Black-capped Chickadee behavior-fledging to dispersal

Abstract

Most studies of the family life of young birds after they leave the nest have been descriptive and anecdotal with little quantitative behavioral data, despite the many interesting problems involved in interactions of the members of a family. The objectives of this study were to determine: 1) the behavior of parents and young Black-capped Chickadees (Parus atricapillus) at the time of leaving the nest, 2) how the parents and young behave towards each other during the period when the young are dependent on their parents, 3) the factors responsible for the final disruption of the family. Since aggression was anticipated to be the primary factor causing dispersal, special attention was focused on the aggressive behavior of parents toward their young and the behavior of the young toward one another.