Interspecific feeding at a bird nest: Snowy-browed Flycatcher (Ficedula hyperythra) as a helper at the Rufous-bellied Niltava (Niltava sundara) nest, Yunnan, Southwest China

Interspecific feeding has been recorded for many bird species worldwide, especially in Europe, yet little information is available on interspecific feeding in China. Here we report a first sighting of an interspecific feeding case between a Rufous-bellied Niltava (Niltava sundara) and a Snowy-browed...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Wilson journal of ornithology 2018-12, Vol.130 (4), p.1003-1008
Main Authors: Luo, Kang, Hu, Yunbiao, Lu, Zhiyun, Li, Donglai
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adults
Ailao Mountains
Animal behavior
Animal feeding behavior
Animal feeding behaviour
Begging behavior
Behavior
Biological surveys
Biology
Birds
Cameras
Evolution
Feces
Feeding
Feeding behavior
Ficedula hyperythra
helper
Interspecific
interspecific feeding
Males
Mountains
Muscicapidae
Niltava sundara
Observations
Ornithological research
Ornithology
Parents
Rufous-bellied Niltava
SHORT COMMUNICATIONS
Snowy-browed Flycatcher
Symbiosis
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Interspecific feeding has been recorded for many bird species worldwide, especially in Europe, yet little information is available on interspecific feeding in China. Here we report a first sighting of an interspecific feeding case between a Rufous-bellied Niltava (Niltava sundara) and a Snowy-browed Flycatcher (Ficedula hyperythra) observed in the Ailao Mountains in Yunnan Province. According to the images and films captured by a camera trap, a male Snowy-browed Flycatcher was found serving as a helper at the nest of a Rufous-bellied Niltava on 17 June 2017. The helping behavior lasted for at least 2 d. The Rufous-bellied Niltava parents showed no aggression when the helper approached their nestlings. We cannot determine the causes of the reported interspecific feeding of the nestlings because the prior history of any of adults involved is unclear. The Rufous-bellied Niltava nestlings' begging behavior might have stimulated the interspecific feeding by the male Snowy-browed Flycatcher.
ISSN:1559-4491
1938-5447
DOI:10.1676/1559-4491.130.4.1003