Summary
Indigo Buntings (Passerina cyanea) that had been trapped in August were kept during the following months under photoperiodic conditions simulating the ones they would normally experience at that time of the year. From April 24 to June 16, their nocturnal activity and their directional tendencies were recorded. It was found that the activity, although it varied greatly from night to night, continued to be high until the termination of the registration period in mid June, whereas the orientation deteriorated at the end of May, i.e., after the end of the normal spring migration (Fig. 1, Table 1). Thus directed spring migratory restlessness and undirected “summer” restlessness seem to represent two separate phenomena. A possible adaptive significance of “summer” restlessness is discussed.
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This work was supported by National Science Foundation grant BMS-72-02198-AO2 to S.T. Emlen and by a Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft grant to W. Wiltschko. The Hochschulrechenzentrum of the Universität Frankfurt a.M. provided computer time. We thank S. Bergman for his valuable help in conducting the experiments and quantifying the footprint records of the funnel cages, and R.J. Young and the Department of Poultry Science, Cornell University, for the use of the brooder houses as experimental rooms.
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Wiltschko, W., Wiltschko, R., Emlen, S.T. et al. Nocturnal activity and orientation behavior during spring migration and early summer in the indigo bunting,Passerina cyanea . J. Comp. Physiol. 137, 47–49 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00656916
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00656916