During the first few weeks of life, wader chicks rely upon their parents to take them to good feeding spots and to look out for potential predators. These youngsters will need to come when called and to freeze or hide when a crow flies over or a fox is on the prowl. A wader chick communicates with its parents too, so that they know where it is and can be alert to distress, but are there more subtle messages being communicated and why do male and female chicks produce discernibly different calls?
Kristal Kostoglou has been listening to the chicks of Red-capped Plovers and Southern Masked Lapwings in Australia and analysing recordings of their calls. Her research is presented in a 2022 paper in Ibis.
Handling waders
Anyone who studies breeding waders will be aware that parents get very anxious if a…
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