What is the Primary Trigger for Pecking Behaviour in Young

Question

What is the primary trigger for pecking behaviour in young herring gulls?
A) hunger
B) a red spot on the bill of the parent
C) the shape of the parent gull's head
D) the overall body silhouette of the parent bird

Accepted Answer

The primary trigger for pecking behavior in young herring gulls is a red spot on the bill of the parent. This was demonstrated in classic experiments by ethologist Nikolaas Tinbergen, who showed that chicks peck more at a model of a parent's bill with a red spot than at other stimuli, indicating that this specific visual cue elicits the feeding response.