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Artificially induced group display and nesting behaviour in a reintroduced population of Caribbean Flamingo Phoenicopterus ruber ruber

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 April 2004

C. E. O'CONNELL-RODWELL
Affiliation:
Center for Conservation Biology, 371 Serra Mall, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 5020, U.S.A. E-mail: ceoconnell@stanford.edu
N. ROJEK
Affiliation:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 101 12th Avenue, Box 19, Room 110, Fairbanks, AK 99701, U.S.A.
T. C. RODWELL
Affiliation:
Stanford Medical School, Stanford, CA 94305, U.S.A.
P. W. SHANNON
Affiliation:
San Francisco Zoo, 1 Zoo Road, San Francisco, CA 94132-1098, U.S.A.
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Abstract

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We used artificial social stimulation (decoys, vocalization playbacks, and artificial nests) to initiate group displays in six (two females, four males) Caribbean Flamingos Phoenicopterus ruber ruber that had not successfully bred since their introduction to Guana Island, British Virgin Islands, in 1992. During a control period prior to the introduction of stimuli, flamingos exhibited no social displays or nest building activities. All flamingos were observed approaching the decoy area as a flock within four hrs of the decoys being introduced, and Head-Flagging displays were exhibited by two birds within the first 24 hrs. In a 12-hr watch conducted two-weeks post decoy introduction, there were significantly more group display behaviours, as well as nest-building, as compared with the control period and immediately after the introduction (3.6% as compared with 0% and 0.35%). Two individuals performed the majority of group displays (although at least one social display posture was observed for each bird) and three birds exhibited nest-building behaviour. Overall, individuals spent most of their time feeding and resting/sleeping (> 95%) during all observation periods. We show for the first time that decoys and vocalization playbacks could have a positive impact on breeding success in the wild by inducing group displays and nesting behaviours in this group of introduced flamingos. We suggest that social attraction techniques may be a useful tool to stimulate breeding in small captive and wild small populations of flamingos.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
BirdLife International 2004