6. Studies on BehaviourJournal of Animal Ecology, Vol. 23, No. 1 (May, 1954), pp. 207-209Published by: British Ecological SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1678 .

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Migration etc. 207

Williamson, K. (1953). The nature of spring and autumn passage migration through Britain. Fair Isle Bird Obs. Bull. 10, 3-10.

An exposition of the view that passage migration through the British Isles is due largely to the accident of 'drift'.

Williamson, K. (1953). Migration into Britain from the north-west, autumn 1952. Scot. Nat. 65, 65-94.

An important paper applying the recently revived concept of migrational drift to the autumn bird migration into Britain in 1952 from Iceland and Greenland. It is suggested that this migration is simply a down-wind drift.

6. STUDIES ON BEHAVIOUR

Armstrong, E. A. (1951). The nature and function of animal mimesis. Bull. Anim. Behav. 9, 46-58.

Proposes the term mimesis to describe the reproduction by one animal of the instinctive behaviour patterns it perceives performed by another. By reference largely to birds, but also to some mammals, distinguishes this from imitation and analyses the psychological implications of the phenomenon with both inter- and intra-specific releasers. Suggests that mimesis may be an important factor in causing the 'social increment' effect among colonial-nesting birds.

Brian, M. V. (1952). Interaction between ant colonies at an artificial nest site. Ent. Mon. Mag. 88, 84-88.

When colonies of Myrmica scabrinodis and M. rubra met under a piece of glass placed on a turf bank and covered by a slate, both at first retreated, but as they became more populous owing to the production of sexuals, the former encroached on the territory of the latter. Workers of scabrinodis, but not rubra, were present there throughout the winter and reoccupied the whole site in spring; this species is also more tenacious during drought. The colony was later driven out by a stronger one of the same species. Nest structures of scabrinodis were more elaborate, stronger and more cellular than those of rubra.

Cloudsley-Thompson, J. L. (1952). Studies in diurnal rhythms. II. Changes in the physio- logical responses of the woodlouse Oniscus asellus to environmental stimuli. 7. Exp. Biol. 29, 295-303.

The diurnal locomotory rhythm, partly endogenous but primarily controlled by light and darkness, is demonstrated. The inter-relations of humidity, carbon dioxide, light and acclimatization are con- sidered. These results are related to the natural behaviour of the animal.

Cloudsley-Thompson, J. L. (1953). The significance of fluctuating temperatures on the physiology and ecology of insects. Entomologist, 86, 183-189.

The average temperature does not give a good measure of the effect of weather conditions on develop- ment, since the thermal optimum in fluctuating temperature may differ from the constant temperature optimum. Fluctuating temperatures are normal for many species; they show differing abilities to with- stand constant temperature.

Frisch, K. v. (1951). Recent advances in the study of the orientation of the honeybee, being a translation of extracts from three recent papers. Bull. Anim. Behav. 9, 1-33.

Translations by Dr D. Ilse of recent papers in Die Naturwissenschaften 1, 12-23, 2, 38-43, 5, 142-48 (1948) and Experientia 6, 210-221 (1950), the last in summary form only. The first paper 'Solved and unsolved problems of bee language' demonstrates and analyses the methods used in communicating information about the location of food supplies by the dancing patterns of foragers on return to the hive. The patterns adopted give information about direction and distance (as measured by flying effort, and taking account therefore of wind direction and force). Direction is indicated in relation to the sun, whether this be obscured or no, and is recorded regardless of enforced flight deviations. Misdirection becomes frequent when light is admitted to the hive during observation of dances on a vertical surface; and this is analysed in the second paper entitled 'The polarization of light from the sky as an orientating factor in the dances of the honeybee', being found to be due to the bees' ability to detect the position of

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208 Abstracts the sun when only a small section of blue sky is visible to them. In the dark hive, dancing on a vertical comb-face, the bee transposes direction of the sun towards the direction of the pull of gravity. On admitting light a compromise is recorded between this and the position of the sun as ascertained then from the visible sky. By the use of polarizing screens it is demonstrated that the bee is able to use the polarization of sunlight as observed in the sky as a means of orientation. This is further analysed in the third paper 'The sun as a compass in the life of honeybees', where it is shown experimentally that the been can analyse the polarization of the sky's light.

Griffin, 0. G. (1952). Bird navigation, with an appendix by Ernst Mayr on German experi- ments on the orientation of migrating birds. Biol. Rev. 27, 359-400.

Theories based on Coriolis effect, earth's magnetic field and perception of infra-red radiation are dis- counted and a theory combining random searching with the recognition of familiar landmarks is shown to account for the observed facts. An addendum reports evidence for orientation based on the sun's position and describes experiments in which homing birds transplanted laterally across Europe during the navigation period continued to travel along a route parallel to the original one.

Matthews, G. V. T. (1953). Sun navigation in homing pigeons. J. Exp. Biol. 30, 243-267.

True navigation (i.e. not due to random search for landmarks) only occurs in sunny conditions; when the sky is overcast the birds scatter at random. The sun navigation hypothesis is shown to be consistent with observations. The errors exhibited by experimental animals are analysed (a) under normal condi- tions, (b) after release has been delayed so that seasonal changes of the sun's altitude have occurred, and (c) after treatment to desynchronize any internal 'chronometer'. The results point to the measurement of longitude on a time basis and latitude by the sun's altitude. Further critical experiments are discussed.

