Captive house sparrows (Passer domesticus) show little evidence of seasonality of neophobia responses

Neophobia is a behavior characterized by a reluctance to approach novel objects. We measured neophobia in captive wild house sparrows (Passer domesticus) by comparing the time it took for hungry birds to approach their normal food dish compared to one that had been modified with a novel object. We tested the behavior of animals captured at different times of year to test for seasonal variation in neophobia. One group of birds tested in July approached their food dishes much more quickly than all other birds (a matter of seconds rather than minutes whether or not there was a novel object), a response that was not repeated in a subsequent July. When this possible outlier group was removed from the analysis, approach times to novel objects were not affected by season. However, animals captured and tested in October had a stronger motivation to feed (i.e., they approached unmodified food dishes faster) than birds captured at other times of the year. If we define “neophobia” as an increase in latency to approach a novel versus an unmodified food dish, then there is little evidence for underlying seasonal variation in risk assessment, although a general motivation to feed does show a seasonal pattern. Seasonal effects of neophobia in house sparrows. Time to approach the food dish varies by season both without novel objects (white bars) and with novel objects (black bars). Research Highlights Free‐living house sparrows were captured at multiple times during the year and brought into captivity. They showed seasonal variation in an initial approach to food, but responses to a novel object did not vary over the year.