The first paper, Klump et al. (1986) “The Hearing of an Avian Predator and its Avian Prey”, studied the hearing capabilities of a predatory bird species, the Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis), as well as its prey species, the Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus). The authors used acoustic playback experiments to measure both predator and prey response to different artificial calls created in laboratory conditions. They then compared responses between predators and their prey in order to evaluate how auditory cues might influence their hunting behavior.
Critical summaries
They found that while the goshawks were able to detect the presence of tree sparrows at greater distances than previously expected, they were not necessarily more successful hunters when using this method; rather it is likely that visual cues are still more important for successful predation. Additionally, they discovered that even though tree sparrows can detect potential predators from up to 40 m away with their acute hearing abilities – they did not respond differently when presented with either low or high frequency stimuli which indicates some level of adaptation or habituation on their part.
The second paper by Popple & Evans (2007) titled “Habituation-like Responses by European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) to Artificial Playback Stimuli” further explored the ideas discussed in Klump et al.’s paper by investigating whether or not European Starlings could become habituated to playback stimuli over time through conditioning experiments conducted over a 3 week period. Results showed that starlings had increased thresholds for responding after being exposed multiple times to various types of auditory cue – indicating some form of habituation effect had occurred due these repeated exposures.
Overall these two papers provide valuable insight into how avian species use auditory cues for detecting potential threats within their surrounding environment as well as how certain birds may become less sensitive over time if repeatedly exposed similar sounds – potentially leading them into dangerous situations if they don’t take proper cautionary measures!