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Prey plumage adaptation against falcon attack

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Abstract

Several plumage types are found in feral pigeons (Columba livia), but one type imparts a clear survival advantage during attacks by the swiftest of all predators — the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus)1,2. Here we use quantitative field observations and experiments to demonstrate both the selective nature of the falcon's choice of prey and the effect of plumage coloration on the survival of feral pigeons. This plumage colour is an independently heritable trait3 that is likely to be an antipredator adaptation against high-speed attacks in open air space.

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Figure 1: Adaptive coloration in pigeons hunted by peregrine falcons.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Primate Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Harvard University, Cambridge, 02138, Massachusetts, USA

    Alberto Palleroni & Marc Hauser

  2. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Laboratory of Auditory Neurophysiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, 21205, Maryland, USA

    Cory T. Miller

  3. Laboratory of Animal Communication, University of California, Davis, 95616, California, USA

    Alberto Palleroni & Peter Marler

Authors
  1. Alberto Palleroni
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  2. Cory T. Miller
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  3. Marc Hauser
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  4. Peter Marler
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alberto Palleroni.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Palleroni, A., Miller, C., Hauser, M. et al. Prey plumage adaptation against falcon attack. Nature 434, 973–974 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/434973b

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/434973b

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