Tit alarm calls trigger anti-predator behavior in free-range domestic chickens

Abstract

Interspecific call transmission is a common information-gathering behavior in birds. Unlike centralized large-scale chicken farming in urban areas, domestic chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) in remote mountainous areas of China are often raised free-range by individual households. Free-range domestic chickens are exposed to many natural predators and can increase their chances of survival if they can respond to heterospecific alarm signals. To this end, we observed free-ranging domestic chickens in Miao village communities around Leishan County, Guizhou, southwestern China, and we performed comparisons on the behavioral responses of these chickens to the territorial song and alarm calls of wild Japanese tits (Parus minor). Our findings showed that the chickens were more vigilant to Japanese tit alarm calls than to territorial songs and exhibited significant anti-predator behaviors such as vigilance and runaway. Furthermore, there was significant difference in behavioral response to the two different alarm calls, with greater vigilance to tit alarm calls for Siberian chipmunks (Tamias sibiricus) than for sparrowhawks (Accipiter nisus). This suggests that domestic chickens can differentiate between territorial songs and alarm calls of wild Japanese tits, and there is a behavioral difference in the two types of alarm calls of Japanese tits.