Social eavesdropping allows for a more risky gliding strategy by thermal-soaring birds.

ABSTRACT: Vultures are thought to form networks in the sky, with individuals monitoring the movements of others to gain up-to-date information on resource availability. While it is recognized that social information facilitates the search for carrion, how this facilitates the search for updrafts, another critical resource, remains unknown. In theory, birds could use information on updraft availability to modulate their flight speed, increasing their airspeed when informed on updraft location. In addition, the stylized circling behaviour associated with thermal soaring is likely to provide social cues on updraft availability for any bird operating in the surrounding area. We equipped five Gyps vultures with GPS and airspeed loggers to quantify the movements of birds flying in the same airspace. Birds

SUBMITTER: Williams HJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6283990 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature