Programmable Automated System for Songbird Ecobehavioral Research (PASSER): Using Flexible Computer-integrated Feeders to Conduct High Resolution Studies of Environment-behavior Dynamics in Songbirds

Field studies seeking to identify interactions between the environment and behaviors of wild songbirds are often restricted by time, labor, and accessibility of the site; hampering the collection of long-term, high-resolution data. Here, we describe the development, utilization, and initial results of a long-term field study of wild songbird feeding patterns using data collected through an inexpensive microcomputer-controlled automated feeder. Our studies indicate the "smart feeder" is capable of reliable and accurate data collection on feeding and behavioral metrics over long durations with relation to a wide range of environmental conditions. This enables detailed analysis of songbird's environment-behavior interactions. Our results have identified trends in environment-behavior interactions, microhabitat variations, species-specific feeding profiles, and differences in the frequency and involvement of displacement events. Computerized feeders enabled us to address environment-behavior interactions, resulting in more detailed data than traditional observational methods. This reinforces conclusions from previous work regarding the potential for automated data collection to be adapted for a wide variety of research studies across the field of ethology.