Hutchison R E
J Endocrinol. 1975 Mar;64(3):417-28. doi: 10.1677/joe.0.0640417.
Intact, breeding female budgerigars enter and occupy a nestbox 8-10 days before egg-laying. Ovariectomized budgerigars did not enter nestboxes. Oestradiol-17 beta monobenzoate (OB) (0-05 mg, i.m.) induced ovariectomized birds to enter nestboxes. Higher dosages (0-1 or 0-5 mg) did not facilitate this effect. The amount of time spent in nesting behaviour by all OB-treated groups did not differ from that shown by a group of intact females during the initial phase of the nesting sequence (first 4 days in the nestbox), but was significantly less than that of intact females undergoing later stages of nesting behaviour (4 days before and after laying the first egg). Oestradiol induced a increase in oviduct weight and size which was dose-dependent. With a low dose (0-05 mg OB), the oviducts were slightly larger than those of intact females which had been in the nestbox 1-2 days. With higher dose levels (0-1-0-5 mg OB), precursor albumen granules had formed in tubular glands of the magnum, a stage more typical of females which had been in the nestbox 4-6 days. The results indicate that low levels of oestrogen induce female budgerigars to enter nestboxes and initiate oviduct development. Subsequent phases of the nesting behaviour and oviduct development may be causally related to other hormones.
未绝育的成年雌性虎皮鹦鹉在产卵前8 - 10天进入并占据巢箱。卵巢切除的虎皮鹦鹉不进入巢箱。注射17β - 雌二醇苯甲酸酯（OB）（0.05毫克，肌肉注射）可诱导卵巢切除的鸟进入巢箱。更高剂量（0.1或0.5毫克）并不能促进这种效果。所有接受OB处理的组在筑巢行为上花费的时间与一组未绝育雌性在筑巢初期（在巢箱中的前4天）所表现的时间没有差异，但明显少于处于筑巢行为后期（产下第一枚卵之前和之后的4天）的未绝育雌性。雌二醇使输卵管重量和大小增加，且呈剂量依赖性。低剂量（0.05毫克OB）时，输卵管比在巢箱中1 - 2天的未绝育雌性的输卵管略大。高剂量水平（0.1 - 0.5毫克OB）时，在输卵管膨大部的管状腺中形成了前体蛋白颗粒，这是在巢箱中4 - 6天的雌性更典型的一个阶段。结果表明，低水平的雌激素诱导雌性虎皮鹦鹉进入巢箱并启动输卵管发育。筑巢行为和输卵管发育的后续阶段可能与其他激素存在因果关系。
