Conspicuous Animals Remain Alert When Under Cover but Do Not Differ in the Temporal Course of Vigilance from Less Conspicuous Species.

ABSTRACT: Conspicuousness increases the risk of predation. One strategy to reduce this risk is to increase vigilance. We investigated the frequency of head movements as a measure of vigilance at waterholes in two related songbird species that differed in their conspicuousness: the Gouldian finch and the long-tailed finch. While both species showed a high frequency of head movements (high vigilance) when sitting in an open tree, the more colourful Gouldian finch remained more vigilant than the less conspicuous long-tailed finch when sitting under cover. Moreover, juvenile Gouldian finches had similar vigilance levels than adults; whereas, juveniles of the long-tailed finch were less vigilant, possibly because of staying in the family group. Furthermore, both species showed a similar temporal course o

SUBMITTER: Hofmann G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11758665 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature