How males in the house wren, a cavity-nesting songbird, discover that eggs have hatched and transition to provisioning nestlings.

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Title: How males in the house wren, a cavity-nesting songbird, discover that eggs have hatched and transition to provisioning nestlings.
Authors: Scott Johnson, L., Brubaker, Jessica L., Johnson, Bonnie G. P.
Source: Behaviour. Dec2008, Vol. 145 Issue 12, p1781-1796. 16p. 1 Chart, 1 Graph.
Subjects: House wren, Egg incubation, Troglodytes (Bird genus), Animal species, Gene expression, Nurturing behavior
Abstract: In many bird species that conceal nests within cavities or burrows, only females incubate eggs, but both sexes feed young after hatching. How males in such species discover that eggs have hatched and start provisioning offspring is unknown. We video-taped 26 house wren (Troglodytes aedon) nests continuously before, during, and after hatching began to test four hypotheses as to how males might learn of hatching: (i) females signal hatching to males; (ii) males hear hatchlings vocalizing; (iii) males observe changes in their mate's behaviour (e.g., entering and exiting nests more frequently and/or carrying eggshells or food); and (iv) males enter the nest cavity and encounter hatchlings directly. We did not detect any unique visual or vocal displays by females immediately post-hatching and so could not support the first hypothesis. At only three of 26 nests did it appear that males might have been stimulated to begin feeding solely as a result of either hearing offspring from outside the nest or observing changes in their mate's behaviour. Rather, males at most nests did not begin delivering food until after they had entered nest cavities and presumably had direct visual and/or tactile contact with hatchlings, even though most of these males previously had the opportunity to hear offspring from outside nests and/or see their mates acting parentally. Our finding that most males do not start delivering food until they have had direct exposure to young is consistent with recent neurological studies in mammals and birds that suggest direct exposure to young triggers a cascade of gene expression in the brain that induces nurturing behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Behaviour is the property of Brill Academic Publishers and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: How males in the house wren, a cavity-nesting songbird, discover that eggs have hatched and transition to provisioning nestlings.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Scott+Johnson%2C+L%2E%22">Scott Johnson, L.</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Brubaker%2C+Jessica+L%2E%22">Brubaker, Jessica L.</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Johnson%2C+Bonnie+G%2E+P%2E%22">Johnson, Bonnie G. P.</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Behaviour%22">Behaviour</searchLink>. Dec2008, Vol. 145 Issue 12, p1781-1796. 16p. 1 Chart, 1 Graph.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22House+wren%22">House wren</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Egg+incubation%22">Egg incubation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Troglodytes+%28Bird+genus%29%22">Troglodytes (Bird genus)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Animal+species%22">Animal species</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Gene+expression%22">Gene expression</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Nurturing+behavior%22">Nurturing behavior</searchLink>
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  Data: In many bird species that conceal nests within cavities or burrows, only females incubate eggs, but both sexes feed young after hatching. How males in such species discover that eggs have hatched and start provisioning offspring is unknown. We video-taped 26 house wren (Troglodytes aedon) nests continuously before, during, and after hatching began to test four hypotheses as to how males might learn of hatching: (i) females signal hatching to males; (ii) males hear hatchlings vocalizing; (iii) males observe changes in their mate's behaviour (e.g., entering and exiting nests more frequently and/or carrying eggshells or food); and (iv) males enter the nest cavity and encounter hatchlings directly. We did not detect any unique visual or vocal displays by females immediately post-hatching and so could not support the first hypothesis. At only three of 26 nests did it appear that males might have been stimulated to begin feeding solely as a result of either hearing offspring from outside the nest or observing changes in their mate's behaviour. Rather, males at most nests did not begin delivering food until after they had entered nest cavities and presumably had direct visual and/or tactile contact with hatchlings, even though most of these males previously had the opportunity to hear offspring from outside nests and/or see their mates acting parentally. Our finding that most males do not start delivering food until they have had direct exposure to young is consistent with recent neurological studies in mammals and birds that suggest direct exposure to young triggers a cascade of gene expression in the brain that induces nurturing behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Behaviour is the property of Brill Academic Publishers and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1163/156853908786279655
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        Text: English
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      – SubjectFull: House wren
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Egg incubation
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      – SubjectFull: Troglodytes (Bird genus)
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      – SubjectFull: Animal species
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      – SubjectFull: Gene expression
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      – SubjectFull: Nurturing behavior
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      – TitleFull: How males in the house wren, a cavity-nesting songbird, discover that eggs have hatched and transition to provisioning nestlings.
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            NameFull: Johnson, Bonnie G. P.
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              M: 12
              Text: Dec2008
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              Y: 2008
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