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From: andrewt@cs.su.oz (Andrew Taylor)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: feeding-rate
Message-ID: <1178@cluster.cs.su.oz>
Date: 5 Sep 90 07:12:40 GMT
References: <948@massey.ac.nz>
Sender: news@cluster.cs.su.oz
Reply-To: andrewt@cluster.cs.su.oz (Andrew Taylor)
Organization: Basser Dept of Computer Science, University of Sydney, Australia
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In article <948@massey.ac.nz> AChamove@massey.ac.nz (A.S. Chamove) writes:
>We have noticed that in monkeys, the parents give food to their
>offspring as a function of how hungry the offspring are.  That
>is, the more the infants beg, the more often they are fed.
>
>Is there any evidence that birds do the same?  Do the parents
>return to the nest more frequently or collect food more, the
>more the chicks beg?

Yes its been shown for several birds that the hunger cry of the young
is the most effective stimulus for feeding and that increasing this
stimulus increases the frequency of feeding. Welty's Life of Birds gives
these references:

von Haartman(1953) Was reizt den Trauerfliegenschnapper (Musicapa hypoleuca)
zu futtern?, Die Vogelwarte 16:157-164.

Nottebohm(1971) Vocalizations and breeding behaviour of surgically deafened
Ring Doves (Streptopelia risoria), Animal Behaviour, 19:313-327.