Many species of birds incorporate feathers into their nest as structural support and to
insulate the eggs or offspring. Here, we investigated the novel idea that birds reduce the risk …

Background Breeding site choice constitutes an important part of the species niche. Nest
predation affects breeding site choice, and has been suggested to drive niche segregation …

Abstract Background Black sparrowhawks (Accipiter melanoleucus) recently colonised the
Cape Peninsula, South Africa, where the species faces competition for their nest sites from …

Some birds cover their eggs with nest material when they leave to forage. It has been
suggested that such egg-covering aids thermoregulation or prevents predation but here we …

When selecting a breeding site, individuals can use social information to reduce the
uncertainty regarding habitat quality. Individuals of several bird species tend to reuse nests …

Background Social learning allows animals to eavesdrop on ecologically relevant
knowledge of competitors in their environment. This is especially important when selecting a …

In animals, essential information may be transferred among individuals in order to increase
foraging efficiency, avoid predators, or choose breeding habitats and sites. Such information …

Concept learning is considered a high-level adaptive ability. Thus far, it has been studied in
laboratory via asocial trial and error learning. Yet, social information use is common among …

Experiments since the classic studies of Niko Tinbergen have provided evidence that
animals use visual landmarks to navigate. We tested whether birds use visual landmarks to …

Most animals live and move in a landscape in which the risk of predation varies spatially and
temporally, that is, a “landscape of fear” which may strongly affect their ecology and …