Gouldian Finches (Chloebia gouldiae) Increase the Frequency of Head Movements with Increasing Risk at Water-holes but Prolong Interscan Intervals While Drinking: Two Different Strategies?

Hofmann, G and Mettke-Hofmann, C ORCID: 0000-0003-3874-5035 (2025) Gouldian Finches (Chloebia gouldiae) Increase the Frequency of Head Movements with Increasing Risk at Water-holes but Prolong Interscan Intervals While Drinking: Two Different Strategies? Animals, 16 (1). pp. 1-15. ISSN 2076-2615

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Abstract

Animals scan their environment to detect threats. Such vigilance behaviour is costly, and animals adjust their vigilance to prevailing threats. Waterholes are dangerous places that attract predators, and require heightened vigilance. We investigated how Gouldian finches adjust their vigilance at waterholes by measuring the frequency of head movements and interscan interval while drinking. The frequency of head movements increased with increasing risk perception (a) from perching in the tree to being on the ground and (b) while drinking, with a higher frequency of movements recorded at small waterholes compared to medium and large ones. The latter adds to recent findings that small waterholes are perceived as more dangerous and require further investigation. With a predicted increase in droughts, birds will rely on small waterholes for longer during the dry season which might cause stress. Furthermore, interscan interval varied in terms of interaction with waterhole size and group size, indicating adjustments linked to perceived threat and social effects. Finally, frequency of head movements and interscan intervals were positively correlated. This might reflect different strategies to check the environment, with either a high frequency of head movements when scanning accompanied by long drinking bouts or looking in one direction for a longer time (lower vigilance) but repeating this behaviour at shorter intervals.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	3109 Zoology; 3103 Ecology; 31 Biological Sciences; 0502 Environmental Science and Management; 0608 Zoology; 0702 Animal Production; 3003 Animal production; 3009 Veterinary sciences; 3109 Zoology
Subjects:	Q Science > QL Zoology
Divisions:	Biological and Environmental Sciences (from Sep 19)
Publisher:	MDPI AG
Date of acceptance:	24 December 2025
Date of first compliant Open Access:	9 January 2026
Date Deposited:	09 Jan 2026 14:03
Last Modified:	09 Jan 2026 14:03
DOI or ID number:	10.3390/ani16010087
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/27880

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