ShuiEro ... from vague up to sometimes ;) crystal clear drop by drop ...

We studied the influence of early rearing experience on the reproductive success of Cockatiels (Nymphicus hollandicus) by force-pairing somatically mature birds that had been either hand-reared ( H ) or parent-reared ( P ) from hatch to 6 weeks of age. Pairs of H-males and H-females, H-males and P-females, P-males and P-females, or P-males and H-females were encouraged to breed by providing nest-boxes and exposing pairs to a sexually stimulatory environment. Hand-rearing produced gender-specific effects that greatly affected reproductive success. Pairs containing H-females were more likely to lay eggs and laid more eggs than pairs with P-females but often laid them on the cage floor rather than in nest-boxes, reducing hatching success. Pairs containing H-males were less likely than pairs with P-males to produce fertile eggs, inspect nest-boxes, or lay eggs in nest-boxes. Fledging occurred only in pairs containing P-males. Early rearing experience is important for males to learn characteristics of the opposite sex, and for males and females to learn characteristics of nest-sites.

Bemerkenswert an den Ergebnissen dieser Arbeit ist, dass bei Nymphensittichen das Höhlenbrüten offenbar nicht gen. exakt vorgegeben ist, sondern der Nistort vom freien Boden bis zu Höhlen unterschiedlichsten Typs von den Eltern übernommen wird. Sie bringen dort also eine große Flexibilität, Verhaltensadaptibilität über individuelles Lernen von verfügbaren erfolgreichen Nistorten mit.