomonosis</a>, which caused huge greenfinch mortalities in the UK in the mid-2000s.</p>
<p>Some people are also concerned that bird feeders may discourage birds from learning to forage for themselves. However, research suggests that supplementary food makes up only a <a href="https://academic.oup.com/condor/article/113/3/475/5152664">small portion of birds’ diets</a>, and that birds do not become dependent on human-provided food. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two garden birds perch on the rim of a metal feeder." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563610/original/file-20231205-21-w59ui7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563610/original/file-20231205-21-w59ui7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563610/original/file-20231205-21-w59ui7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563610/original/file-20231205-21-w59ui7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563610/original/file-20231205-21-w59ui7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563610/original/file-20231205-21-w59ui7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563610/original/file-20231205-21-w59ui7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A great tit is joined by a robin at a bird feeder.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/garden-birds-european-robin-erithacus-rubecula-598158890">DJTaylor/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We were curious about whether the frequent use of feeders could boost birds’ immune systems, making them better equipped to fight an infection. </p>
<p>Vaccination readies our bodies to tackle a disease by delivering a small dose of a virus or bacterium. Similarly, regular exposure to low doses of pathogens at feeding stations – as a result of infected birds depositing pathogens on to feeders – could better prepare birds <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03079450701286277">to fight an infection</a>.</p>
<p>So, we investigated whether supplementary feeding could make <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2656.13914">great tits more tolerant</a> to an infection. In a forest in southern Sweden in October 2022, we set up bird feeders that were routinely visited by large numbers of great tits along with lower numbers of blue tits, chaffinches and crested tits. These bird feeders were refilled every few days to ensure a constant supply of peanuts and sunflower seeds throughout the winter.</p>
<p>In late winter, after birds had been visiting bird feeders for several months, we captured great tits at sunset and gave them a “fake infection” – injecting them with a small amount of material from the cell wall of a bacterium. This triggered the great tits’ immune system to think it was being attacked by an invading pathogen, without introducing any of the harmful components of the bacterium.</p>
<p>At the same time, we simulated infection in great tits from another part of the forest, where there had been no access to feeding stations during the winter.</p>
<h2>Supplementary-fed birds are more tolerant</h2>
<p>One of the first responses of the body to fight off an infection is to raise body temperature and <a href="https://academic.oup.com/endo/article/143/7/2527/2989398">develop a fever</a>. While the “infected” great tits slept, we measured their body temperature throughout the night. We compared the fever responses of great tits that had visited bird feeders throughout the winter with those of great tits that had not visited feeding stations.</p>
<p>We found the great tits that had been using feeders did not increase their body temperature as much as the great tits that didn’t have access to feeding stations. Although fever is important in helping the body fight infection, raising the body’s temperature requires a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306456510001439?via%3Dihub">large investment of energy</a>. Fever and associated inflammation also cause some <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228623768_Evolutionary_Causes_and_Consequences_of_Immunopathology">damage to the body</a>. The best immune response is a careful balance of mounting defences strong enough to tackle the invading pathogen while minimising damage to the body.</p>
<p>So, the supplementary-fed birds seemed to adequately fight the “infection” without using up their precious winter energy supply. </p>
<h2>The effects of bird feeding are complex</h2>
<p>While we found that the use of feeding stations made great tits more tolerant to an infection, this could also enable infected great tits to stay active, spreading infection between birds.</p>
<p>On the other hand, the greater risk of disease transmission at feeders may be countered by the stronger immune systems these birds could develop due to <a href="https://academic.oup.com/conphys/article/3/1/cov058/2571277">better nutrition</a> from the food provided by people in parks and gardens.</p>
