Daring, risk assessment and body condition interactions in steppe buzzards Buteo buteo vulpinus

Yoav Perlman, Ido Tsurim

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

Trading-off food and safety is considered a predominant component of foraging behavior. We examined whether predators' response to potential prey is state-dependent, and suggest that risk of injury while pursuing the prey affects the predators' foraging behavior in a similar manner as predation risk affects prey foraging behavior. We examined how the daring of steppe buzzards Buteo buteo vulpinus in pursuing their prey varied with body condition. We measured the time it took juvenile buzzards to attack a mouse placed in a Bal-Chatri cage trap and related it to their body condition. We found that buzzards in poorer body condition tended to hesitate less before pursuing their prey than did buzzards in better body condition. We suggest that behavioral decisions of buzzards are state-dependant and are influenced by the risk of injury involved in pursuing their prey.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)226-228
Number of pages3
JournalJournal of Avian Biology
Volume39
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Mar 2008

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Animal Science and Zoology

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