Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Temporal variation in the behaviour of a cooperatively breeding bird, Jungle Babbler (Argya striata)

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Tropical Ecology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Time is an important and limited resource that can drive the trade-off between various essential activities in the lives of animals. Group-living social birds are likely to be constrained for time as they need to perform individual behaviours required for sustenance but also participate in group activities. They must, therefore, partition the available time between these activities which may vary considerably with environmental and ecological conditions, making studies on time-activity budgets of social animals essential in understanding the evolution of sociality. We examined the time-activity budget of a cooperative passerine, Jungle Babbler (Argya striata) and temporal variation in their behaviours. A repertoire of 13 behaviours was recorded of which 12 behaviours that occur throughout the year were examined further in detail. This included individual behaviours such as foraging, grooming, rest, shower and group behaviours such as allogrooming, movement, play, sentinel, mobbing and inter-group fight. Our results indicate that most of the time (about 70%) was spent performing individual behaviours and the remaining time (about 30%) was allocated to social behaviours. We also found almost all behaviours varied across diel and seasonal scales with respect to the proportion of time spent performing them. This highlights the impact of environmental factors on how animals partition their time to perform various activities. Our study also lays the foundation for future studies examining the role of ecological factors such as habitat type and predation pressure in driving these patterns of behaviour in Jungle Babblers.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

The datasets generated are available as supplementary material.

References

  • Altmann J (1974) Observational study of behavior: sampling methods. Behaviour 49(3):227–266

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Altmann J, Muruthi P (1988) Differences in daily life between semiprovisioned and wild-feeding baboons. Am J Primatol 15(3):213–221

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Andrews MI, Naik M (1970) The biology of the Jungle babbler. Pavo 8:1–34

    Google Scholar 

  • Back JP, Suzin A, Aguiar LM (2019) Activity budget and social behavior of Urban capuchin monkeys, Sapajus sp. (Primates: Cebidae). Zoologia 36:1

    Google Scholar 

  • Banerjee A, Bhadra A (2021) Time-activity budget of urban-adapted free-ranging dogs. Acta Ethol 25:1–10

    Google Scholar 

  • Bednekoff PA, Houston AI (1994) Avian daily foraging patterns: effects of digestive constraints and variability. Evol Ecol 8(1):36–52

    Google Scholar 

  • Bensizerara D, Chenchouni H (2019) Are diurnal time-budgets and activity patterns density-dependent in the Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna) wintering in Algeria? An analysis across multiple temporal scales. Avian Res 10(1):1–5

    Google Scholar 

  • Blanchet S, Loot G, Bernatchez L, Dodson JJ (2008) The effects of abiotic factors and intraspecific versus interspecific competition on the diel activity patterns of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) fry. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 65(8):1545–1553

    Google Scholar 

  • Boccia ML, Rockwood B, Novak MA (1982) The influence of behavioral context and social characteristics on the physical aspects of social grooming in rhesus monkeys. Int J Primatol 3(1):91–108

    Google Scholar 

  • Cai T, Cibois A, Alström P, Moyle RG, Kennedy JD, Shao S, Zhang R, Irestedt M, Ericson PG, Gelang M, Qu Y (2019) Near-complete phylogeny and taxonomic revision of the world’s babblers (Aves: Passeriformes). Mol Phylogenet Evol 130:346–356

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Capellini I, Preston BT, McNamara P, Barton RA, Nunn CL (2010) Ecological constraints on mammalian sleep architecture. Evol Sleep Phylogenet Funct Perspect 12–33

  • Clayton DH, Cotgreave P (1994) Comparative analysis of time spent grooming by birds in relation to parasite load. Behaviour 131(3):171–187

    Google Scholar 

  • Cox JA (2012) Social grooming in the Brown-headed Nuthatch may have expanded functions. Southeast Nat 1(4):771–774

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunbar RI (1991) Functional significance of social grooming in primates. Folia Primatol 57(3):121–131

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunbar RI (1992) Time: a hidden constraint on the behavioural ecology of baboons. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 31(1):35–49

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunbar RI, Dunbar P (1988) Maternal time budgets of Gelada baboons. Anim Behav 36(4):970–980

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunbar RI, Korstjens AH, Lehmann J (2009) Time as an ecological constraint. Biol Rev 84(3):413–429

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Enright JT (1970) Ecological aspects of endogenous rhythmicity. Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst 1(1):221–238

    Google Scholar 

  • Gadagkar R, Joshi NV (1983) Quantitative ethology of social wasps: time-activity budgets and caste differentiation in Ropalidia marginate (Lep.) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Anim Behav 31:26–31

