Some aspects of the breeding behaviour of Peregrine falcons on Langara Island, B.C.
| dc.contributor.advisor | Myres, M. Timothy | |
| dc.contributor.author | Nelson, Robert Wayne | |
| dc.coverage.spatial | 200000254 | en |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2005-07-19T20:01:31Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2005-07-19T20:01:31Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 1970 | |
| dc.description | Bibliography: p. 289-296. | en |
| dc.description.abstract | The behaviour of Peregrine 'Falcons (Falco ueregrinus pealei) in the breeding season was studied on Langara Island, in the Queen Charlotte Islands group of British Columbia in 1968, 1969 and 1970, for a total of almost twelve months .in the field. In 1968 one pair of falcons and their young was observed closely from coastal rocks and from a blind overlooking the nest ledGe at Area A. In 1969 another pair was studied in similar fashion at Area B. In all three years observations were made on several other pairs and their young. The Peregrine Falcon has a vocabulary of at least twelve separable calls. Adult Langara Island Peregrine Falcons appear not to migrate. In 1969 a pair was observed through the Preincubation Phase. The male seems to take the initiative at this period, stimulating the female by his flight behaviour, Ledge-demonstration displays and Male-ledge displays. If disturbed at a prospective nest ledge, the falcons my quickly abandon it in favour of another ledge some distance away. Transfers of food from the male to the female were first observed almost a month prior to egg-laying. Food-transfers are similar to those seen between adults and fledglings. During parts of courtship, the female exhibits nestling-like behaviour. The significance of markedly lethargic behaviour in the female prior to the laying of the eggs is discussed. During incubation, the majority of hunting is done by the male in twilight before dawn. During the daylight hours he retrieves food for himself and the female from caches on the cliff. Only the female incubates at night. Although the male plays a role in daytime incubation, the amount of time that he devotes to this is small. This is thought to be partly explained by his inability (due to his smaller size) to brood nestlings effectively. The female broods the nestlings for about a week after hatching, but continues to brood them at night for some time longer. When the nestlings become too large for this, the female continues a nightly 'guard duty' at the ledge. Feeding behaviour of nestlings gradually develops from a stage in which the parents feed the gaping young, through a stage in which the young take food from the parent's beak, to a stage in which food is sometimes forcibly seized from the parent. The young falcons first fly at 41-44 days of age, and become adept at flying within a week. From then on they receive most of their food from the parents in the air, usually by means of foot-to-foot Food-transfers. The parents frequently attempt to hide from their young for long periods. The fledglings 'play’ with each other and make play-attacks at inanimate objects, followed by mock-attacks at possible prey, and finally actual attempts to hunt for themselves. But they continue to be dependent on the parents for at least six weeks after first flying. The Langara Island falcons have been found to contain considerable amounts of chlorinated hydrocarbons. These are probably already affecting their ability to raise young, and possibly also some aspects of their behaviour. | en |
| dc.description.notes | This title is not available online. Access options are: - consulting the copy from Archives in our reading room in person - https://asc.ucalgary.ca/visiting/ - borrowing a circulating copy from the Library catalogue – https://ucalgary.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?vid=01UCALG_INST:UCALGARY&lang=en | |
| dc.format.extent | xiii, 306 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm. | en |
| dc.identifier | 82481542 | en |
| dc.identifier.citation | Nelson, R. W. (1970). Some aspects of the breeding behaviour of Peregrine falcons on Langara Island, B.C. (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/19920 | en_US |
| dc.identifier.doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/19920 | |
| dc.identifier.lcc | QL 696 A2 N44 1970 | en |
| dc.identifier.other | 82481542 | en |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/1880/13156 | |
| dc.language.iso | eng | |
| dc.publisher.institution | University of Calgary | en |
| dc.publisher.place | Calgary | en |
| dc.rights | University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. | |
| dc.subject.lcc | QL 696 A2 N44 1970 | en |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Peregrine falcon | |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Birds - Behavior | |
| dc.title | Some aspects of the breeding behaviour of Peregrine falcons on Langara Island, B.C. | |
| dc.type | master thesis | |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Biology | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | University of Calgary | |
| thesis.degree.name | Master of Science (MSc) | |
| ucalgary.thesis.accession | Theses Collection 58.002:Box 62 82481542 | |
| ucalgary.thesis.notes | PL | en |
| ucalgary.thesis.uarcrelease | no | en |