<p>You can reduce the risk of disease by keeping <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/helping-birds-and-wildlife">feeding stations clean</a>. Follow wildlife charities’ guidelines of how to set up a feeding station and what food to put out – and <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/rspb-roast-birds-people-winter-b2244072.html">what food to avoid</a>. Great tits are a common visitor to gardens in Europe, so there’s a good chance a bird feeder could attract these colourful birds to your home.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219142/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The research was funded by the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet) and Stiftelsen Lunds Djurskyddsfond.</span></em></p>Research shows providing food for birds not only stops them going hungry, it may help them fight off infection too.Hannah Watson, Researcher in Evolutionary Ecology, Lund UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1717802021-11-16T16:19:53Z2021-11-16T16:19:53ZBirds’ feeding habits are affected by their personality and self-control – new research<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432183/original/file-20211116-15-13ytrei.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C2%2C1597%2C1274&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">James O’Neill / UCC</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>For a long while, it was assumed that only humans have personalities or can exercise self-control. Now, biologists are beginning to discover that birds and other wild animals share these traits with humans. </p>
<p>We explored how self-control and personality influenced <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2656.13600?af=R">feeding behaviour in the great tit</a>, a common species of garden bird in Eurasia, and our results revealed that both factors play a large role in how they make their decisions.</p>
<p>Self-control is the ability to control one’s impulses. Even as adults, many of us struggle with self-control on a daily basis. Against our better judgment, we might choose to eat that extra slice of cake rather than an apple, or switch on the TV instead of going for that walk. We reprimand ourselves and each other lightheartedly when we fail, and in many cases there are no serious ramifications for a few less-than-ideal choices.</p>
<p>But the evidence suggests that success in many areas of life <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/108/7/2693.full">depends on self-control</a>.</p>
<p>Personality also guides many of our decisions. Our “extraversion” influences how we socialise, and our “openness” affects our tendency to take risks. Unsurprisingly, personality too can influence <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev.psych.57.102904.190127">life outcomes</a>, such as happiness and health.</p>
<h2>Self-control in the great tit</h2>
<p>Life in the wild is harsh and few animals live as long as they might, often because of their inflexibility when making decisions.</p>
<p>We wanted to explore whether they just keep on doing the same old thing, led by their natural impulses - or can they change their behaviour when needed.</p>
<p>First, we trained wild great tits, temporarily taken into captivity, to become proficient at finding hidden food that could only be accessed from the side of an opaque plastic tube. When the tube was switched with one that was transparent but otherwise identical, many birds pecked impulsively at the front of the tube, through which the food could be seen. Others resisted this impulse and quickly realised that food could only and easily be taken from the side. </p>
<p>This “<a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10071-017-1152-0">detour-reaching task</a>” is often used as a way of measuring inhibitory control, one of the key cognitive processes in the brain that underpins self-control. </p>
<p>Those same great tits with greater inhibitory control were also those who were more flexible in an experiment that mimicked one of the ways that great tits find food in nature. </p>
<p>In this experiment, birds were trained to find mealworms hidden under sand until this behaviour became very natural to them. When a better – bigger and more visible – food option was suddenly also made available on the surface of the sand, the birds who were identified as having good inhibitory control earlier were also the ones who were able to resist their impulse, or break their habit, of simply looking for hidden food under the sand. Instead, they switched to the new better food option, even though it was in a transparent glass vial, so not so easily accessible.</p>
<p>Foraging flexibility is important for survival, but this is the first time it has been linked to self-control in animals.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Great tit sand foraging for food in a lab experiment" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432187/original/file-20211116-17-ecnh0g.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432187/original/file-20211116-17-ecnh0g.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432187/original/file-20211116-17-ecnh0g.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432187/original/file-20211116-17-ecnh0g.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432187/original/file-20211116-17-ecnh0g.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432187/original/file-20211116-17-ecnh0g.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432187/original/file-20211116-17-ecnh0g.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The sand foraging experiment with great tits.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jenny Coomes / UCC</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Personality also influenced flexibility</h2>
<p>However, we also wanted to explore whether personality played a role in their foraging flexibility.</p>
