Behavioural Responses of Captive Large-billed Crows to Owl Decoys with Different Motion Patterns
Simple Summary
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Experimental Subjects
2.2. Testing Cage and Experimental Trial
2.3. Data Analysis
- 1.
- Latency (min): Defined as the duration between the bird’s emergence from the curtained cardboard box and its first foraging event at the feeding area. Longer latencies indicate hesitation or increased wariness toward novel objects or potentially threatening stimuli [13]. For individuals that did not forage during the trial, a latency time of 720 min was assigned.
- 2.
- Number of landings (times): The total number of distinct landings in the feeding area during the observation period. Reduced visit frequency is commonly observed in birds foraging under perceived predation risk or in the presence of food competitors [1].
- 3.
- Total time spent in the feeding area (min): The cumulative time the bird spent within the feeding area, calculated from each landing until take-off and summed across the entire trial. Shorter residency times are typically associated with increased wariness or perceived danger [27].
3. Results
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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| Test Condition | Latency (min) | Number of Landings (times) | Total Time Spent in the Feeding Area (min) | Amount of Food Consumed (g) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No visual stimulus | 43.4 ± 40.6 | 51 ± 19 | 26.8 ± 9.0 | 74 ± 19 |
| Cardboard box | 175.5 ± 77.2 | 34 ± 11 | 16.5 ± 10.6 | 59 ± 11 |
| Immobile owl decoy | 497.2 ± 211.9 | 37 ± 41 | 9.8 ± 7.8 | 18 ± 13 |
| Continuous-motion owl decoy | 310.6 ± 164.4 | 84 ± 44 | 22.5 ± 22.6 | 46 ± 11 |
| Sensor-activated-motion owl decoy | 639.1 ± 107.9 | 3 ± 3 | 4.6 ± 5.3 | 10 ± 12 |
| d.f. | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| χ2 | 18.1 | 36.0 | 1520.0 | 13416.0 |
| p | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | 0.037 | <0.0001 |
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Fujioka, M.; Yamamoto, M.; Shirai, M. Behavioural Responses of Captive Large-billed Crows to Owl Decoys with Different Motion Patterns. Birds 2025, 6, 64. https://doi.org/10.3390/birds6040064
Fujioka M, Yamamoto M, Shirai M. Behavioural Responses of Captive Large-billed Crows to Owl Decoys with Different Motion Patterns. Birds. 2025; 6(4):64. https://doi.org/10.3390/birds6040064
Chicago/Turabian StyleFujioka, Momoyo, Maki Yamamoto, and Masaki Shirai. 2025. "Behavioural Responses of Captive Large-billed Crows to Owl Decoys with Different Motion Patterns" Birds 6, no. 4: 64. https://doi.org/10.3390/birds6040064
APA StyleFujioka, M., Yamamoto, M., & Shirai, M. (2025). Behavioural Responses of Captive Large-billed Crows to Owl Decoys with Different Motion Patterns. Birds, 6(4), 64. https://doi.org/10.3390/birds6040064

