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Inhibition of oestrogen-induced nest-building in the canary (Serinus canarius) by stimuli from the nest

In the natural breeding season stimuli from the nest which the female canary has constructed are instrumental in bringing nest-building to an end shortly before the first egg is laid, but active nest-building can be reduced at any time by substitution of an artificially constructed nest with a small internal diameter and grassy texture for the standard plastic canary nest-pan (Hinde, 1958). Conversely, if the material placed daily in the nest by the female is constantly removed nest-building continues for long periods at a high level (Hinde, 1965). Tactile stimuli from the nest are received by skin receptors in the ventral brood patch; this develops, under the influence of oestrogen and other hormones, during the pre-laying period and involves local defeathering, and an increase in vascularity and in sensitivity to tactile stimulation (Hinde, 1962; Hinde, Bell & Steel, 1963). The question arises whether, in an intact female, tactile stimulation reduces nest-building by lowering ovarian oestrogen production or by some other means such as an alteration in the responsiveness of central behaviour-controlling mechanisms to continuing high oestrogen levels.