When a forager encounters an unfamiliar type of food, it must decide whether to eat it and risk being poisoned or avoid eating it and risk forfeiting a potentially valuable resource. Birds typically respond to such situations with "dietary wariness"; they show a transient aversion to approaching...

Dietary conservatism (DC) is a long-term, active avoidance of novel food by foragers, present in some (but not all) members of each forager population. Conservative prey choice by predators may exert strong selection pressure on prey populations because individuals with a novel appearance may be...

Foragers continually encounter new objects in their environment, some being potential food. Sampling new food resources carries risks of poisoning or injury and can reduce foraging efficiency. Foragers typically show a brief aversion to novel objects (neophobia). An additional persistent...