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Experience with vehicles does not help birds avoid collisions

Date:
September 19, 2016
Source:
Wiley
Summary:
Researchers suspected that experience with passing vehicles may cause birds to adjust their avoidance responses-specifically, to increase their flight initiation distances-to keep from being hit. Instead, though, they recently found that inexperienced birds have longer flight initiation distances in response to oncoming vehicles than birds that have repeatedly observed passing, fast-moving vehicles.
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Researchers suspected that experience with passing vehicles may cause birds to adjust their avoidance responses-specifically, to increase their flight initiation distances-to keep from being hit.

Instead, though, they recently found that inexperienced birds have longer flight initiation distances in response to oncoming vehicles than birds that have repeatedly observed passing, fast-moving vehicles.

Also, even the heightened avoidance response of inexperienced birds was inadequate to cope with high vehicle speeds.

"Our study suggests that habituation to passing aircraft and automobiles could contribute to the frequency of bird collisions with these high-speed vehicles that are common worldwide," said Dr. Travis DeVault, lead author of the Journal of Zoology article.


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Materials provided by Wiley. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. T. L. DeVault, T. W. Seamans, B. F. Blackwell, S. L. Lima, M. A. Martinez, E. Fernández-Juricic. Can experience reduce collisions between birds and vehicles? Journal of Zoology, 2016; DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12385

Cite This Page:

Wiley. "Experience with vehicles does not help birds avoid collisions." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 19 September 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160919120801.htm>.
Wiley. (2016, September 19). Experience with vehicles does not help birds avoid collisions. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 8, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160919120801.htm
Wiley. "Experience with vehicles does not help birds avoid collisions." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160919120801.htm (accessed November 8, 2024).

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