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Variations in flocking behaviour from core to peripheral regions of a bird species’ distribution range

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Abstract

Flocking behaviour in birds reflects the outcome of a momentary trade-off between increased foraging efficiency and improved predator avoidance. However, these changing patterns remain poorly known at any spatial or temporal scale. The aim of the present study was first to investigate seasonal fluctuations of flocking behaviour throughout the entire distribution range of a species and secondly to explore behavioural responses to daily temperature variations. From 2000 to 2010, sightings of Peruvian Thick-knees (Burhinus superciliaris) were collected throughout Ecuador, Peru and Chile. There were strong differences in flocking behaviour between Chilean and Peruvian populations. While Thick-knees occurred into few large year-round flocks in Chile, flock occurrence was highly seasonal in Peru, where group size grew gradually from loose flocks at the end of the breeding season to a few large ones by the middle of the year. Time of day seemed not to affect the species detectability but was negatively related to flock size. Variations in the flocking behaviour of Peruvian Thick-knees throughout its distribution range suggest that aggregation patterns might indicate individuals responding to seasonally fluctuating ecological pressures, such as those derived from predation, foraging or climate.

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Acknowledgements

S Woolley, J Casson, L Sirvio, M Shardlow, A Earnshaw, E del Solar, J Mazzotti, G Lavaty, D Cook, E Lee and J Cabrera provided their sightings from Peru. J Aguirre, MR Ávila, A Grosset and L Miranda provided their observations from Chile. N Athanas, F Schmitt and M Reid provided information from both countries and S Torres kindly provided his sightings from Ecuador. I am especially grateful to B Knapton and A Tabini, who provided most observations and site descriptions from Chile and Peru, respectively and to S Sánchez, who helped during data collection. J Potti and P Jordano thoroughly reviewed earlier drafts of the manuscript and J Aguilar, JM Jordão, JF Maselló and an anonymous reviewer improved this article with their constructive comments.

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The author declares that he has no conflict of interest.

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  1. Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana—CSIC, Av. Américo Vespucio, 41092, Seville, Spain

    Carlos Camacho

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  1. Carlos Camacho
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Correspondence to Carlos Camacho.

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Camacho, C. Variations in flocking behaviour from core to peripheral regions of a bird species’ distribution range. acta ethol 15, 153–158 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10211-011-0111-z

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