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Science 21 August 1970:
Vol. 169. no. 3947, pp. 780 - 782
DOI: 10.1126/science.169.3947.780
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Articles

Roadrunners: Activity of Captive Individuals

J. Lee Kavanau 1 and J. Ramos 1

1 Department of Zoology, University of California, Los Angeles 90024

Two roadrunners, Geococcyx californianus, readily accepted an activity wheel as an outlet for locomotor activity. The birds were strictly diurnal and tended to be most active per unit of time in the predusk hours. There was less activity on partly overcast days than on clear days. Dim light and darkness were strongly inhibitory, even during daytime hours; bright light was stimulatory, even during nighttime hours. These findings appear to open the way for quantitative comparative studies of the influences of environmental factors on the activity of cursorial birds.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Photic Entrainment in Hamsters: Effects of Simulated Twilights and Nest Box Availability.
Z. Boulos, M. Macchi, T.A. Houpt, and M. Terman (1996)
J Biol Rhythms 11, 216-233
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Activity of nocturnal primates: influences of twilight zeitgebers and weather.
J. Kavanau and C. Peters (1976)
Science 191, 83-86
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)