The aspects of aggressive interaction of three related species of Paridae family with other bird species at the local watering place

Abstract

We explored interspecific and intraspecific aggressive contacts of three species of Paridae birds: Great Tit (Parus major), Blue Tit (P. caeruleus) and Marsh Tit (P. palustris) at the local watering place during breeding season by ethological methods of total observation and continuous logging. We recorded for which of 27 bird species present at the local watering place tits show aggression, and for which not. We considered the relationship of interspecific and intraspecific contacts among which non-aggressive and interspecific contacts are dominant. The percentage of interspecific contacts was slightly higher than intraspecific among all aggressive interactions in P. caeruleus, but the apparently opposite was found in P. palustris. In P. major it differed among study sites. The frequency of aggressive interactions in the studied species is rather small, but its index is always higher in intraspecific conflicts than in interspecific. We checked the statistical significance of differences of displaying interspecific and intraspecific aggression in different territories, and actually between these types of aggression at each location. The interspecific and intraspecific ratio of aggression for P. caeruleus and P. major is the same in most areas, but is always different in P. palustris. We calculated the success of the aggression reaction in defense and attack for the tits to all other species and estimated its aspects for the study sites.

Keywords

• paridae
• behavior
• interspecific and intraspecific aggression
• watering place