Nuthatch uses tool in London park
Abstract
Here, we report an observation of a Eurasian nuthatch Sitta europaea foraging with a tool in a public park in Greater London, UK. This record is of significance, as it provides the first photographic evidence (to our knowledge) of nuthatch tool use, reveals an unusually wide phylogenetic and geographic distribution of tool behaviour within the Sittidae, and constitutes a rare example of animal tool use in an urban environment. To improve our understanding of nuthatch tool behaviour, we are building a global database of relevant anecdotal field observations—submissions are most welcome.
Citation
Rutz , C & Deans , S 2018 , ' Nuthatch uses tool in London park ' , Ethology , vol. 124 , no. 2 , pp. 135-138 . https://doi.org/10.1111/eth.12714
Publication
Ethology
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0179-1613Type
Journal article
Rights
© 2018, Blackwell Verlag GmbH. This work has been made available online in accordance with the publisher’s policies. This is the author created, accepted version manuscript following peer review and may differ slightly from the final published version. The final published version of this work is available at https://doi.org/10.1111/eth.12714
Description
Funding: manuscript preparation was supported by BBSRC grant BB/G023913/2 (C.R).Collections
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