Female begging calls reflect nutritional need of nestlings in the hen harrier Circus cyaneus

• Published in: BMC Evolutionary Biology
• Main Authors: Redpath, Steve, Thompson, Alex, Amar, Arjun
• Other Authors: University of Aberdeen.Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen.Environment and Food Security
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: Begging behaviour; Nestlings; Provisioning behaviour; Breeder need; Offspring need; Raptors; Hen harrier; Sexual conflict; QH301 Biology; QH301; Circus cyaneus
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2164/9197; https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-017-0986-z

Acknowledgements We thank the Buccleuch Estates for allowing us to work on their estate and L. Bellini, K. Bouwmann, G. Buchanan, S. Campbell, C. Cronin, E. Donnelly, F. Leckie, C. Gall, C. Hill, P. Lindley, K. Lock, M. Mainwairing, J. Martinez, R. May, D. Parish, A. Smith, A. Tharme and A. Walton for field assistance. The study was funded by Buccleuch Estates, Westerhall Estates, The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, The Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and Scottish Natural Heritage. S.R. is grateful for the King Carl XVI Gustaf guest professorship that allowed him to write this paper. None of the authors have any competing interests. We are grateful for 3 anonymous referees for their excellent, constructive comments via Peerage of Science. Funding Research funded by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust and the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. Peer reviewed