Public information affects foraging patch use by mixed‐species flocks of tits in high‐risk, open environments

Abstract

Social cues can improve estimates of foraging site predation risk beyond that of individual assessment alone, as they provide current, accurate information, and the importance of these cues may be greater in higher risk environments. We assessed the foraging behaviour of mixed‐species flocks of tits in both high‐risk, open environments and lower risk, closed environments in winter by measuring foraging intensity on standardized feeders. Responses to acoustic playback of bird calls differed in open and closed sites, suggesting that reliance on social cues is dependent on the habitat. Audible social cues from known species, and to a lesser extent unfamiliar calls at a similar pitch, were most important in evaluating safety in open, riskier sites, with more seeds eaten when playback was present at open‐site feeders compared with silent controls, but no difference was observed between treatments in closed environments.