The red gape of the nestling cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) is not a supernormal stimulus for three common hosts.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

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The red gape of the nestling cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) is not a supernormal stimulus for three common hosts. / Nobel, D. G.; Davies, N. B.; Hartley, Ian R. et al.
In: Behaviour, Vol. 136, No. 6, 1999, p. 759-777.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

Harvard

Nobel, DG, Davies, NB , Hartley, IR & McRae, SB 1999, 'The red gape of the nestling cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) is not a supernormal stimulus for three common hosts.', Behaviour, vol. 136, no. 6, pp. 759-777. https://doi.org/10.1163/156853999501559

APA

Nobel, D. G., Davies, N. B., Hartley, I. R., & McRae, S. B. (1999). The red gape of the nestling cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) is not a supernormal stimulus for three common hosts. Behaviour, 136(6), 759-777. https://doi.org/10.1163/156853999501559

Vancouver

Nobel DG, Davies NB , Hartley IR, McRae SB. The red gape of the nestling cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) is not a supernormal stimulus for three common hosts. Behaviour. 1999;136(6):759-777. doi: 10.1163/156853999501559

Author

Nobel, D. G. ; Davies, N. B. ; Hartley, Ian R. et al. / The red gape of the nestling cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) is not a supernormal stimulus for three common hosts. In: Behaviour. 1999 ; Vol. 136, No. 6. pp. 759-777.

Bibtex

@article{5942327a19c64497baf2d7928dfcccf6,

title = "The red gape of the nestling cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) is not a supernormal stimulus for three common hosts.",

abstract = "The bright red gape of the nestling common cuckoo Cuculus canorus has often been supposed to act as a supernormal stimulus to elicit provisioning from its foster parents. Parents of three main host species were tested for their response to their own nestlings with artificially reddened gapes. Robins, dunnocks and reed warblers allocated no more food to red-mouthed nestlings than to control nestlings in the same nest, and manipulations of the gape colour of whole broods of reed warblers revealed no effect on provisioning rates. Our data do not support the hypothesis that there is a universal parental preference for redder gapes in opennesting passerines, or that the bright red gape of nestling cuckoos has evolved to exploit parental preferences in these three hosts. We suggest that although mouth colour has little influence on the allocation of feeds resulting from sibling competition and begging intensity in these species, it may have a role under certain conditions.",

keywords = "MOUTH COLOUR, BEGGING, CUCKOO HOSTS, PARENTAL CARE, SUPERNORMAL STIMULUS",

author = "Nobel, {D. G.} and Davies, {N. B.} and Hartley, {Ian R.} and McRae, {S. B.}",

year = "1999",

doi = "10.1163/156853999501559",

language = "English",

volume = "136",

pages = "759--777",

journal = "Behaviour",

issn = "0005-7959",

publisher = "Martinus Nijhoff Publishers/ Brill Academic",

number = "6",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - The red gape of the nestling cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) is not a supernormal stimulus for three common hosts.

AU - Nobel, D. G.

AU - Davies, N. B.

AU - Hartley, Ian R.

AU - McRae, S. B.

PY - 1999

Y1 - 1999

N2 - The bright red gape of the nestling common cuckoo Cuculus canorus has often been supposed to act as a supernormal stimulus to elicit provisioning from its foster parents. Parents of three main host species were tested for their response to their own nestlings with artificially reddened gapes. Robins, dunnocks and reed warblers allocated no more food to red-mouthed nestlings than to control nestlings in the same nest, and manipulations of the gape colour of whole broods of reed warblers revealed no effect on provisioning rates. Our data do not support the hypothesis that there is a universal parental preference for redder gapes in opennesting passerines, or that the bright red gape of nestling cuckoos has evolved to exploit parental preferences in these three hosts. We suggest that although mouth colour has little influence on the allocation of feeds resulting from sibling competition and begging intensity in these species, it may have a role under certain conditions.

AB - The bright red gape of the nestling common cuckoo Cuculus canorus has often been supposed to act as a supernormal stimulus to elicit provisioning from its foster parents. Parents of three main host species were tested for their response to their own nestlings with artificially reddened gapes. Robins, dunnocks and reed warblers allocated no more food to red-mouthed nestlings than to control nestlings in the same nest, and manipulations of the gape colour of whole broods of reed warblers revealed no effect on provisioning rates. Our data do not support the hypothesis that there is a universal parental preference for redder gapes in opennesting passerines, or that the bright red gape of nestling cuckoos has evolved to exploit parental preferences in these three hosts. We suggest that although mouth colour has little influence on the allocation of feeds resulting from sibling competition and begging intensity in these species, it may have a role under certain conditions.

KW - MOUTH COLOUR

KW - BEGGING

KW - CUCKOO HOSTS

KW - PARENTAL CARE

KW - SUPERNORMAL STIMULUS

U2 - 10.1163/156853999501559

DO - 10.1163/156853999501559

M3 - Journal article

VL - 136

SP - 759

EP - 777

JO - Behaviour

JF - Behaviour

SN - 0005-7959

IS - 6

ER -

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