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The matching law applies to wagtails' foraging in the wild
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
|January 1, 1986
Abstract:
Field data concerning the time budgets and foraging success of pied wagtails (Motacilla alba yarrelli, Gould) are reanalyzed. It is found that the data are well described by the generalized matching law, with a marked bias towards spending time on the territory. In this case matching is not the result of maximizing reward rate, but it remains possible that it results from an allocation of time that maximizes survival.
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