Japanese tits discriminate between Eurasian sparrowhawks Accipiter nisus and Indian scops owls Otus bakkamoena

Abstract Diurnal and nocturnal raptors exhibit significant differences in foraging times and predatory behavior, yet little is known about the nesting defense responses of parent birds to these raptors during the breeding season. We observed the behavioral response of Japanese tits Parus minor to taxidermy dummies of Eurasian sparrowhawks Accipiter nisus and Indian scops owls Otus bakkamoena . Our results show that the nest defense intensity of Japanese tits against sparrowhawks is significantly lower than that against owls. Specifically, Japanese tits predominantly engage in distant observation behavior when encountering sparrowhawks, whereas they display more aggressive behavior toward owls. Overall, we propose that Japanese tits discriminate between sparrowhawks and owls, with the latter posing a lesser threat to adult birds.