<p>To measure personality in the great tit, we used a standard test of exploration behaviour – the tendency to explore new environments. </p>
<p>This bears a strong <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1467-8721.00017?casa_token=giClFFsLyWQAAAAA:2tQ_bU0PAHY10j-rNQaUoMLkktmGvzr3QVczyMbLd88GARnZkMdMSLEyrGWTzFkj7kbCs0_iiso">resemblance</a> to the “openness to new experiences” personality scale in humans. </p>
<p>Exploration behaviour is measured easily by assessing how much birds move around when put in a new environment, in our case a room with five artificial trees that they had never seen before. </p>
<p>Some birds were faster explorers than others. Previous studies have shown that this simple personality trait is inherited from parents and predicts all sorts of life outcomes in great tits, including sexual promiscuity (which can increase the <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2011.1820">paternity</a> a male acquires at other nests but can also lead to a loss of paternity at their own nest) and length of life. </p>
<p>It also predicts the tendency to take risks. Fast explorers are risk takers.</p>
<p>So when the sand foraging experiment was repeated under predation risk, achieved by placing a stuffed hawk briefly in the same room at a safe distance from the birds, the fast explorers were far more willing to switch to the new food on the surface. </p>
<p>It is well known that animals do not like novelty when there is a threat from a predator, and we suspect this is why the slow explorers, those that avoid taking risks, stayed with choosing the hidden but familiar food, while the fast explorers were happy to increase their risk of being eaten, so they could exploit a new, and potentially better, food source.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432182/original/file-20211116-15-on76qt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432182/original/file-20211116-15-on76qt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432182/original/file-20211116-15-on76qt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432182/original/file-20211116-15-on76qt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432182/original/file-20211116-15-on76qt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432182/original/file-20211116-15-on76qt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432182/original/file-20211116-15-on76qt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Greater control and exploration led to increased flexibility in food foraging behaviour.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jennifer Coomes / UCC</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The complexity of animal behaviour</h2>
<p>Our findings suggest that these two quite different behavioural traits – exploration behaviour and risk-taking (personality) and self-control – together explain how flexible birds are when choosing food. This illustrates how complex animal behaviour can be. </p>
<p>Since survival and reproduction depend enormously on food, our results suggest that self-control and personality may well be influential determinants of Darwinian fitness, that is, the ability to pass on genes to the next generation. </p>
<p>However, the implications for fitness are not easy to predict. In the same way that impulsive behaviour can also be <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/teen-angst/201510/the-blessings-and-curses-impulsiveness">good</a> for people in specific circumstances – it may benefit innovation and entrepreneurship – the costs and benefits of having good or poor self-control, or indeed of being a fast or slow explorer is also likely to vary in the wild. </p>
<p>Humanity would do well to remember that we are controlled by the same behavioural traits that determine whether wild animals prosper or become extinct, and ensure that we apply our ability for flexible thinking to the most important challenges facing our planet.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171780/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jenny Coomes received funding from the European Research Council for her PhD. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Quinn does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We discovered that the ability to be flexible and change behaviour in certain circumstances is just as important for birds as people.John Quinn, Professor in Zoology, University College CorkJenny Coomes, PhD Candidate, Biological Sciences, University College CorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/946002018-04-16T13:12:14Z2018-04-16T13:12:14ZBold and aggressive behaviour means birds thrive in cities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214997/original/file-20180416-540-1ose2cq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Great tit takes off.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/tomtit-titmouse-bird-672892999">IURII FEDOROV/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Most people probably wouldn’t consider bustling towns and cities good places for nature to thrive. Yet a few species of birds have so successfully adapted to city living that they boast large and thriving urban populations. Now, research has suggested that the success of these city-dwelling species may lie in their behaviour. </p>