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaston AJ (1977) Social behaviour within groups of Jungle babblers (Turdoides striatus). Anim Behav 25:828–848

    Google Scholar 

  • Halle S, Stenseth NC (2000) Activity patterns in small mammals: an ecological approach. Springer Science and & Business Media

    Google Scholar 

  • Herbers JM (1981) Time resources and laziness in animals. Oecologia 49(2):252–262

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hollén LI, Bell MB, Radford AN (2008) Cooperative sentinel calling? Foragers gain increased biomass intake. Curr Biol 18(8):576–579

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ikeda T, Uchida K, Matsuura Y, Takahashi H, Yoshida T, Kaji K, Koizumi I (2016) Seasonal and diel activity patterns of eight sympatric mammals in northern Japan revealed by an intensive camera-trap survey. PLoS ONE 11(10):163–602

    Google Scholar 

  • Isbell LA, Young TP (1993) Social and ecological influences on activity budgets of vervet monkeys, and their implications for group living. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 32(6):377–385

    Google Scholar 

  • Kottek M, Grieser J, Beck C, Rudolf B, Rubel F (2006) World map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification updated. Meteorol Zeit 15(3):259–263

    Google Scholar 

  • Kramer DL (2001) Foraging behavior. Evolutionary ecology: concepts and case studies. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 232–246

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewis RJ (2010) Grooming patterns in Verreaux’s sifaka. Am J Primatol 72(3):254–261

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Li Y, Huang Z, Zhou Q, Ma G, Huang C (2019) Daily activity pattern in Assamese macaques inhabiting limestone forest, southwest Guangxi, China. Glob Ecol Conserv 20:07–09

    Google Scholar 

  • Lima SL (1988) Initiation and termination of daily feeding in Dark-eyed juncos: influences of predation risk and energy reserves. Oikos 53(1):3–11

    Google Scholar 

  • Lima SL, Dill LM (1990) Behavioral decisions made under the risk of predation: a review and prospectus. Can J Zool 68(4):619–640

    Google Scholar 

  • Mahabal A, Vaidya VG (1989) Diurnal rhythms and seasonal changes in the roosting behaviour of Indian myna Acridotheres tristis (Linnaeus). Proc Anim Sci 98(3):199–209

    Google Scholar 

  • Marshall HH, Carter AJ, Rowcliffe JM, Cowlishaw G (2012) Linking social foraging behaviour with individual time budgets and emergent group-level phenomena. Anim Behav 84(6):1295–1305

    Google Scholar 

  • McGowan KJ, Woolfenden GE (1989) A sentinel system in the Florida scrub jay. Anim Behav 37:1000–1006

    Google Scholar 

  • Monterroso PPC, Alves P, Ferreras, (2014) Plasticity in circadian activity patterns of mesocarnivores in Southwestern Europe: implications for species coexistence. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 68:1403–1417

    Google Scholar 

  • Morales Picard A, Mundry R, Auersperg AM, Boeving ER, Boucherie PH, Bugnyar T, Dufour V, Emery NJ, Federspiel IG, Gajdon GK, Guéry JP (2020) Why preen others? Predictors of allopreening in parrots and corvids and comparisons to grooming in great apes. Ethology 126(2):207–228

    Google Scholar 

  • Pollard KA, Blumstein DT (2008) Time allocation and the evolution of group size. Anim Behav 76(5):1683–1699

    Google Scholar 

  • Pozis-Francois O, Zahavi A, Zahavi A (2004) Social play in Arabian babblers. Behaviour 141(4):425–450

    Google Scholar 

  • R Studio Team (2021) RStudio: integrated development environment for R. RStudio, PBC, Boston, MA URL http://www.rstudio.com/

  • Radford AN (2011) Preparing for battle? Potential intergroup conflict promotes current intragroup affiliation. Biol Lett 7(1):26–29

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rasmussen KLR (1985) Changes in the activity budgets of Yellow baboons (Papio cynocephalus) during sexual consortships. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 17(2):161–170

    Google Scholar 

  • Reyes-Arriagada R, Jiménez JE, Rozzi R (2015) Daily patterns of activity of passerine birds in a Magellanic sub-Antarctic forest at Omora Park (55 S), Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve, Chile. Polar Biol 38(3):401–411

    Google Scholar 

  • Sachs BD (1988) The development of grooming and its expression in adult animals. Ann N Y Acad Sci 525(1):1–17

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Silk JB (2007) The adaptive value of sociality in mammalian groups. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 362(1480):539–559

