PARENT-OFFSPRING RECOGNITION IN BANK SWALLOWS (RIPARIA-RIPARIA) .1. NATURAL-HISTORY

A field study of the highly colonial bank swallow (R. riparia) revealed several contexts in which parent-offspring recognition occurs. Parents find their young away from the bank when the young make spontaneous flights from the burrow, and also when the young, after such flights, have returned to incorrect burrows. The resident adult in the latter situation also shows recognition, by evicting alien chicks. Resident adults also make mistakes and feed alien chicks. An analysis of these mistakes revealed that the majority of mistakes are made by the male parent, and mistakes generally do not exceed 0.5% of the parent''s total feeding bouts. Parents also feed young in a creche away from the bank, both before and after the burrow is vacated.