Japanese tits discriminate between diurnal and nocturnal raptor predators

Abstract Diurnal and nocturnal raptors exhibit significant differences in foraging times and predatory behavior, yet little is known about their nesting defense responses of parent birds to these raptors during the breeding season. This study focuses on the Japanese tits Parus minor using taxidermic experiments to assess whether they discriminate between sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus and Indian scops owl Otus bakkamoena. Our results show that the nesting defense behavior of Japanese tits towards sparrowhawks is significantly lower than that towards 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.