Summary

This episode—which is Number 48—is about the “Pecking Order” in birds. Or, to use the more technical term, dominance hierarchy.

Our focus will be on dominance hierarchies that we see among birds within a single species. White-crowned Sparrows beating up on other White-crowned Sparrows, for example, as opposed to White-crowned Sparrows beating up on another species, like Lincoln’s Sparrow. The latter would be an example of interspecies dominance. But today, we’re talking about intraspecies dominance. Meaning within species.

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Links of Interest

• Pukeko video
• Pukeko fighting video

Research Citations

• Large size in an island-dwelling bird: intraspecific competition and the Dominance Hypothesis
• A bare-part ornament is a stronger predictor of dominance than plumage ornamentation in the cooperatively breeding Australian Swamphen
• Individual attributes and self-organizational processes affect dominance network structure in pukeko
• Manipulating badges of status only fools strangers

Photos of Some Species Mentioned

Attributions

• White-throated Sparrow sounds (Xeno Canto recordings XC77875)

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