New publication out!

Previous experience of captivity affects exploration behaviour in first winter great tits.

In a recently published paper, Edward Kluen, Katja Rönkä and Rose Thorogood (Informed birds' group) show that Great tits with prior experience of captivity (caught previously in unrelated experiments) were more exploratory than naïve birds when tested again in captivity, but this depended on age: exploration and captivity experience were associated more strongly in first winter birds than adults. However, prior experience of captivity did not associate with other behaviours tested. These results suggest that re-testing of individuals requires careful consideration, particularly for younger birds, and previous experiences can carry over and affect behaviours differently.

The full paper can be accessed at : https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.13905 (open access)