<p>Urban habitats are quite different to the natural environments in which birds evolved. Cities are <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.0021-8790.2004.00814.x">noisy places</a>, they are lit almost continually with <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982210010183">artificial lights</a> and they contain an <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/brv.12012">abundance of food</a>. Cities are also full of people. This means birds living there rarely get any peace and must cope with almost constant disturbance from both humans and their pets.</p>
<p>But birds living in cities are known to be much more tolerant of human disturbance than their rural compatriots. In a study of 44 European bird species, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00265-008-0636-y">all but four</a> allowed humans to approach them more closely in cities than in rural habitats. This suggests that city birds are bolder in the face of a potential threat.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214994/original/file-20180416-543-10p5ysp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214994/original/file-20180416-543-10p5ysp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214994/original/file-20180416-543-10p5ysp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214994/original/file-20180416-543-10p5ysp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214994/original/file-20180416-543-10p5ysp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214994/original/file-20180416-543-10p5ysp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214994/original/file-20180416-543-10p5ysp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214994/original/file-20180416-543-10p5ysp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Parus major: the great tit.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/great-tit-parus-major-single-bird-144453283?src=Hw18_0gdkGF4Yy7_fK1OxQ-1-41">Erni/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It’s not only towards humans that urban birds seem to be bolder. We recently studied the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-23463-7">territorial behaviour of male great tits</a> (<em>Parus major</em>) in cities and rural habitats in the UK and found significant differences between them. </p>
<p>During the early spring, males of this species defend breeding territories. Once a male has a good territory he signals his ownership to other birds using song. In fact, together with attracting females, one of the <a href="http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/journals/10.1163/156853994x00244">main uses of song</a> is territory defence.</p>
<p>When a rival male enters another’s territory and begins to sing, the territory holder usually responds aggressively to drive the intruder out. At first, this may mean simply singing back, but can quickly escalate to full-on physical conflict.</p>
<p>In our experiment, we used playbacks of great tit song to mimic an intruding male. This allowed us to measure how strongly urban and rural great tits respond to intruders. We found that city birds approached the intruder mimic 35 seconds faster and almost two metres closer than rural birds. This suggests that urban great tits are both bolder and more aggressive than rural great tits.</p>
<p>And it’s not just great tits which are known to be more aggressive in cities. Urban song sparrows (<em>Melospiza melodia</em>) have also been found to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1439-0310.2011.01943.x">be more aggressive</a> towards each other during the breeding season.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214999/original/file-20180416-127631-1xmvq0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214999/original/file-20180416-127631-1xmvq0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214999/original/file-20180416-127631-1xmvq0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214999/original/file-20180416-127631-1xmvq0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214999/original/file-20180416-127631-1xmvq0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214999/original/file-20180416-127631-1xmvq0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214999/original/file-20180416-127631-1xmvq0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214999/original/file-20180416-127631-1xmvq0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Melospiza melodia, or song sparrow.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/song-sparrow-melospiza-melodia-wild-on-190168397?src=njzHpIj47ZVaEuZMLAHKyw-1-3">Elliotte Rusty Harold/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Why urban birds should be bolder and more aggressive than their rural cousins is not yet fully understood. One possibility is that in cities, where space is limited, only the most aggressive individuals are able to hold a territory.</p>
<h2>Animal personalities</h2>
<p>In addition to researching levels of aggression, we also looked at how consistent males were in their aggressive displays. This consistency in the way animals behave over time is often referred to as “<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1469-185X.2007.00010.x">animal personality</a>”. </p>
<p>We found rural great tits were very consistent in the way they behaved towards an intruder over two consecutive days, but urban birds showed lower levels of consistent behaviour. This could be due to the fact that urban males experience greater fluctuation in their environment on a day to day basis. </p>
