Application of Mimicry Theory to Bird Damage Control

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Abstract
Captive house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) were exposed to artificial mimetic systems created by treating seeds with the chemical repellent methiocarb. Treated seeds were "models", and untreated seeds were their visually identical "mimics". In two separate experiments, with models and mimics mixed together, average seed consumption was reduced about 60% at the 0.25 model frequency and 79% at the 0.50 frequency. No further significant reduction in consumption occurred at higher frequencies. With models and mimics distributed in discrete clumps, the mean reduction in consumption was about 60% at the 0.50 model frequency. These results are largely consistent with previous theoretical predictions and suggest that partial treatment of a crop with a chemical repellent to reduce bird damage may be just as effective as total treatment.