Breeding Biology Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

An understanding of geographic and phylogenetic variation in passerine life histories is hampered by the scarcity of studies from the Southern Hemisphere. We documented the breeding biology of the White-browed Scrubwren (Sericornis frontalis), an Australia endemic in the Pardalotidae (parvorder Corvida). Like other members of the Pardalotidae, scrubwrens had a long laying interval (two days), a long incubation period (declining from 21 to 17 days through the season), and a long period of postfiedging parental care (6 to 7 weeks). Scrubwrens appeared to be typical of the Australian Corvida in having a small clutch size (three eggs) and a long breeding season (5.4 months), and they also had a long interval between breeding attempts (10 days after a failed attempt, 21 days after a successful attempt). Scrubwrens were multibrooded, often raising two broods successfully and occasionally raising three broods. The breeding biology of scrubwrens adds further support to claims of a distinct life-history strategy for members of the Corvida but also reinforces evidence that some "Corvida" life-history traits more specifically are those of the Pardalotidae.

- by
- •
- Zoology, Life history, Seasonality, Parental care

We examined basic breeding biology, as well as the eVects of parental sex, brood size, nestling age, and nest habitat on foraging distances and parental food delivery rates of snow buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis) on Devon Island, NT, Canada, in the summers of 2003-2006. Clutch sizes and initiation dates were similar to those found in previous studies, although nest density was much higher. Feeding rates and foraging distances of buntings diVered depending on the size and age of the brood, but were similar between nest habitats. Unlike in earlier studies, we found that male buntings made fewer feeding visits, but traveled longer distances to forage for food than females. Whether these diVerences between the sexes relate to reducing competition for prey, or to diVering sex roles in parental care due to the poorly insulated nest cavities of this species, remains to be determined.

- by Mark Mallory
- •
- Biological Sciences, Parental care, Clutch Size, High Arctic

Ringing of the Jackdaws in Poland started in 1931 and before the Second World War was much more intensive than in the recent times. Results of ringing in 1931-1964 were published by ; since that time there is no new data about migration status of this species in Poland. New colour ringing program of breeding and wintering Jackdaws started in 2004. Plastic rings -2 cm high, red with white digits -are possible to resighting by binocular or telescope. These rings are useful in the breeding biology studies also.

- by Piotr Zduniak
- •
- Breeding Biology

Calcium is an essential nutrient for avian reproduction. Calcium-rich foods are consumed by breeding birds for production of eggshells and for provisioning chicks that are mineralizing skeletal tissues. A number of studies have documented calcium-limited reproduction, and calcium supplementation has been employed over the last decade to demonstrate degrees, causes and consequences of calcium limitation. However, supplementation studies have produced equivocal findings resulting from an absence of calcium limitation in the study species, a poorly designed supplementation procedure or both. Prior to effective calcium supplementation, many factors need to be considered. Calcium-limited breeding in birds can only be detected by monitoring breeding attempts for more than one year and by ensuring that the measured breeding parameters are sensitive to calcium availability. Natural calcium availability needs to be estimated, and daily calcium budgets for the appropriate reproductive stages determined for the study species. Most crucially, if calcium limitation of breeding is caused by secondary calcium limitation (e.g. through heavy metal toxicity), calcium supplementation will probably be ineffective. Effective calcium supplementation will then be achieved through careful planning -a study over several years using appropriate supplements (i.e. naturally occurring ones used by breeding birds), applied at the appropriate time of year (i.e. prelaying and/or chick-rearing phases) and using a response variable that is highly sensitive to calcium availability. If properly planned and performed, calcium supplementation is a cost-effective and potent tool for the study of bird breeding biology.

- by Raivo Mänd
- •
- Information Systems, Zoology, Ecology, Ibis

We present data from an extensive study of Bearded Vulture Gypaetus barbatus breeding biology in the Pyrenees from 1992 to 1999. Average laying date was 6 January (range 11 December to 12 February, n = 69) with no significant differences between years. Eighty per cent of clutches were of two eggs ( n = 20) and average incubation was 54 days (range 52-56, n = 14). Hatching occurred on average between 21 February and 3 March (range 5 February-7 April) and the first and last chicks fledged in 21-27 May and 20 July, respectively. The average chick age at fledging was 123 days (range 103-133, n = 20). Bearded Vulture density increased significantly during the study period. Breeding success and productivity declined apparently as a consequence of the increase in the percentage of breeding failures during incubation and chick rearing, most during the hatching period. The factors that may determine breeding failure and the decline in breeding performance are analysed and management recommendations for more effective conservation measures are discussed.

