Abstract
Captive starlings ( Sturnus vulgaris) and house sparrows ( Passer domesticus) were given choices between untreated turkey crumbs, and similar food treated with one of five chemical repellents (quinine sulphate, methiocarb, dinol sulphite, TS-69 and tannic acid), with or without the addition of a blue dye. All birds avoided the treated food to about the same extent, although starlings showed greater aversion to tannic acid when it was coloured. Sparrows developed aversions to tannic acid and TS-69 more quickly if the food was coloured than if it were not. Birds of both species avoided the blue-colured food even when it was not paired with a repellent; this prevented measurements of the persistence of colour aversions once the repellents were omitted. The implications of these results are discussed in relation to the use of added colour cues to enhance the effects of chemical repellents to protect crops from bird pests.
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