This study addressed aggressive interactions, and some of the behaviors associated with them, in House Sparrow flocks. The evidence suggests that females are the consistently dominant sex, which does not concur with the current idea of alternating dominance in House Sparrows. Another purpose of this study was to determine if predictions concerning the type of interaction and level of aggression displayed could be made for interacting House Sparrows. I feel that accurate predictions can be made when several factors are taken into account: time of year, sex, and the age of birds at the food resource. In this study adult female House Sparrows dominated males from fall through spring, even when males increased their rate of initiating interactions during winter. Across all interaction types, mid-level aggression was used most often and only in male intrasexual interactions was high-level aggression more common than expected. Juvenile birds, mainly males, change flock dynamics in the fall by eliciting aggressive interactions. / Department of Biology
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/186196 |
| Date | January 1998 |
| Creators | Jawor, Jodie M. |
| Contributors | Dodson, Gary N. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | vi, 46 leaves ; col. ill. ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
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