- by Diego Garcia
- •
- Information Systems, Zoology, Ecology, Ibis
- by Henry Ndithia
- •
- Zoology, Ostrich, Clutch Size, Breeding Biology

The study was conducted to identify the occurrence and status of Avifauna in National Botanical Garden, Bangladesh (NBGB), by direct field observation from September 2011 to February 2012. A total of 65 species of birds belonging to 11 orders, 28 families and 53 genera were observed. Majority of the birds were resident (56 spp.) and very few were migratory (9 spp.) in nature. Among the identified birds, 34 species were passerine of which 29 species were resident and 31 species were non-passerine of which 30 species were resident. Identified birds were categorized into five groups (rare, few, fairly common, common and very common) based on their abundances where, more than half of the birds were found to be very common.

- by Md. Mohsin Kabir
- •
- Breeding Biology

We document 21 observations of interspecific stealing of nesting material involving Cerulean Warblers (Dendroica cerulea), Red-eyed Vireos (Vireo olivaceus), Blue-gray Gnatcatchers (Polioptila caerulea), Northern Parulas (Parula americana), Black-throated Green Warblers (D. virens), American Redstarts (Setophaga ruticilla), and Orchard Orioles (Zcterus spurius) that occurred during studies of Cerulean Warbler breeding biology. These incidents involved a variety of combinations of nest owner and nest material thief suggesting that each of these species is both a perpetrator and recipient of this behavior in our study areas. Kleptoparasitic incidents occurred at all stages of the nesting cycle from nest-building through post-fledging. Two possible motivations for this behavior are related to saving time in finding nest materials and collecting this material for nest construction.

- by Kamal Islam
- •
- Zoology, New Jersey, Breeding Biology

Puntius sophore is a freshwater cyprinid of Indian sub-continent which has high demand as a food fish due to its high nutritional value along with presence of good amount of protein, micronutrients and vitamin. Recently it has made its entry in ornamental fish trade and has been reported to been exported as indigenous ornamental fish from India. Due to heavy fishing pressure and other anthropogenic stresses this fish species is now facing threat in natural condition. Earlier few works have been conducted on feeding and breeding biology of this fish species; but so far no such consolidated report is available on these aspects. So with this view, the present report has been prepared to sum up all the earlier documented information along with pointing out the lacunae of information which should be studied to support its future fishery.

- by Sandipan Gupta
- •
- Review, Feeding Biology, Breeding Biology, Cyprinidae

Systomus sarana is a freshwater fish species which is widely distributed in different countries of Indian subcontinent and is the most popular and favourite food fish among the barb species due to good nutritional value. It is also popular as an aquarium species. Recently due to number of reasons, population of this particular fish species is facing the threat of extinction. In India it has been reported as endangered while in Bangladesh it has been reported as critically endangered. So considering the declining trend of its population, proper management measures are needed to conserve this fish species. Among the different conservation management strategies, captive breeding is one of the best approaches, but success of captive breeding completely depends on proper information on feeding and breeding biology of that particular fish species. Earlier ample works have been carried out on feeding and breeding biology of Systomus sarana, but a consolidated report on these aspects is really lacking. So this report has been prepared to sum up all available information on these two aspects of this fish species along with noting down the missing information further study of which is needed to support the conservation of Systomus sarana.

- by Sandipan Gupta
- •
- Fish Biology, Review, Feeding Biology, Breeding Biology
- by Paulo Antas
- •
- Breeding Biology

Blackbird (Turdus merula) is a species that we
can observe natural areas and parks, gardens
and campuses. It has important functions in its
ecosystem as each species which are adapted to
the urban ecosystem. In this regard, it is important
to know habitat selection, nesting site selection
and breeding parameters of blackbirds which are
living in urban ecosystems. In this study we aim to
determine breeding biology of Blackbirds breeding
in Akdeniz University Campus. In this context, we
followed blackbird pairs to find their nest sites in
breeding season in Akdeniz University Campus. Nests
were checked every 3 days and nest building period,
incubation period, fledging period, number of eggs
fledglings and death chicks were noted. We found 16
blackbird nests. However 2 nests were abandoned
and predated. Hooded crow (Corvus corone) eurasian
jay (Garrulus glandarius) were the predators. We
observed that blackbirds started to build their nests in
the second week of March. We found that incubation
period lasted 10.3± 0.41 (9-11) and fledging period
was 11.1±0.25 (10-12). Cluth size were 4 ± 0.23 (3-5),
hatching succes were 73.93 ± 5.9, fledging succes was
81 ± 10.3 and general breeding success was 63.9 ± 9.8
in 14 nests.

