Habituation of magpies ( Pica serica ) to taxidermy-mounted drone and mobbing call for flock control

Corvids such as magpies can cause economic losses and management conflicts in urban and agricultural landscapes, and repeated exposure can reduce the effectiveness of non-lethal deterrents through habituation. This study evaluated short-term behavioral responses and habituation patterns in a flock of magpies ( Pica serica ) that repeatedly foraged at the same site. A drone-only stimulus and a combined stimulus consisting of a drone carrying a taxidermized magpie with conspecific mobbing-call playback were applied sequentially six and five times, respectively, at two-day intervals. Each trial consisted of 10 min of stimulus exposure followed by 50 min of post-stimulus observation. Magpie numbers were recorded at 5-min intervals, and behaviors were classified as predator-related or predator non-related based on field observations. Audio recordings were also collected to interpret mobbing calls and behavioral context. Under the drone-only stimulus, predator-related behavior increased immediately after stimulus onset, but this response declined over repeated trials, and predator non-related behavior recovered even during stimulus exposure, suggesting rapid habituation. Under the combined stimulus, no magpies remained in the experimental area during stimulus exposure in any trial, and in early trials they did not return before the end of observation. However, in later trials, individuals showing non-predator-related behavior re-entered the area 20–25 min after stimulus removal, indicating that habituation was delayed but not fully suppressed. These results suggest that a species-specific combined stimulus can induce stronger short-term avoidance and delay habituation compared with drone-only stimulus, but additional strategies are required to maintain deterrent effectiveness during repeated applications.