Date: 5/6/26 9:03 am From: Neil Buckley <bucklenj...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] [External] Re: [VTBIRD] Agonistic behavior in purple finches
HI Kim:
Essentially, yes. Agonistic refers to social interactions between animals
that are related to conflict. Hope this helps.
All the best,
Neil
--
Dr. Neil Buckley, M.Sc., Ph.D.
Associate Dean, School of Arts and Sciences
Professor of Biology
101D Ward Hall
Plattsburgh, NY 12901
518 564 3150
On Wed, May 6, 2026 at 11:47 AM Maeve Kim <maevekim7...> wrote:
> I have to ask, Google having failed me. I can find a definition of
> agonistic in pharmacology, and examples of agonistic vs. antagonistic in
> pharmacology, but nothing about the word agonistic in other contexts. Is it
> used as a synonym for antagonistic?
> Maeve Kim, baffled in Jericho
>
> > On May 6, 2026, at 8:08 AM, Michael Haas <ihateokra88...> wrote:
> >
> > Yesterday, while seated on the deck of my cabin at the border of meadow
> and
> > woodland, I observed two female purple finches displaying agonistic
> > behavior. They faced off among the low branches of red maples just
> above a
> > feeder that was situated below. Both had visited the feeder, separately,
> > prior to their interaction, but then, over the course of 10 to 15
> minutes,
> > they confronted one another on the branches above. Each displayed
> > agonistic postures well-described in Cornell's "Birds of the World."
> > Intermittently, one assumed a head high, pecking down posture, her
> opponent
> > took a squatting stance, tail splayed, head facing up, beak gaping. The
> > skirmish, as I said, went on for a while, as they flitted among the
> > branches. Occasionally a third female entered the fray. It is
> interesting
> > to me that only females were involved; no male was in sight. I
> > surmise they were competing for a nesting site or access to the feeder.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Michael R. Haas, VMD, MS
> > 1286 Hazen Notch Rd
> > Lowell, VT 05847
> > <ihateokra88...>
> > Talking In My Sleep <https://sleeptalkingguy.blogspot.com/> > >
> > “I was gratified to be able to answer promptly, and I did. I said I
> didn’t
> > know.”
> > ― *Mark Twain*
> >
> >
> > "Hydrogen is an odorless, colorless gas that, given enough time, becomes
> > people."
> >
> > -- *Edward R. Harrison*
>
