Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Predator-Prey Interactions02:39

Predator-Prey Interactions

Predators consume prey for energy. Predators that acquire prey and prey that avoid predation both increase their chances of survival and reproduction (i.e., fitness). Routine predator-prey interactions elicit mutual adaptations that improve predator offenses, such as claws, teeth, and speed, as well as prey defenses, including crypsis, aposematism, and mimicry. Thus, predator-prey interactions resemble an evolutionary arms race.
Parental Care00:55

Parental Care

Many animals exhibit parental care behavior, including feeding, grooming, and protecting young offspring. Parental care is universal in mammals and birds, which often have young that are born relatively helpless. Several species of insects and fish, as well as some amphibians, also care for their young.
Fixed Action Patterns01:06

Fixed Action Patterns

A fixed action pattern (FAP) is a specific, hard-wired sequence of behaviors that occurs in response to an external stimulus, called a sign stimulus. The behavior is “fixed” because it is essentially unchangeable—proceeding similarly across individuals of a species every time it occurs.
Optimal Foraging00:48

Optimal Foraging

How animals obtain and eat their food is called foraging behavior. Foraging can include searching for plants and hunting for prey and depends on the species and environment.
Instinctive Drift01:05

Instinctive Drift

Instinctive drift refers to the tendency of animals to revert to their innate behaviors despite repeated reinforcement. Breland and Breland demonstrated this concept in an experiment with a raccoon. The raccoon was trained to pick up two coins and place them in a container in exchange for food. Initially, the raccoon learned to associate the coins with food, making them a conditioned stimulus or a substitute for food. However, over time, the raccoon became less willing to put the coins into the...
Gastrulation01:56

Gastrulation

Gastrulation establishes the three primary tissues of an embryo: the ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm. This developmental process relies on a series of intricate cellular movements, which in humans transforms a flat, “bilaminar disc” composed of two cell sheets into a three-tiered structure. In the resulting embryo, the endoderm serves as the bottom layer, and stacked directly above it is the intermediate mesoderm, and then the uppermost ectoderm. Respectively, these tissue strata will form...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Soil Microbial Diversity and Network Organization Respond to Land Use and Agricultural Inputs Worldwide.

Global change biology·2026
Same author

Environmental factors associated with nesting habits and age shape the composition and connection between skin and uropygial gland microbiomes of birds.

The Journal of animal ecology·2026
Same author

Effects of Colostrum Source, Dose and Processing on <i>In Vitro</i> Rumen Fermentation in Weaned Lambs.

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI·2026
Same author

The uropygial gland of the European hoopoe as a symbiotic organ.

Animal microbiome·2026
Same author

DNA Barcode Reference Library for European Ants: A Roadmap for Phylogeography and Species Discovery.

Molecular ecology resources·2026
Same author

Improved prognostic stratification with the FIGO 2023 endometrial cancer staging system. A multicenter Spanish cohort study.

International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics·2026
Same journal

Modeling and analysis of forward and inverse kinematics for a flexible Stewart platform.

PloS one·2026
Same journal

Barriers and facilitators to healthcare utilization amongst people living with sickle cell disease in the United States: A scoping review.

PloS one·2026
Same journal

Enhancing data completeness in time series: Imputation strategies for missing data using significant periodically correlated components.

PloS one·2026
Same journal

Key targets and mechanisms by which gut microbiota-derived metabolites regulate Alzheimer's disease through the immune - inflammatory pathway: Based on network pharmacology and molecular docking.

PloS one·2026
Same journal

Grid-tied Transformer-less Boost Switched Capacitor Topology (TLBSCT) for PV applications.

PloS one·2026
Same journal

The load-velocity profiles and exercise-specific velocity zones for seven commonly used weightlifting exercises.

PloS one·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 9, 2026

Peering into the Dynamics of Social Interactions: Measuring Play Fighting in Rats
15:01

Peering into the Dynamics of Social Interactions: Measuring Play Fighting in Rats

Published on: January 18, 2013

Armed rollers: does nestling's vomit function as a defence against predators?

Deseada Parejo1, Jesús M Avilés, Aránzazu Peña

  • 1Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (EEZA-CSIC), Ctra. de Sacramento s/n, La Cañada de San Urbano, Almería, Spain. parejo@eeza.csic.es

Plos One
|July 23, 2013
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Eurasian roller nestlings expel a vomit containing plant-derived deterrent chemicals when threatened. This chemical defense, acquired from grasshopper prey, deters predators, demonstrating a unique vertebrate defense mechanism.

More Related Videos

Nest Building Behavior as an Early Indicator of Behavioral Deficits in Mice
06:11

Nest Building Behavior as an Early Indicator of Behavioral Deficits in Mice

Published on: October 19, 2019

Probing the Limits of Egg Recognition Using Egg Rejection Experiments Along Phenotypic Gradients
07:34

Probing the Limits of Egg Recognition Using Egg Rejection Experiments Along Phenotypic Gradients

Published on: August 22, 2018

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 9, 2026

Peering into the Dynamics of Social Interactions: Measuring Play Fighting in Rats
15:01

Peering into the Dynamics of Social Interactions: Measuring Play Fighting in Rats

Published on: January 18, 2013

Nest Building Behavior as an Early Indicator of Behavioral Deficits in Mice
06:11

Nest Building Behavior as an Early Indicator of Behavioral Deficits in Mice

Published on: October 19, 2019

Probing the Limits of Egg Recognition Using Egg Rejection Experiments Along Phenotypic Gradients
07:34

Probing the Limits of Egg Recognition Using Egg Rejection Experiments Along Phenotypic Gradients

Published on: August 22, 2018

Area of Science:

  • Zoology
  • Chemical Ecology
  • Animal Behavior

Background:

  • Chemical defenses are common in animals but rarely documented in birds.
  • The Eurasian roller (Coracias garrulus) nestling's expulsion of orange liquid when disturbed suggests a potential defense mechanism.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if the Eurasian roller nestling's vomit serves as a chemical defense against predators.
  • To analyze the origin and composition of the vomit and its deterrent effect.

Main Methods:

  • Studied the diet of Eurasian roller nestlings and the origin of their vomit.
  • Analyzed the chemical composition of the vomit.
  • Assessed the deterrent effect of the vomit on a generalist mammal predator (dogs).

Main Results:

  • Vomiting in nestlings was triggered by handling and dependent on food consumption.
  • The vomit contained hydroxycinnamic and hydroxybenzoic acids, chemicals sequestered by grasshoppers from plants.
  • The nestling vomit demonstrated a deterrent effect, making prey distasteful to dogs.

Conclusions:

  • The Eurasian roller nestling's vomit contains plant-derived chemicals sequestered from prey (grasshoppers).
  • This vomit acts as a chemical defense, deterring predators and representing a novel vertebrate defense strategy.