Matthews, G. V. T. (1953). The orientation of untrained pigeons: a dichotomy in the homing process. J. Exp. Biol. 30, 268-276.

The ability to orientate is innate, but that of homing is ill-developed in young birds and varies with experience. Some of the conflicting results in the literature are due to lack of appreciation of this.

Matthews, G. V. T. (1953). Navigation in the Manx Shearwater. 7. Exp. Biol. 30, 370-396.

This paper provides the first conclusive evidence for true homing in a wild species. Homing success was dependent upon sunny conditions. The evidence for a sun-navigation hypothesis is strong and experiments are suggested for obtaining details of the mechanism employed.

Popham, E. J. (1952). Observations on the speed of flight of four species of Corixidae (Hem.). Ent. Mon. Mag. 88, 162.

Corixa punctata, C. distincta, C. praeusta and C. nigrolineata flew at speeds of 1-46, 1-28, 1.37 and 1-31 metres per second on a windless day at 20-25O C. Observations on orientation to light and effect of wind are included.

Popham, E. J. (1952). Observations on the behaviour of aquatic insects during the drying up of a small moorland pond. Ent. Mon. Mag. 88, 180-181.

In a mass migration of the Hemiptera and Coleoptera inhabiting a pond which had nearly dried up. Corixids and Coleoptera flew from the surface of the water or the surrounding land, but Notonecta glauca mostly flew from the pond surface. Most Corixa nigrolineata, Acilius sulcatus and Gyrinus nutator flew towards the sun. Most insects that flew from the pond surface fell back or landed on the edge, owing to a turning reflex in response to the reflected light. Some 100-150 Corixids were left in the pond.

Popham, E. J. (1953). The influence of temperature and intensity of illumination upon the phototactic responses of Corixidae (Hem.). Ent. Mon. Mag. 89, 1-2.

In an experiment with Corixa linnei in an aquarium illuminated from one side, the proportion showing positive phototaxis increased with temperature of the water and the intensity of illumination.

Popham, E. J. (1953). Measurements of the swimming speeds of some of the commoner species of Corixa (Hem., Corixidae). Ent. Mon. Mag. 89, 3.

The horizontal velocity of four Corixids in an aquarium increased with the temperature up to 22 5?C. The number of leg beats per minute also increased, but the number of leg strokes per unit distance showed a considerable decrease.

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Behaviour 209 Ribbands, C. R., Kalmus, H. & Nixon, H. L. (1952). New evidence of communication in

the honeybee colony. Nature, Lond. 170, 438-440.

Current views and recent work are discussed. New data are made available and it is suggested that honeybees possess a very delicate capacity for distinguishing between different mixtures of 'odours'; this facilitating social coherence and defence of the community.

Thorpe, W. H. (1951). The definition of some terms used in animal behaviour studies. Bull. Anim. Behav. 9, 34-40.

Records the conclusions and disagreements of a conference at Cambridge in July 1949, arranged jointly by the Society for Experimental Biology and the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Definitions are summarized under the headings of the more elementary behaviour pattems, the concept of instinct and that of leaming.

Wilkinson, D. H. (1953). The random element in bird 'navigation'. 7. Exp. Biol. 29, 532-560.

This paper concems wild untrained birds. By calculating a relation between probability of return and distances from home using different random search hypotheses, results are obtained which, when compared with experimental results of Griffin and Riipell, show that random search cannot be excluded as an explanation of the known data. The hypothesis for migratory flight involves a bias due, for example, to the sun's direction.

7. REPORTS OF ORGANIZATIONS

Fair Isle Bird Observatory Trust (1953). Annual Report, 1952. Bulletins Nos. 10-12. (17 India Street, Edinburgh; 21s. per annum.)

The annual report contains a summary of work done at the observatory on Fair Isle (Shetland) in 1952, including trapping and ringing birds, the collection of ectoparasites, and the study of the biology of the breeding birds. The Bulletins contain a great many notes and papers on bird migration in various parts of Scotland and Ireland, and on ectoparasites collected at Fair Isle.

Watt, G. (1953). Ornithological report on the Farne Islands for 1952. Trans. Nat. Hist. Soc. Northumb. 10, 81-100.

This report was formerly published privately by the Farne Islands Local Committee of the National Trust. The breeding season was, on the whole, good and damage done by gulls was reduced. Nesting eiders have increased in numbers. Eight new species are added to the systematic list of birds recorded for the islands.

Lundy Field Society (1953). Sixth Annual Report, 1952 (Secretary, L. A. Harvey, Univer-

sity College, Exeter, 2s. 6d.).

Includes a summary of censuses of nesting sea-birds, a report on bird migration during the year, and a note on eight species of parasite (2 Hippoboscid flies, 4 Mallophaga, 2 ticks) found on nine species of bird.

Temperley, G. W. (1953). Ornithological report for Northumberland and Durham for 1952. Trans. Nat. Hist. Soc. Northumb. 10, 101-152.

Weather condition delayed some of the earlier migrants, but the breeding season was fairly successful and broods reared were larger than in the previous year. Unusual records included a lesser grey shrike (Lanius minor), golden mountain thrush (Turdus dauma) and Terek sandpiper (Xenus cinerea).

J. Anim. Ecol. 23 14

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