Agonistic experience and individual recognition in male Quelea quelea

Male Quelea were moved between groups to assess whether experience of winning or losing in new groups was correlated with their success in competition over food when they were returned to their original groups. No such effect was found. However, differences in time spent feeding after deprivation and in aggressive behaviour were found between groups depending on whether they were made up from high- or low-ranking individuals. In paired encounters there was no evidence that birds threatened unfamiliar individuals more than familiar ones or that they avoided sitting next to them more than familiar birds. This suggests that individual recognition, if it exists at all in these groups, is not important in their agonistic relationships. The rank birds occupied was correlated with beak colour, a probable measure of androgen levels, and with the amount of food consumed after deprivation. The latter result suggests that the same period of deprivation may affect some individuals more than others and this in turn may lead them to compete more for food.