<p>Urban bird territories are also <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tapio_Solonen/publication/258246233_Breeding_of_the_Great_Tit_and_Blue_Tit_in_urban_and_rural_habitats_in_Southern_Finland/links/0046352a9a01ce30b6000000/Breeding-of-the-Great-Tit-and-Blue-Tit-in-urban-and-rural-habitats-in-Southern-Finland.pdf">packed closer together in cities</a>, which means that the birds are likely to cross each others’ paths more often, increasing the chances that squabbles will break out.</p>
<p>The increased likelihood of aggressive encounters may also explain the lack of consistency of urban male behaviour. Animals remember fights they have had and their experience <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1017/S146479310500686X">alters the way they behave</a> the next time they encounter an opponent. Urban males are more likely to have had an aggressive encounter with males in their territory, which could then alter the way they behave towards our mimic of an intruder the following day. </p>
<p>As well as aggressive behaviour, being bold may also help birds survive in the city. Bolder birds have been shown to be <a href="http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/270/1510/45">more willing to explore new environments</a> and to find new types <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0019535">of food to eat</a>. As cities are vastly different to natural habitats, and contain many new types of food, boldness is likely to be a very useful trait for urban birds to have.</p>
<p>The big question which remains for ecologists is whether birds in cities are evolving to suit their new urban environment. A recent study has shown genetic differences between rural and urban great tit populations which suggests <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10164-016-0496-2">this may be the case</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/94600/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sam Hardman previously received a stipend for PhD students from Aberystwyth University</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Dalesman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>City living isn’t for everyone, but certain birds can prosper in the environment.Sam Hardman, Research Assistant, Max Planck Institute for OrnithologySarah Dalesman, Lecturer, Aberystwyth UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/506182015-11-12T17:10:19Z2015-11-12T17:10:19ZMeet the wild animals who put their partners first (just don’t call it love)<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101715/original/image-20151112-9388-16mckzh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Your beak's in my ear, darling.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/cinciphotoblogger/9410361204/in/photolist-fkyywY-pA1H7Z-qLHDHo-5zuS6n-jJ3Kds-bmmNPv-re5ZeH-4ncr5e-o81WMt-bfRV8i-dVcveF-4D9gcK-4D9gcF-4pDmw-4KVuTF-4gpQf-6hdwj-p41ynN-pmL7XP-dZ4F7o-4FyU9i-horUTD-br5bjU-nt6dj9-ajYj3R-4mDxbU-2yzkDM-4pFQVr-5hNHXv-puejky-nAT4kg-gnahyy-6hw5Qm-fqYqXk-7JVQH2-9EAoHe-wWbKfM-dhd62g-DaUi8-4KydfB-q19vU2-rPdb5-6xhmKw-8HJVmr-ruZK6z-9pFNMC-DcPKp-a6EXnv-oenQG9-qn4KP6">Dave Crim/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The term “wild animals” can conjure up images of unruly beasts desperately attempting to survive and reproduce in an unforgiving world. Vicious scuffles between reckless baboons as they contend for dominance. Callous new-born hyenas <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/content/252/5006/702.abstract?sid=9400360f-7aa8-41a6-b393-9020242081db">killing their own siblings</a> to reduce competition for their mother’s milk. Or headstrong lions taking over a pride, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/18035811">dispatching the previous male’s cubs</a> so the females raise the new leader’s young instead. Even within our own gardens, birds of the same species fight furiously over food, and piercing shrieks can be heard as they war for territories during the spring.</p>
<p>But just as common are the thought-provoking social relationships that occur within the animal kingdom. Baboons will intimately groom their companions, <a href="http://www.phschool.com/science/science_news/articles/rebranding_hyena.html">hyena parents</a> tirelessly care for their cubs, and male lions <a href="http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/09/12/why-lions-nuzzle/">nuzzle one another</a> and protect their females at all costs. One of the most remarkable animal relationships can be witnessed in our gardens, where birds openly sing to their mated partners and unite together in raising and guarding their brood. </p>
<p>These relationships, just as in human pairings, require the individuals in them to take account of each other’s needs. But more than that, some animals actually show a devotion to their partners so great that they put their relationship above even the most basic of their own needs, such as food. This commitment can even result in behaviour that is reminiscent of some of the ins and outs of human relationships.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101733/original/image-20151112-9385-tulsbv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101733/original/image-20151112-9385-tulsbv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101733/original/image-20151112-9385-tulsbv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101733/original/image-20151112-9385-tulsbv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101733/original/image-20151112-9385-tulsbv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101733/original/image-20151112-9385-tulsbv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101733/original/image-20151112-9385-tulsbv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Intimate grooming.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisgold/6170808041/in/photolist-api1f6-dkZduo-tEsAP-dAY2cX-ehQf9E-dnFGWT-dcatx4-dorpmL-bzTwAm-dcs1v3-dfi2wP-8mQQig-4Abv5u-gQc8d-6Rngdm-4bi3BB-3UN759-oLDfrs-owbXxe-oMr298-8cPbDH-oLzo9q-cPNm71-4QhA7c-4QhAbi-cPNkK5-4QmPwQ-cPNqL7-cPN8aY-cPNmto-cPNqdY-cQ8fxo-cPNmhb-4QhAdP-5s8MDn-rtEss-7uXTP5-daBQmD-c6jxE-qBm4DV-dNtbke-4QhAfi-cPNgQ1-cPNo65-cPNbRE-cPNf6h-cPNd7Q-cPNhpN-cPN7WY-cPNnXs">Chris Goldberg/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Sticking together</h2>
