Is thier exit strategy more complex than can be envisioned by an individual member of the group? And is the signaling really all that sophisticated, or does it just lead to sophisticated behavior?
The sentries have more than just a single "warning call", at least to my ear. Whether by signal or flocking behavior, they have degrees of urgency and various responses: group walk to safety, group run, fly up and away, scatter… And as I have witnessed only with the hawk, "freeze and don’t make a sound"
The adult sentries perch at high points along the group periphery. The little ones on the ground do not see the threat or the direction of the threat in many cases, so I assume they react to audible signals and flock behavior.
my those are young for so late in the summer…either you guys had a wet spring or they had multiple hatches?
Here’s a couple of my backyard buddies going at it!
Lots of different chirps and whistles. When a big bird flys over my buds, they freeze to the point you can walk right up to, reach out and almost touch them,,,flush! 🙂
Chickens have different alarm calls for aerial vs. terrestrial predators. Somebody did an experiment recording them and playing them back to see what sort of behavior they triggered in isolation.
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