Meeting Abstract

P1-134   -   Wing-flashing Behavior in Loggerhead Shrikes and their Prey: Predator Body Postures and Prey Escape Distances Mora, YA*; Sustaita, D; Farabaugh, SM; California State University San Marcos; California State University San Marcos; Recovery Ecology, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance mora074@cougars.csusm.edu

The Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) is a medium sized predatory songbird, that feeds on a variety of arthropod and vertebrate prey. When hunting, they have been observed to perform “wing-flashing” movements prior to attacking their prey. Several hypotheses have been proposed for this behavior in shrikes and other species. Our research focuses specifically on how wing-flashing behavior affects prey capture performance in shrikes. Our previous data suggests that wing flashing increases their prey capture success, but we have yet to understand how and why it affects their prey. Here we examine other behavioral factors found to be important in other insectivorous bird species, such as variation in the body postures of the predators during wing-flashing, and the distances with which prey begin to flee from their predators.