Comparing Sensors to Videography for Behavioral Assessment in Anna’s Hummingbirds (Calypte anna)
Authors: Sam M. Sandoval, Chelsea Johnson
Faculty Supervisor: Derrick Groom
Department: Biology
Bird ethologists often conduct research by scoring ethograms of direct observations or videos of animals either in the field or captivity. However, video scoring can be time consuming, making long-term behavioral assessment difficult. This project aims to develop a method of recording behaviors of Anna’s Hummingbirds (Calypte anna) using affordable small sensors. A cage was constructed consisting of two perches, each attached to a single-point load cell that recorded presence and absence on the perch. As hummingbirds typically do not perch on the floor, the amount of time in flight was determined by the time spent off the perch. Four feeders were equipped with infrared beam sensors to record the time and duration of feeding events. Sensor data was compared with traditional behavioral scoring. Initial results demonstrate a high level of fidelity between sensors and scored video recordings. Certain behaviors could also be associated with specific “signatures” in the scale data, such as preening, suggesting that the perch sensors may be sensitive for measuring activities while perched. This method could reduce the need for human scoring and be applied to many other model species.