- by bekir kabasakal
- •
- Ecology, Predation, Breeding Biology, Turdus merula

Breeding biology of Spoonbill and Painted Stork has not been documented in detailed in captivity. This inventory unravels some of the aspects of their reproduction in captivity and generates useful baseline data for further studies in detail. The study was conducted in aviary of Sakkarbaug zoo, Junagadh, Gujarat. The alterations in artificial nesting platforms (ANPs), use of supplementary nesting material, behavioural changes of birds in anthropogenic environment and the factors affecting breeding success of both species of birds has been monitored and documented. Ample availability of food and lack of predators has positive effects on their breeding success. Changes in dimension of ANP greatly improved the breeding success of Spoonbill. Both male and female birds were seen foraging together often leaving the eggs/chicks along on ANP, contrary to its behaviour in wild.

- by Ranjitsinh Devkar
- •
- Captive Breeding, Breeding Biology, Breeding Success

Ompok bimaculatus is a freshwater catfish, used to occur naturally in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds, canals and inundated fields. It is a popular food fish in South and South-East Asian countries especially due to its good taste and high nutritional value with good amount of protein, lipid and mineral content. Recently it has also been reported to have moderate demand among the ornamental fish hobbyists. Earlier few works have been documented on food and feeding habit, reproductive biology and induced breeding of this fish species; but so far no such consolidated review report is available on these aspects. So with this view, the current report has been prepared to sum up all those previously documented information along with pointing out the lacunae of information further study of which will be beneficial for fishery and conservation perspective for this fish species in near future.

- by Sandipan Gupta
- •
- Fish Biology, Feeding Biology, Breeding Biology

Alien plants may be reproductively limited in exotic habitats because of a lack of mutualistic pollinators. However, if plants are adequately served by generalist pollinators, successful reproduction, naturalisation and expansion into exotic habitats may occur. Rhododendron ponticum is very successful, ecologically damaging invasive plant in Britain and Ireland, but is in decline in its native Iberian habitat. It spreads locally by sending out lateral branches, but for longer distance dispersal it relies on sexually produced seeds. Little is known about R. ponticum's pollination ecology and breeding biology in invaded habitats. We examined the flower-visiting communities and maternal reproductive success of R. ponticum in native populations in southern Spain and in exotic ones in Ireland. R. ponticum in flowers are visited by various generalist (polylectic) pollinator species in both native and exotic habitats. Although different species visited flowers in Ireland and Spain, the flower visitation rate was not significantly different. Insects foraging on R. ponticum in Spain carried less R. ponticum pollen than their Irish counterparts, and carried fewer pollen types. Fruit production per inflorescence varied greatly within all populations but was significantly correlated with visitation at the population level. Nectar was significantly depleted by insects in some exotic populations, suggesting that this invasive species is providing a floral resource for native insects in some parts of Ireland. The generality of the pollination system may be factor contributing to R.ponticum's success in exotic habitats.

- by Juan Arroyo
- •
- Ecology, Pollination, Invasive Species, Biodiversity

Amblypharyngodon mola is a popular food fish of Indian sub-continent due to its high nutritional value. Earlier many workers have carried out studies on feeding and breeding biology of this fish species but consolidated information on the same is not available. So, a survey of published literatures on the feeding and breeding biology of A. mola has been carried out to consolidate the available information. Lacunae of information has been pointed out for further study mainly on age group wise variation in food preference and correlation of breeding periodicity with hydrological parameters and photoperiod.

- by Sandipan Gupta
- •
- Fish Biology, Review, Feeding Biology, Breeding Biology
- by Jesus Aviles
- •
- Zoology, Breeding Biology

Sperata seenghala is one of the largest freshwater catfish of Indian sub-continent. This fish has good market demand as food fish due to its good taste with high nutritional value and for this reason it constitutes an important capture fishery of all the major rivers and reservoirs of India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Earlier number of works has been carried out on its food and feeding habit, reproductive biology, morphology, fishery, captive culture etc, but no such consolidated review report is available. With this view the current review work has been carried out to sum up all available information along with gathering up the lacunae of information which will be helpful for future fishery and management of this fish species. It has been documented that comprehensive information is available on its food and feeding habit but further investigations are needed to put firm conclusion on some aspects of its reproductive biology and to gather proper knowledge on its captive culture technique.

- by Sandipan Gupta
- •
- Culture, Morphology, Review, Feeding Biology

The breeding biology of great tits (Parus major) was studied in two forests of maritime pine (Pinus pinaster) on the west coast of Portugal, 200 km apart: Leiria (north) and Apostiça (south). These two forests are located in a transition zone between Atlantic climate in the north, and Mediterranean climate in the south. Breeding onset was, on average, in the second and third week of March, which are the earliest records of breeding for this species. The southern population started to breed earlier than the northern one and produced a larger first clutch, 8.3 and 7.4 eggs, respectively. Corresponding to larger clutch sizes, we also found a higher first brood fledgling production in Apostiça compared to Leiria, 6.1 and 5.4 fledglings, respectively. However, the total number of fledglings produced per pair was higher in Leiria (8.3) than in Apostiça (7.7), due to higher productivity of second clutches (4.7 and 2.7 fledglings, respectively). Accordingly, the allocation of eggs between successive breeding attempts was more equal in Leiria. Results are discussed in accordance to the different climatic patterns in the two areas. It is suggested that the timing of breeding and different allocation of reproductive investment between successive breeding attempts play an important role in optimizing breeding tactics in this facultative multiple-brooded passerine in different climatic areas.

