Current Ornithology

'1 Avian Coloniality: Progress and Problems.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Historical Background.- 3. Phylogenetic Analyses.- 4. Limitation of Breeding Sites.- 5. The Costs and Benefits of Coloniality.- 5.1. Ectoparasite and Disease Transmission.- 5.2. Misdirected Parental Care.- 5.3. Predation-Related Effects.- 6. Social Foraging and Coloniality.- 6.1. The Information Center Hypothesis.- 6.2. The Recruitment Center Hypothesis.- 6.3. Spatial Concentration and Local Enhancement.- 6.4. Competition and Depletion of Food.- 7. Reproductive Success and Habitat Selection.- 7.1. Mean Reproductive Success in Relation to Colony Size.- 7.2. Using Reproductive Success to Select Breeding Sites.- 8. Sexual Selection and Coloniality.- 9. Variation in Colony Size.- 9.1. Ideal-Free Distributions and Local Resources.- 9.2. Phenotypic and Genetic Differences among Individuals.- 9.3. (In)stability of Colony Size.- 10. Prospectus.- References.- 2 Begging in Nestling Birds.- 1. Parent-Offspring Conflict.- 2. The Importance of Signaling.- 2.1. Begging as a Signal.- 2.2. The Models.- 2.3. The Cost of Begging.- 3. Begging Signals.- 3.1. Defining Begging.- 3.2. Is Begging Influenced by Nestling Condition?.- 3.3. Which Cues Do Parents Use?.- 4. Begging as Competition among Nestmates.- 4.1. Sibling Competition.- 4.2. Brood Hierarchies.- 4.3. Brood Parasites.- 5. The Importance of Offspring Sex.- 6. The Role of Biparental Care.- 7. An Alternative Perspective.- 7.1. Begging as Foraging.- 7.2. Do Nestlings Learn?.- 8. Conclusions.- References.- 3 Ecological Aspects of Neophobia and Neophilia in Birds.- 1. Introduction.- 1.1. The Implication of Novelty Responses and Exploration: A Brief Overview.- 1.2. Definitions.- 1.3. Costs and Benefits of Neophilia and Neophobia.- 1.4. Costs and Benefits within Two-factor Models of Exploration and Neophobia.- 2. How Neophobia and Neophilia Are Studied.- 2.1. Assessing Neophobia and Neophilia.- 2.2. Teasing Apart Neophobia, Hunger, and Neophilia..- 2.3. The Nature of