Does conspecific attraction affect nest choice in budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus : Psittacidae : Aves)?

In their native Australia the budgerigar's breeding season is very short an d rapid nest establishment is crucial. To minimize the time required to loc ate and establish nesting sites, female budgerigars were predicted to use c ues on nest site locations provided by other females in their colony. Exper imental results from captive birds indicated that, while females can be att racted to nests that are occupied by other females, the social and breeding experience of individuals affects this use of conspecific cues. Females th at have had altercations with other females that resulted in physical injur ies showed an aversion to apparently occupied nest-boxes. Females that had no such social experience prior to testing were attracted to apparently occ upied nestboxes. Breeding experience, as well as social experience, may hav e an effect on the use of conspecifics as cues. Experienced breeding female s were less likely to be attracted to apparently occupied nestboxes than we re females that had never bred before.