- by Carla Pimentel
- •
- Zoology, Ornithology, Clutch Size, Mantle Transition Zone

Study of reproductive biology of any fish species is important to get information for successfully continuing its culture. Amblypharyngodon mola is a popular food fish as well as at present a good ornamental fish in India; but except the work of Ravi no such detail work has been performed till date on reproductive biology of this fish species in the context of agro-climatic condition of India. So, the present work has been conducted to study some aspects of reproductive biology of Amblypharyngodon mola. Sex-ratio, length at first sexual maturity, cycle of gonadal maturation and spawning periodicity has been studied as part of this study. Monthly variation in sex ratio has been studied after counting the total number of two sexes in the monthly collected samples. Length at first sexual maturity has been determined following the length class in which at least 50% of the fish specimens have been observed to be matured. Cycle of gonadal maturation has been studied by macroscopic and microscopic observation of the different maturation stages of gonad. Spawning periodicity has been determined studying the monthly Gonado-Somatic-Index, Condition Factor and mean monthly ova-diameter. Frequency distribution of different size groups of intra ovarian oocytes has been studied on monthly basis to get the information on the type of oocyte development. The results of the study have revealed female dominance over male in the population but males have shown earlier maturation than females. The breeding season for this fish species has been observed to extend from April to December with two spawning months in June and November respectively. Fractional spawning behaviour along with asynchronous oocytes development has also been observed.

- by Sandipan Gupta
- •
- Reproductive Biology, Breeding Biology, Amblypharyngodon Mola

Background: The present study deals with the reproductive behavior and breeding biology of Indian Pika (Ochotona Roylei .) Inhabited in the snow-fed Tungnath areas of Garhwal Himalaya Uttarakhand, India, at the altitude of 2200 to 4500 meters at sea level. Materials and Methods: The observation is based on the data collected during March, 2007 to September 2010 from the high altitude of Tungnath Garhwal Himalaya, Uttarakhand India. Results and Discussions: The animal breeds once in the year during the May to June at the age of 7 -10 months. The gestation period is 28 to 30 days and having fecundity 1-5 offspring with recorded weaning time 20 to 22 days. Morphologically Juvenile Indian Pika have slightly haired, with eyes closed and well-developed teeth, the average mass of offspring was 10 to 12 g on 3rd days after birth and eyes open on 9 ± 2 days after birth. The weight of juvenile Indian Pika was recorded average 70 ± 23 g in 22 days. Indian Pika reaches minimum adult mass within 3 months of birth and sexually mature within 7 to 9 months and breed in next coming season. Mortality rates are greatest in the first three months after birth and average mortality rates recorded 40 to 60 % each year, and found that very few Indian Pika survived at the studied population for the three years of the study in their natural habitat.

- by Manoj Kumar Upadhyay
- •
- Reproduction, Breeding Biology, Lagomorpha, Pika

Storm's Stork Ciconia stormi is one of the rarest of the storks, regarded as globally endangered and found only in parts of western Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. Prior to this study, its breeding biology was unknown and the population status in Indonesia was not well understood. Its breeding habitat, prey, behaviour, voice, eggs and the development of the young are described here for the first time. Breeding biology was studied in 1989 at a nest in south Sumatra, Indonesia. The nest was in the transition zone between mangrove and freshwater swamp forest. Incubation took less than 29 days, and two eggs hatched. Fish 2-7 cm long comprised 67% of the prey for feeding young. The chick was fully feathered at 52-57 days and was seen flying when 57-62 days old. The species is rare in south Sumatra. It occurs in low numbers and flocks of up to seven birds were observed. The density is estimated at 2 0 4 0 birds within 110,000 ha of primary swamp forest. At this density, the population would be below 100 birds in south Sumatra and between 100 and 300 in Indonesia. The species is threatened swamp forest.

- by H. Skov and +1
- •
- Information Systems, Zoology, Ecology, Ibis

Puntius conchonius, a freshwater cyprinid of Indian subcontinent is a popular food fish mainly of eastern part of India and Bangladesh. It has also its importance as an ornamental fish and having good demand in both domestic as well as international ornamental fish markets of India. Though a potent commercially important fish; so far not much work has been done on food, feeding habit and reproductive biology of this fish species. Not only that, the presently available information is also in a scattered format; no such consolidated report is available on these aspects. So with this view, the present report has been prepared to sum up all these available information along with pointing out the lacunae of information study of which will help to make its fishery and trade more vibrant and sustainable.