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Sparks J (1967) Allogrooming in primates: A review. In: Morris D (ed) Primate ethology. Weidenfeld and Nicholson, London, pp 148–175

    Google Scholar 

  • Steiger SS, Valcu M, Spoelstra K, Helm B, Wikelski M, Kempenaers B (2013) When the sun never sets: diverse activity rhythms under continuous daylight in free-living arctic-breeding birds. Proc R Soc B 280(1764):2013–1016

    Google Scholar 

  • Sunarto SMJ, Kelly K, Parakkasi HMB (2015) Cat coexistence in central Sumatra: ecological characteristics, spatial and temporal overlap, and implications for management. J Zool 296:104–115

    Google Scholar 

  • Swingland IR (1976) The influence of light intensity on the roosting times of the Rook (Corvus frugilegus). Anim Behav 24(1):154–158

    Google Scholar 

  • Troisi A, Schino G (1986) Diurnal and climatic influences on allogrooming behaviour in a captive group of Java monkeys. Anim Behav 34(5):1420–1426

    Google Scholar 

  • Tur NS, Amardeep S, Deepak M, Harpinder S, Rajneesh K, Virrat D (2011) Mapping of urban sprawl around Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar. Indian J Ecol 38(2):155–162

    Google Scholar 

  • Váczi O, Koósz B, Altbäcker V (2006) Modified ambient temperature perception affects daily activity patterns in the European ground squirrel (Spermophilus citellus). J Mamm 87(1):54–59

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Lawick-Goodall J (1968) The behaviour of free-living chimpanzees in the Gombe Stream Reserve. Anim Behav Monogr 1:161-IN12

    Google Scholar 

  • Wickler W (1985) Coordination of vigilance in bird groups: the “Watchman’s song” hypothesis. Z Tierpsychol 69:250–253

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright J, Maklakov AA, Khazin V (2001) State-dependent sentinels: an experimental study in the Arabian babbler. Proc R Soc B 268(1469):821–826

    Google Scholar 

  • Yambem SD, Chorol S, Jain M (2021) More than just babble: functional and structural complexity of vocalizations of Jungle babbler. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 75(8):1–14

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhou Q, Wei F, Huang C, Li M, Ren B, Luo B (2007) Seasonal variation in the activity patterns and time budgets of Trachypithecus francoisi in the Nonggang Nature Reserve, China. Int J Primatol 28(3):657–671

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank the two anonymous reviewers for providing useful comments for the manuscript. We thank the Department of Forest and Wildlife Preservation, Government of Punjab, India for necessary permits (Permit No: 3625), Director NIPER for allowing us to carry out this study inside the campus and IISER Mohali for infrastructural support. We thank Sonam Chorol, Ranjit Singh and Gurtej for help with fieldwork. We are grateful to Anindya Sinha for his invaluable inputs on data analysis, Tony Gaston and Sabrina Engesser for discussions on Jungle Babblers. We thank CK Vishnudas for help with bird banding and all members of BEL for support and help with the work. MJ is grateful to SKM for introducing her to ornithology.

Funding

The work was funded by a grant from the Science and Engineering Research Board, Department of Science and Technology (YSS/2015/001606) to MJ and received infrastructural support from IISER Mohali. SDY was supported by Senior Research Fellowships from the University Grants Commission, Government of India. We acknowledge the timely receipt of scholarship to SDY from UGC and urge all funding agencies to strive towards the same to enable a stress-free work environment for scholars.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Mohali, SAS Nagar, Mohali, Punjab, 140306, India

    Soniya Devi Yambem & Manjari Jain

Authors
  1. Soniya Devi Yambem
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Manjari Jain
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

MJ conceived and designed the study and secured funding for the work. SDY carried out the field work for data collection. SDY and MJ carried out all statistical analyses and wrote the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Manjari Jain.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

Jungle Babblers are listed in Schedule IV under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act (1972) and designated as ‘Least Concern’ by IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species. This study was conducted with necessary permits (No. 3625) from the Department of Forest and Wildlife Preservation, Government of Punjab, India, and with the approval of the Institute Animal Ethical Committee (IISER/SAFE/PRT/2018/003), IISER Mohali, India. No animals were harmed or kept in captivity for this study.

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (DOCX 16 KB)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Yambem, S.D., Jain, M. Temporal variation in the behaviour of a cooperatively breeding bird, Jungle Babbler (Argya striata). Trop Ecol 64, 133–145 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42965-022-00254-w

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42965-022-00254-w

Keywords

Search

Navigation