title: What motivates the food bringing behaviour of the peregrine falcon throughout breeding?
abstract: Wild peregrine falcon pairs (Falco peregrinus brookéi) have been observed from courtship until fledgling stage. We analyse the typology of the food bringing behaviour and put forward explanations about the motivation underlying this behaviour throughout the breeding period. According to the stage of the breeding period and to the sex involved, the motivation underlying the food bringing behaviour is different. Until the fledgling stage, the possibility of a male reaching the young depends on the females' control: males transfer food to females in order to give food to the young. This study stresses the influence of male - female relationships upon the expression of the parental behaviour of the male peregrine. The dominance of the female over the male - linked to reversed sexual size dimorphism - should be necessary to 'manage' the duty schedule since it prevents the occurrence of conflicts harmful to the offspring.
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recherche en Biologie du comportement (URA CNRS 664), Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Carlier
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gallo