- by Sandipan Gupta
- •
- Freshwater Biology, Review, Feeding Biology, Breeding Biology

The breeding biology of Hooded Plovers, Thinornis rubricollis, was examined between 1992 and 1996 on Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia. Particular attention was paid to their breeding success in relation to local population dynamics and the activities of humans and introduced predators. Three of twelve beaches used accounted for 52% of nesting attempts but only 10% of fledged young. The most common nest site was on flat beaches (52% of clutches); followed by nests on stony terraces (25%) or on the sides of primary dunes above flat beaches (23%).

- by Peter Dann
- •
- Zoology, Ecology, EMU, Breeding Biology

The Seychelles Fody, Foudia sechellarum, is a ploceid weaver occurring naturally on three islands in the Seychelles group in the Indian Ocean. The population on Cousine Island was studied between 30 June and 25 August 1997. The size of the population on the island was estimated at 458-614 individuals and densities varied in different habitat types. As Seychelles Fodies in non-breeding plumage are difficult to sex, we provide sexing criteria based on wing length. Breeding pairs form small, probably temporary, territories that are defended by both partners against other fodies, including the introduced Madagascar Fody, Foudia madagascariensis. The Seychelles Fody often breeds semi-colonially and we observed up to five nests close together. The birds are socially monogamous and both sexes share in nest building, nest defense and provisioning of the young. Only females incubate. Many nests were deserted before eggs were laid, including some that had been accepted by the female. Additional males and females were sometimes seen helping provision the young, but this cooperative breeding behaviour appeared to be uncommon. Non-breeding individuals congregate in large flocks, sometimes joined by breeding birds.

- by Ken Kraaijeveld
- •
- Zoology, Ostrich, Breeding Biology

Kerala Laughingthrush is a globally near threatened species and one of the 16 endemic birds of the Western Ghats. Breeding biology was studied in a 10 ha montane wet temperate forest (shola) plot at Kukkal in upper Palni Hills, southern Western Ghats. Intensive search method was adopted to find the nests in the study plot between April 2002 and June 2005. A total of 76 nests were observed and the nesting period was from February to August. The nesting activities were shared by both the sexes. Mean clutch size was two; incubation period 15 days and nesting period 16 days and nesting success were 51.31%. 95 % nests were placed in the shola forest plants and the remaining are in exotic plants and dominant species was Psychotria nilgiriensis var. astephana (19) and Maesa indica (15). Nest concealment was medium in 42.10 % followed by high in 30.26 % of nests. The ground cover, shade over the nest and nest plant height differed significantly between the unsuccessful and successful nests. The factors like shrub height, shade over the nest and ground cover were determining the nesting success of this species.

- by soma sundaram
- •
- Conservation Biology, Ecology, Nest-Site Selection, Breeding Biology
- by Farah Ishtiaq
- •
- Information Systems, Zoology, Ecology, Ibis

Resumo. -A biologia reprodutiva do Andorinhão-de-coleira-falha (Streptoprocne biscutata) no sul do Brasil. -A biologia reprodutiva do Andorinhão-de-coleira-falha (Streptoprocne biscutata) foi estudada em uma gruta situada no Estado do Paraná, sul do Brasil. O trabalho de campo consistiu no monitoramento dos ninhos, ovos, e filhotes a cada 2 dias durante o período reprodutivo e na marcação das aves adultas com anilhas e marcadores fosforescentes. A construção dos ninhos inicia em outubro, sendo a coleta do material nidular feita com o bico. Os sítios de nidificação são substratos rochosos horizontais ou ligeiramente inclinados em paredes verticais ou fendas. O material nidular é composto principalmente por líquenes, briófitas, pteridófitas, angiospermas e terra. Vistos de cima os ninhos podem ser circular, elipsóide, ou semicircular. A postura ocorre no começo de novembro, sendo o tamanho da postura de 1-4 ovos. O ritmo de ovoposição e o comportamento associado revelam a existência de um padrão de postura e de competição por ninhos. Os ovos são brancos com formas sub-elíptica alongada ou sub-elíptica. A incubação durou 24 dias em média e em pelo menos um ninho foi realizada pelo casal. A substituição do indivíduo que incuba foi realizada por um comportamento padrão. O período como ninhego é de 33 dias aproximadamente e após deixarem os ninhos eles ficam dentro da gruta por mais 10 dias. Ao nascer os filhotes são nus e cegos. A primeira plumagem consiste de penugens cinzas a qual alcança o completo desenvolvimento ao 13° dia. Com a idade de 34 dias o filhote tem a plumagem definitiva completa. O estudo do crescimento mostrou que as medidas lineares foram a asa e a cauda. Por fim, a reprodução do Andorinhão-de-coleira-falha mostrou-se semelhante ao padrão já descrito na literatura para outras espécies do gênero, mas aparentemente possui períodos mais curtos de incubação e de permanência no ninho.

