Abstract
Spacing behaviour of female red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) was observed to determine whether resident females within a herem divide their mate's territory into sub-territories. Some results accorded with defence of sub-territories: (1) females were more aggressive (towards decoys and mounts) close to their own nests than further away; and (2) there was little overlap in the use of space betwee residents on a male's territory. Other results did not accord with defence of sub-territories: (1) when the nest site was eliminated from the analysis, spatial overlaps were large; (2) areas defended through aggression by different females overlapped greatly; and (3) areas defended through advertisement by different females overlapped greatly. I conclude that the spacing behaviour of female red-winged blackbirds does not meet a strict difinition of territoriality.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1381-1391 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Animal Behaviour |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Oct 1986 |
| Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Animal Science and Zoology