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Storage of stones by Jays Garrulus glandarius

journal contribution
posted on 1994-07-01, 00:00 authored by N Clayton, D Griffiths, Andy Bennett
The aims of this study were to test whether or not Jays Garrulus glandarius store stones and, if so, to examine the conditions under which they store stones. By directly observing the behaviour of five captive jays that were housed individually in flight cages, we found that stones were stored only in the absence of food items or when food items were no longer available to store and that there was a strong preference for storing stones that resembled acorns in both size and appearance (in terms of colour, shape and smoothness of the surface) and were undamaged rather than heavily chipped. These results are discussed in terms of Tinbergen's classic ethological model in which animals respond selectively to certain key features and ignore other features of the stimulus.

History

Journal

Ibis

Volume

136

Issue

3

Pagination

331 - 334

Publisher

Wiley-Blackwell Publishing

Location

Oxford, England

ISSN

0019-1019

eISSN

1474-919X

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

1994, British Ornithologists Union

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