- by Mauro Pichorim
- •
- Clutch Size, Ornitología Neotropical, Breeding Biology, Southern Brazil

Nestboxes are known to increase clutch size, enhance breeding success and affect the social mating system of several cavity nesters. Although in recent years various cavity nesters have been studied in nestboxes in South America, the effects of boxes on the biology of the study species are unknown. We evaluated the effects of nestboxes on the breeding biology and social mating system of Southern House Wrens Troglodytes aedon bonariae by comparing birds breeding in nestboxes and tree cavities in two cattle ranches in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Southern House Wrens nesting in boxes had higher breeding success but, contrary to studies on the temperate zone, we did not find differences in clutch size between Wrens breeding in nestboxes and tree cavities. The main causes of nest failure in tree cavities were nest predation and flooding of the cavity (70 and 23% of the failures, respectively) while in nestboxes predation and desertion were the most important causes of failure (38 and 34% of the failures, respectively). The social mating system of Southern House Wrens is monogamy with biparental care, and neither was affected by the boxes. Males did not attract secondary females to additional nestboxes; however, nestboxes are safer breeding sites than tree cavities, and females seemed to prefer males with nestboxes on their territory. These results suggest that nest quality alone might be not enough for secondary females to accept polygyny.

- by Gustavo Fernandez and +1
- •
- Information Systems, Zoology, Ecology, Ibis
- by Sonia Z Cechin
- •
- Evolutionary Biology, Zoology, Natural History, Seasonality

The Hybrid Sparrow’s reproduction was monitored in two stations, in the Filiach region at 5 km from Biskra (5°45'E, 34°50'N), on the one hand in a suburban (Tahraoui) and secondly date-palm-grove (Khireddine). To this end, we identified 327 nests of Passer domesticus × P. hispaniolensis with 221 nests placed in holes on walls and in the hangar roof of the Tahraoui’s farm. A set of 106 nests was installed in a livestock hangar in the date palm-grove of Khireddine. A sample of 52 nests was considered (27 nests in Tahraoui and 25 in Khireddine). On these 52 nests were followed on three consecutive clutches. The height of the nest location is between 2.4 and 5.5 m in Tahraoui’s farm where the clutch size varies between 1 and 5 eggs with a mean of 4.15 ± 1.14 during the first clutch, 3 to 6 eggs (mean = 4.9 ± 0.99) during the second clutch and 2 to 4 eggs (mean = 3 ± 0.82) for the third clutch. The most common clutch size is five eggs (AR% = 37.0%). In the palm-grove of Khireddine, the height of nest location varies between 2.7 to 3.4 m; where in a hutch size of 3 to 5 eggs (mean = 4.4 ± 0.89) was noted during the first clutch, 1 to 6 eggs (mean = 3.93 ± 1.38) during the second clutch and 2 to 4 eggs (mean = 3.5 ± 0.84) during the third clutch. The common clutch size is four eggs (AR% = 44%). Over the three clutches, the representative hatching rate is the third clutch with 93.8% in the first farm and 90.5% in the second.

- by Omar Guezoul and +1
- •
- Ornithology, Arid environments, Desert Ecology, Avian Ecology

In the summer of 2002 a combined Dutch-Russian expedition took place to the Willem Barentz field station at Medusa Bay near Dikson in north-western Taimyr, Russia. The expedition was organised by Alterra and the Agricultural Department of the Dutch Embassy in Moscow. Research questions addressed by the Alterra team and basic results obtained during the 2002 season are presented in

- by Ingrid Tulp and +1
- •
- Nutrition, Seasonality, Data Collection, Breeding Biology

Avian life-history studies are often conducted on populations nesting in nestboxes. However, the type of nestbox used is a potentially confounding variable, as each model shows specific characteristics. In recent decades, a new commercial model of artificial nestbox made of woodcrete, a mixture of sawdust and additives, has become popular owing to its better protection against predators compared with the classic wooden design. We assess the effect of nestbox type on the breeding ecology of Tree Sparrows Passer montanus, focusing on ...

