Bold and Shy Birds

Birds, such as the wild blue tit (Parus major) have distinct individual personalities, according to the findings of a group of researchers led by Dr. Piet Drent of the Netherlands Institute of Ecology.  The researchers focused on a colony of great tits and discovered that these birds have differing personalities, which remain constant and consistent for years.  Based on several types of experiments, the scientists were able to distinguish between three main types of bird personality, namely bold, shy and an intermediate type between the two.  Bold blue tits were quick to explore trees and various newly introduced objects, and were not as riled by surprise occurrences as the shy ones, the members of which were significantly slower in all three situations.  The researchers also noted that shy birds experienced more stress when handled than bold birds, while the latter were more aggressive. 

In another study into the behavior of great tits, a group of scientists at the University of Glasgow discovered that the type of food the mother feeds her young greatly affects their future personality and, thus, behavior. The results revealed that by feeding their offspring a type of spider rich in an amino acid called taurine, which is also found in human breast milk, at a specific developmental stage, the mother can influence the future personality and learning ability of her young.  In an experiment, a group of young birds was fed a taurine supplement to mimic a diet rich in spiders and, once grown, their behavior was compared to a group of birds that were not fed the taurine. Results showed that those who received the supplement were much bolder, as well as quicker to learn new things and better at retaining their knowledge, than the birds that did not receive the taurine supplement.

In general it was observed that the birds’ personality type also affected their survival.  Bold females and shy males were found to have a better survival rate in times of low food supply, while the reverse was true when food was abundant.  Intermediate birds, however, had a better chance of bearing young regardless of the level of available food.  Some scientists are hopeful that studies into animal personalities may eventually reveal as yet unknown aspects of human personality, though others warn that the term itself will always mean something different when applied to humans as opposed to animals.