Social and Spatial Reintegration Success of New Caledonian Crows (Corvus moneduloides) Released after Aviary Confinement

Abstract

ABSTRACT Wild birds are sometimes brought into captivity in order to conduct more controlled experiments, then released. Follow up work investigating how successful these birds are at reintegrating into their original habitats are rare. Here, I investigate the reintegration success of 13 New Caledonian Crows (Corvus moneduloides) who spent from 4–210 days in a large outdoor aviary in 2012 and 2014, then were released at their capture site. Five of the crows were monitored by telemetry for 2 weeks after their release in November 2014. In March and April 2015, 12 of the 13 crows were recorded at feeding sites where they were captured. The released crows showed a high degree of site fidelity and appeared to rapidly reintegrate with resident crows in the area. There were two cases of released crows successfully breeding. Long-term stay in captivity appears to have minimal impact on the ability of sub-adult and adult crows to re-establish their wild lifestyles, but juvenile crows <1 year old may find it more d...