Nest material preferences by spotless starlings

Cristina Ruiz-Castellano, Gustavo Tomás, Magdalena Ruiz-Rodríguez, Juan J Soler and Michael TaborskyHandling Editor

Behavioral Ecology, 2018, vol. 29, issue 1, 137-144

Abstract: Birds may prefer materials with antimicrobial and antiparasitic properties for building their nests, and we experimentally tested and found support for this hypothesis in a population of spotless starlings. Within the offered material, birds preferred unpigmented feathers and aromatic plants for building their nests, which are those that the literature describes with higher antimicrobial properties.

Keywords: aromatic plants; feather pigmentation; nest building behavior; nest-lining feathers; nest material preference (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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