- by Mario Diaz and +1
- •
- Information Systems, Zoology, Ecology, Ibis

The Southern Lapwing (Vanellus chilesnis) is a common bird in Southern America and commonly found in any large open areas, including agriculture and urban. The lapwing is a facultative cooperative breeder and aggressively defends its breeding territory. Thus, the breeding system and their consequences for reproductive success are interesting for evolutionary biology. Capture of the lapwing, however, is difficult. Most studies to date have not captured or individually marked birds even though identifying individuals to examine their roles in the breeding units is essential for understanding group evolution and interactions. Here we describe ways to efficiently capture the Southern Lapwing during the breeding season using mist-nets at night and by taking advantage of their defensive behaviors. Before hatching, nets were placed inside the breeding territories and by strategically walking towards the birds they were guided towards the nets, in which they fell when taking flight. After hatching, we captured the young birds and held them near the nets in which the adults fell when defending them. By using these methods, we captured 78 birds during the 2012 and 2013 breeding seasons. We observed no nest nor territory abandonment after captures. We suggest that our methods are useful in most situations with lapwings and better capture and marking will contribute to developing long-term population monitoring.

- by Talita V Braga and +1
- •
- Breeding Biology

The breeding biology of the Red Kite Milvus milvus is still little known in the southern part of its range (Mediterranean), despite recent conservation concerns and major declines in most insular populations (Sicily, Sardinia and Balearics). We report here on the breeding biology of the Red Kite in Corsica in 1996-99 and on recent population trends there. In a 42-km 2 study area located in the northwest of the island (Balagne region), breeding density was locally high (1.17-1.78 breeding pairs/km 2 ). Breeding dispersion ranged from loosely colonial to dispersed, with average nearest-neighbour distance of 444 ± 316 m (range 50-2000) (all data as means ± sd). Kites established breeding territories in January-February, and 92.4% of territorial pairs laid a clutch ( n = 238). Laying took place between February and May (mean lay date: 27 March ± 16 days, n = 147). Clutch size averaged 2.44 ± 0.71 (1-5 eggs, n = 96), hatching success 66.9% and fledging success 78.6%. Productivity averaged 1.33 ± 0.88 young per breeding attempt ( n = 221) and 1.65 ± 0.65 young per successful breeding attempt ( n = 173). Overall breeding success was 51.4 ± 38.0% ( n = 88). We describe the growth of young (wing, weight, tarsus and bill) and show a marked seasonal decline in clutch size and breeding performance, with pairs laying earlier producing larger clutches and being more successful than later breeding pairs. Unlike most other insular Mediterranean Red Kite populations that have recently declined, the breeding population in the northwest of Corsica, which accounts for c .

- by Bretagnolle Vincent
- •
- Information Systems, Zoology, Western Europe, Ecology

Summary The breeding biology, behaviour and diet of the Little Eagle Hieraaetus morphnoides were studied throughout 110 hours of observation from nest-renovation until early in the nestling period, and by analysis of prey remains and pellets, at three nests in the New England region of northern New South Wales in 2006. Supplementary observations and collections of food remains were made

- by Stephen Debus
- •
- New South Wales, Egg Laying, Oryctolagus cuniculus, New England

Summary The breeding biology, behaviour and diet of the Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax were studied by 156 hours of observation from nest-renovation to the post-fledging period, and by analysis of prey remains and pellets, at one nest in the New England region of northern New South Wales in 2005. Supplementary observations and collections of food remains were made at three and two other nests, respectively. Egg-laying occurred in June (n = 5 clutches). At one nest, incubation (by both sexes) lasted 43±2 days, the nestling period lasted 90 days to first flight from the nest-tree (with the young venturing to branches in the nest-tree from 78 days), and the post-fledging dependence period lasted 4 months. Sex- roles, parental behaviour and time-budgets in each phase are described and quantified, and juvenile growth and behavioural development are described. Fledgling productivity was 1.2 young per pair (1.8 per successful pair) in 2005 (n = 6 pairs), and 0.8 young per pair per year in...

- by Stephen Debus
- •
- New South Wales, Egg Laying, Oryctolagus cuniculus, New England

Mystus tengara is a freshwater catfish of Indian subcontinent having good market demand as food fish due to its good taste and high nutrient profile. Recently it has made its entry in ornamental fish markets and also has been reported to be exported as indigenous ornamental fish from India with moderate export price. Earlier not much work has been performed on feeding and breeding biology of this fish species and the information so far available on these two aspects is also in a scattered manner. So in the present report it has been tried to sum up all the available information on these aspects along with noting down the lacunae of information further study of which will be beneficial for its future fishery and management.

