Ardea
Official journal of the Netherlands Ornithologists' Union

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Eisner E. (1961) The behaviour of the Bengalese Finch in the nest. ARDEA 49 (1-2): 51-69
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This paper describes the behaviour in the nest of captive Bengalese Finches (domesticated Lonchura striata). As in the estrildine finches generally, male and female of this species share in all parental activities. During the late incubation period and while the chicks are young, the adult birds may display upon disturbance of the nest, this display sometimes developing into definite attack. This display is described both in the Bengalese and in the Cutthroat Finch (Amadina fasciata) where it is more complex. Bengalese Finches do not assist the hatching of their chicks, but they eat the eggshells shortly after hatching has taken place. Chick feeding behaviour, including the begging of the chicks and the stimuli which evoke it, is described in detail. Estrildine nests characteristically contain an accumulation of faeces after the young have fledged, and it was therefore thought that nest sanitation behaviour was lacking. However, in the Bengalese Finch the parents do eat the chicks' faeces for about the first ten days after hatching. After this the chicks deposit the faeces around the sides of the nest, keeping the nest cup and themselves clean. This system is possible, presumably, only because the faeces are dry. An account of the morphological and behavioural changes in the chicks from hatching to fledging is given.


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