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Test of optimal sampling by foraging great tits

Abstract

When great tits forage in an unknown environment containing two feeding places of different profitability, they first sample the two places and then exploit the more profitable one. The balance between sampling and exploitation shown by the birds is close to an optimal solution for maximising the number of food-items obtained during a feeding period.

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Krebs, J., Kacelnik, A. & Taylor, P. Test of optimal sampling by foraging great tits. Nature 275, 27–31 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1038/275027a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/275027a0

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