<p>My colleagues and I recently <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2015.09.075">conducted an experiment</a> to see how far this devotion went in wild great tits. These birds are common visitors to gardens and are seen exclusively in pairs during the spring breeding season. But they also form large flocks to search for food and avoid starving to death during the harsh winters. </p>
<p>We attached radio frequency identification tags to each bird’s leg that gave them access to <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.2350">certain automated</a> feeding stations deployed throughout the woodland. We then randomly selected some mated pairs of birds so the male could only access feeding stations the female couldn’t, and vice versa. </p>
<p>Remarkably, we found that pairs unable to access the same feeding stations as one another still prioritised their social bond over their own access to food. These birds chose to spend a large amount of time at feeders they couldn’t access, just to be with their partner. This shows how, even for these wild birds battling through the treacherous winter, an individual’s behaviour can be governed by the needs of their partner.</p>
<p>In general, the experiment caused birds to form flocks with those who they could feed with. However, the birds who couldn’t access the same feeding stations as their partners actually spent just as much time with flocks they couldn’t feed with but that their partners could. By choosing to stand by their partners, these birds ended up spending time with individuals they wouldn’t usually associate with. Just as you may spend much of your time with your partner’s friends, the company an animal keeps may actually depend on their partner’s preferences.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101732/original/image-20151112-9381-pj7e9g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101732/original/image-20151112-9381-pj7e9g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101732/original/image-20151112-9381-pj7e9g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101732/original/image-20151112-9381-pj7e9g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101732/original/image-20151112-9381-pj7e9g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101732/original/image-20151112-9381-pj7e9g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101732/original/image-20151112-9381-pj7e9g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The demands of single parenting.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Keith McMahon</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why being single sucks</h2>
<p>Why is retaining a partner so important to these birds? How can these animals, struggling for survival in the merciless surroundings of the wild, possibly afford the effort needed to maintain these social bonds? The answer probably lies in their long-term profitability. The pair-bond is vital for our great tits, as single parents cannot cope with the demands of raising a brood alone. Their only hope for success depends on having a <a href="https://theconversation.com/holding-out-for-the-one-makes-evolutionary-sense-suggests-lovebirds-study-47496">supportive and reliable partner</a>.</p>
<p>Great tits are known for <a href="https://theconversation.com/milk-bottle-raiding-birds-pass-on-thieving-ways-to-their-flock-34784">their innovative, problem-solving, ways</a>. And in our experiment, true to form, they learned to scrounge by rapidly following others to the feeding station after it was unlocked. Interestingly, a relatively large amount of this scrounging was enabled by the bird’s own partner unlocking the feeding station, suggesting it may be a cooperative strategy.</p>
<p>Other varieties of social relationships in the animal kingdom have been found to hold hidden benefits too. In the baboon world, the close relationships between females produces a communal child-rearing environment that increases the survival of their offspring and also <a href="http://news.sciencemag.org/social-sciences/2010/07/friendly-baboons-live-longer">lengthens the lifespans of the adult females</a>.</p>
