Aggression by Australian Magpies Gymnorhina tibicen toward Human Intruders
Author(s)
Cilento, NJ
Jones, DN
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
1999
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The pattern of aggressive behaviour by Australian Magpies Gymnorhina tibicen toward human and heterospecific intruders was studied at rural and suburban sites in the Brisbane area during the 1994–95 breeding season. Both non-intrusive observations and experimetal intrusions were used. All observations were based on breeding pairs. Preliminary observations of suburban pairs indicated that some were consistently aggressive toward humans (‘aggressive’) while others were not (‘non-aggressive’). In virtually all cases (97.5%), only males were involved in attacking humans; however, females were equal or more prone to attacking ...
View more >The pattern of aggressive behaviour by Australian Magpies Gymnorhina tibicen toward human and heterospecific intruders was studied at rural and suburban sites in the Brisbane area during the 1994–95 breeding season. Both non-intrusive observations and experimetal intrusions were used. All observations were based on breeding pairs. Preliminary observations of suburban pairs indicated that some were consistently aggressive toward humans (‘aggressive’) while others were not (‘non-aggressive’). In virtually all cases (97.5%), only males were involved in attacking humans; however, females were equal or more prone to attacking non-human intruders as males. None of the rural Australian Magpies reacted to human intruders, although they attacked heterospecific intruders as frequently as did aggressive birds. The patterns of attacks during the breeding season showed a peak in the late nestling phase, immediately before the fledglings left the nest.
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View more >The pattern of aggressive behaviour by Australian Magpies Gymnorhina tibicen toward human and heterospecific intruders was studied at rural and suburban sites in the Brisbane area during the 1994–95 breeding season. Both non-intrusive observations and experimetal intrusions were used. All observations were based on breeding pairs. Preliminary observations of suburban pairs indicated that some were consistently aggressive toward humans (‘aggressive’) while others were not (‘non-aggressive’). In virtually all cases (97.5%), only males were involved in attacking humans; however, females were equal or more prone to attacking non-human intruders as males. None of the rural Australian Magpies reacted to human intruders, although they attacked heterospecific intruders as frequently as did aggressive birds. The patterns of attacks during the breeding season showed a peak in the late nestling phase, immediately before the fledglings left the nest.
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Journal Title
Emu - Austral Ornithology
Volume
99
Issue
2
Subject
Ecology
Zoology