Keynan Oded, Yosef Reuven
Department of Zoology, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, ,Israel.
Behav Processes. 2010 Sep;85(1):47-51. doi: 10.1016/j.beproc.2010.06.005. Epub 2010 Jun 15.
The Southern Grey Shrike (Lanius meridionalis) is a common resident along the rift valley. During 2007-2008 we studied the impaling behavior of Southern Grey Shrikes at the Shezaf nature reserve by food supplementation. Our findings indicate seasonal shifts in impaling behavior. During the winter, there was no difference between the sexes and shrikes impaled house mice (Mus musculus) close to their territorial boundaries with neighboring conspecifics. All impaled mice disappeared from the tree within a few hours of impalement. During the mating season, males impaled the whole prey and let females eat it, and prey was impaled by both sexes only in order to dismember and feed the nestlings. Shrikes impaled and cached meal worms only after they were satiated. The number of meal worms taken to be hoarded increased during the non-breeding season, but during the breeding season male shrikes preferred to feed the females. During the entire research period we did not find any specific cache sites or trees and no prey remained impaled for extended periods of time. In conclusion, impaling prey changed temporally and between sexes: from being a signal for conspecifics to pair bonding.
南灰伯劳（Lanius meridionalis）是裂谷一带常见的留鸟。在2007年至2008年期间，我们通过食物补充在谢扎夫自然保护区研究了南灰伯劳的刺穿行为。我们的研究结果表明刺穿行为存在季节性变化。冬季，两性之间没有差异，伯劳会在与邻近同种个体的领地边界附近刺穿家鼠（Mus musculus）。所有被刺穿的老鼠在被刺穿后的几个小时内就从树上消失了。在交配季节，雄性会刺穿整个猎物让雌性食用，只有在为雏鸟肢解和喂食时两性才会一起刺穿猎物。伯劳只有在吃饱后才会刺穿并储存黄粉虫。在非繁殖季节储存的黄粉虫数量增加，但在繁殖季节雄性伯劳更喜欢喂食雌性。在整个研究期间，我们没有发现任何特定的储存地点或树木，也没有猎物长时间被刺穿。总之，刺穿猎物在时间和性别上发生了变化：从作为同种个体之间配对的信号转变。