<p>Carrying out experiments in such systems is difficult, so how these kinds of relationships are valued and their impact on the individuals remain to be tested. But the birds we studied provide a unique model system for all kinds of experiments, and their pair-bonding remains a spectacular instance of a tenacious tie between two wild, unrelated, animals. Zoologists tend to avoid terms with human connotations such as “love”. Yet, many bird owners who watch their pets spend years huddling and preening their partners might <a href="http://nilesanimalhospital.com/files/2012/05/Do-Birds-Fall-in-Love_.pdf">call it just that</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/50618/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Josh Firth receives funding from NERC. </span></em></p>Animals can be remarkably reminiscent of humans when it comes to relationships – changing behaviour, eating habits and even friends for the sake of their mates.Josh Firth, DPhil candidate, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/90522012-08-27T20:43:31Z2012-08-27T20:43:31ZTits are all a-twitter about the benefits of social networking<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/14650/original/wtzqq25h-1346035898.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tits and social networks have gone together since the dawn of time.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shirley Clarke/Wikimedia</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>While social networking is something many of us have only recently become aware of, <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22915668">a new study</a> by University of Oxford and ANU researchers shows birds have been hanging out on the social network for a long time.</p>
<p>For many animals a daily challenge is being able to find enough food, especially for animals living in cold and seasonal environments in which food might be in short supply and very patchy. Such is the lot of the well-studied <a href="https://theconversation.com/great-tits-give-insight-into-personality-4514">Great Tits</a> and Blue Tits in a long-running study population in a woodland just outside Oxford.</p>
<p>Using microchips (similar to those used in cats and dogs) to track the daily visits of these birds to feeding stations, the researchers were able to see who was “following” who and essentially identify the social “movers and shakers”.</p>
<p>After monitoring the tits at regular feeding stations over a number of cold winter months, the researchers could see some individuals had many associations with others over the entire period, at these regular feeding stations, while others were less well connected.</p>
<p>The researchers then set the birds an interesting challenge, by sneaking into the woodland at night (while the birds were asleep) and setting up some new feeders that the birds had to find (the birds were rewarded with sunflower seeds). With their 24/7 monitoring system the researchers could see how many of the new feeders were found, and how quickly individuals started using them.</p>
<p>The individuals that were most socially connected with others in the population typically found more new feeders in total, and started using them more quickly. Although the study was not able to show exactly how this was occurring it shows being social and popular can have rewards in socially gregarious animals.</p>
<p>The obvious analogy here is with the transmission of useful information at the office water cooler, or in the virtual environment of Facebook. The more people you chat to, the more quickly you will hear about a new restaurant or an “unmissable” retail opportunity somewhere.</p>
<p>The benefits of social networking in these tits, that the authors have demonstrated, are likely to be countered by costs, such as the susceptibility to parasites, the risk of following false leads, or a higher risk of catching a disease for the most social animals.</p>
<p>But the new study is exciting because it helps us to understand how animal societies operate and indicates the extent to which individuals within populations are really tightly connected to one another. This has important consequences for areas of biology such as disease transmission and conservation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/9052/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Griffith receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>While social networking is something many of us have only recently become aware of, a new study by University of Oxford and ANU researchers shows birds have been hanging out on the social network for a…Simon Griffith, Associate Professor of Avian Behavioural Ecology, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/45142011-12-01T19:21:59Z2011-12-01T19:21:59ZGreat Tits give insight into personality<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/6061/original/61b3ee79e9ca286e-1322712951.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Does evolution always favour the bold and the beautiful?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">simondbarnes</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In an Oxford woodland a soap opera plays out with the familiar plotline so loved by daytime television devotees – infidelity and the battle between bold and shy personas. </p>
<p>The main twist in this tale is that the lead characters are all birds and that the story is the <a href="http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2011/11/25/rspb.2011.1820.abstract">latest piece of research</a> into how evolution shapes personality and promiscuity, published in the <a href="http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/">Proceedings of the Royal Society B</a>. </p>
<p>While we tend to think of personality as a uniquely human trait, in fact, over the past decade there has been an <a href="http://theconversation.com/one-flew-over-the-cuckolds-nest-a-birds-eye-view-of-female-infidelity-1909">increasing realisation</a> that in animal populations there is also considerable variation in the character of different individuals. </p>
