PRIOR RESIDENCE HAS A GRADUAL INFLUENCE ON DOMINANCE IN CAPTIVE WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS

To investigate the influence of prior residence on dominance in captive white-throated sparrows, Zonotrichia albicollis, 28 groups of six birds each were studied in outdoor aviaries during winter. After periods of prior residence ranging from 2 to 45 days, the three highest-ranking birds in each of two aviaries were placed together in one of the aviaries and the three lowest-ranking birds from each aviary were placed together in the other aviary. The influence of prior residence increased gradually over at least 2 weeks to an asymptote at which individuals with the advantage of prior residence dominated newcomers in approximately 90% of the cases. In the initial groupings of unfamiliar birds, when only intrinsic features of individuals influenced dominance, only size (as indicated by wing length) correlated with dominance. The gradual increase in dominance of residents over newcomers suggests that prior residence is not used for conventional settlement of disputes. This influence of prior residence on dominance provides a mechanism for the tendency of an individual white-throated sparrow in the field to dominate more opponents at the centre of its range than at the edge. © 1993 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. All rights reserved.