The role of adult experience in nest building in the zebra finch, Taeniopygia guttata

Whether learning plays a role in nest building in birds is largely unknown. Here we investigated whether the colour of nest materials used to build a first nest affected the subsequent nest material choices made by male zebra finches when building a second nest. Males were tested for their preference for green or brown nest material and then were provided with either their preferred or nonpreferred colour with which to build their first nest. The success of this nesting attempt was manipulated such that half of the breeding pairs had their eggs removed, while the other half were allowed to keep their eggs and fledge chicks. Males were then retested to determine which colour of nest material they now preferred. Males had strong initial preferences for one or other of the two colours of nest material. Males that built a nest with their preferred colour of nest material continued to prefer that colour after nesting, regardless of their breeding success in that nest. However, of the males that built a nest with material of their nonpreferred colour, those that raised and fledged chicks from it subsequently preferred that colour of material for their second nest, while males that suffered a failed breeding attempt did not. Thus breeding experience can influence decisions relating to nest material choice in nest construction in the zebra finch.