. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. ry&. Figure 3. Threatening behaviour of the European Nuthatch Sitta europaea (top) and Wallcreeper Tichodroma muraria (bottom). few details of their breeding biology have been described. The accurate observation of differences in behaviour under species-adequate aviary con- ditions is both possible and rewarding. The Orange-gorgeted Flycatcher Siphia strophiata is a good example, as decribed below. The systematic position of S. strophiata is still controversial: in Hartert (1910-1922) it was termed Muscicapa strophiata and Vaurie (1953) con-
. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. ry&. Figure 3. Threatening behaviour of the European Nuthatch Sitta europaea (top) and Wallcreeper Tichodroma muraria (bottom). few details of their breeding biology have been described. The accurate observation of differences in behaviour under species-adequate aviary con- ditions is both possible and rewarding. The Orange-gorgeted Flycatcher Siphia strophiata is a good example, as decribed below. The systematic position of S. strophiata is still controversial: in Hartert (1910-1922) it was termed Muscicapa strophiata and Vaurie (1953) con- sidered it "appears to be not too distantly related to the Ficedula group". His decision was made mainly on the basis of morphological character- istics, although he was open to a consideration of such behavioural traits as were available. Observations on S. strophiata kept in cages and aviaries over a con- siderable number of years revealed a most unusual method of obtaining food, otherwise seen mainly in limicoles (Lohrl 1992). By means of vibrating foot movements the birds shake the twigs on which they are perching and thus mobilise at the surface hidden prey. This is an innate foraging movement, since it was observed not only in several im- ported mature birds, but also in a young, aviary-hatched, hand-reared individual that had subsequently been isolated and thus had received no 'instruction' from an adult. S. strophiata is the only species of flycatcher so far known to use this method, and presumably thus secures itself an. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original British Ornithologists' Club. London : British Ornithologists' Club
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