<p>Some individuals will have a much higher propensity to explore new situations than others – they have an inherent boldness. We can learn a lot about how personality evolves by studying it in animal populations that can, in a relatively short time, be followed across generations and be subject to experimental manipulations that are simply not possible in humans. </p>
<p>Some of the best of this work has focused on the Great Tit, a small <a href="http://www.mdahlem.net/birds/passer.php">passerine</a> bird about which we probably know more than any other bird in the world. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/6065/original/d3113e5ecb5d9cca-1322714282.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/6065/original/d3113e5ecb5d9cca-1322714282.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=887&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6065/original/d3113e5ecb5d9cca-1322714282.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=887&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6065/original/d3113e5ecb5d9cca-1322714282.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=887&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6065/original/d3113e5ecb5d9cca-1322714282.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1114&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6065/original/d3113e5ecb5d9cca-1322714282.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1114&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6065/original/d3113e5ecb5d9cca-1322714282.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1114&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">noukorama</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The population of Great Tits in Wytham Wood in Oxford has been studied continuously since 1947 by researchers from the <a href="http://www.zoo.ox.ac.uk/egi/">Edward Grey Institute of Ornithology</a>, Oxford University. </p>
<p>The strength of studies such as this is that individuals and their offspring can be monitored for their lifetime. An extensive pedigree has been established of the birds that have lived in Wytham Wood over the past six decades allowing evolutionary biologists to study how traits are passed from one generation to another, and how a population changes over time. </p>
<p>In such a way the processes of evolution can be seen, almost in real time. </p>
<p>In their study, <a href="http://www.zoo.ox.ac.uk/egi/people/dphil/sam_patrick.htm">Dr Sam Patrick</a> and her colleagues found bold males were more successful in cuckolding other males in the population. </p>
<p>But the most interesting finding was that, despite their success in gaining sneaky extrapair offspring, bold males were not more successful overall. Shy males fathered a higher number of offspring in their own nests, and together the two effects cancelled each other out. </p>
<p>Therefore, at the time of their study, bold males and shy males do as well as each other in evolutionary terms – on average they pass on their genes to the same number of individuals in the next generation. </p>
<p>This helps us to understand why there is so much variation in traits such as boldness. If one personality type consistently out-competes another, and if personality is genetically heritable then over time we would expect that personality type to dominate. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/6066/original/e1c4001d4d2e75eb-1322714475.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/6066/original/e1c4001d4d2e75eb-1322714475.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6066/original/e1c4001d4d2e75eb-1322714475.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6066/original/e1c4001d4d2e75eb-1322714475.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6066/original/e1c4001d4d2e75eb-1322714475.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6066/original/e1c4001d4d2e75eb-1322714475.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6066/original/e1c4001d4d2e75eb-1322714475.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">noukorama</span></span>
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<p>In many animals, including humans we find a whole spectrum of variation in personality from shy retiring types to bold extroverts. Diversity is indeed the spice of life. </p>
<p>Personality traits such as boldness, sociability, and aggression in animals and humans are likely to influence success in many different aspects of an individuals’ life, such as acquiring resources, getting a partner and producing offspring. </p>
<p>The study by Dr Patrick and colleagues suggests that the relationship between these personality traits and other aspects of life will not provide straightforward answers. </p>
<p>There is some comfort for everyone in the message from these birds that there is more than one way to be successful in life. </p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/4514/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Griffith receives funding from the ARC.</span></em></p>In an Oxford woodland a soap opera plays out with the familiar plotline so loved by daytime television devotees – infidelity and the battle between bold and shy personas. The main twist in this tale is…Simon Griffith, Associate Professor of Avian Behavioural Ecology, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.