- by Sandipan Gupta
- •
- Fish Biology, Feeding Biology, Breeding Biology
- by Carla Suertegaray Fontana
- •
- Ornithology, Biology, Neotropical ornithology, Breeding Biology

Sexual differences in parental care investment may affect individual survival or performance, and also demography. We investigated parental-care behavior of the endangered Chaco Eagle (Buteogallus coronatus) to evaluate implications for population conservation in semiarid habitats of central Argentina. From 2004 to 2012, we monitored three breeding attempts using video recording (275 hr) during the incubation period, and nine pairs during the nestling-rearing period by means of video recording (1087 hr) and focal observations at nests (232 hr). Chaco Eagles showed a strong division of parental care by sex.
Females contributed significantly more than males to incubation, shading/brooding, and feeding of the nestling, whereas males provided prey to females during incubation and to nestlings during the early
nestling-rearing period. Foraging males, which spend more time away fromthe nest, may be more exposed to anthropogenic activities and negative interactions with humans. If males are more vulnerable to such effects, this could decrease the survival of breeding males and potentially increase the recruitment of immature males to the breeding population. In this event, the ability of the inexperienced immature males that replace
the adult eagles to cope with the food and care demands of the mate and offspring is critical for ensuring Chaco Eagle population maintenance.

- by Juan Manuel Grande
- •
- Raptor Biology, Parental care, Birds of prey, Eagle ecology
- by John O'Halloran
- •
- Zoology, Clutch Size, Breeding Biology, South West
- by H. Hoi
- •
- Information Systems, Zoology, Ecology, Ibis
- by Miguel Del Dago
- •
- Genetics, Ecological Niche Modeling, Phenotypic Plasticity, Multidisciplinary

Audubon's Shearwater Pufhnus lherminieri is a little known species of petrel. The recent descriptions of a possibly new species (P. atrodorsalis) and a new subspecies (l? 1. colstoni) have suggested that the population breeding on Reunion Island, I! 1. bailloni, may represent a key taxon for understanding the phylogeography of this group in the Indian Ocean. We provide the first detailed information on distribution, abundance, habitat characteristics and breeding biology of the species on Reunion, and assess relationships between the Indian Ocean taxa based on biometrics, coloration characters and patterns of breeding phenology. We also studied the behaviour of the birds on Reunion, paying particular attention to vocalizations. Analysing the parameters that affect calling rate, such as moonlight, season and time, we show that calling activity can be used to estimate colony size. Using this method, we sampled more than half of Reunion Island habitats suitable for Audubon's Shearwater, and estimate that the breeding population there is between 3000 and 5000 pairs in at least 235 colonies. Compared to other Indian Ocean populations ( n = 136 specimens), the analysis of biometrics and coloration characters suggests that three main populations exist (Comoro, Reunion and Seychelles), with birds of Maldives and Amirantes being biometrically inseparable from those of Seychelles, and birds from Aldabra being intermediate between Seychelles and Reunion. The proposed new species, atrodorsalis, also falls in the overlap between Seychelles and Reunion birds, which argues against a full species taxonomic status.

- by carole attié
- •
- Information Systems, Zoology, Reproduction, Biometrics

Mode of development in birds helps determine the form of brood parasitism a species exhibits. Most knowledge of precocial brood parasites comes from a single avian family, the waterfowl (Anatidae: Anseriformes). Here we review cases of interspecific brood parasitism (IBP) in a second group of precocial birds, the order Galliformes. IBP is uncommon but taxonomically widespread, occurring in at least 11 species and in four of five galliform families. By far the most common brood parasite is the Ring-necked Pheasant Phasianus colchicus. Hosts were generally other ground-nesting precocial species. It is unclear whether the absence of IBP in the Cracidae (Guans, Curassows, and Chachalacas) is due to the paucity of research on tropical gamebirds or because tropical birds such as the Cracidae may be less likely to practise IBP. Galliform birds mirror the trend found in ducks in which virtually all species that parasitize heterospecifics are also conspecific brood parasites (CBP). This association supports the hypothesis that IBP as an adaptive tactic or strategy may evolve from CBP. Alternatively, or additionally, egg-dumping may represent reproductive error on the part of females, such that concordance between CBP and IBP could be a byproduct of having sufficient knowledge of breeding biology only for a subset of galliform species.

- by Alan Krakauer
- •
- Information Systems, Zoology, Ecology, Ibis

Snags are an important resource for a wide variety of organisms, including cavity-nesting birds. We documented snag attributes in a mixedconifer forest dominated by ponderosa pine in the Sierra Nevada, California where fire is being applied during spring. A total of 328 snags were monitored before and after fire on plots burned once, burned twice, or left unburned to assess the effects of prescribed fire on snag populations. The greatest loss of snags (7.1 snags ha À1 or 43%) followed the first introduction of fire after a long fire-free period. On plots burned a second time 21% of snags (3.6 snags ha À1 ) were lost, whereas 8% (1.4 snags ha À1 ) were lost on unburned control plots in the same time period. New snags replaced many of those lost reducing the net snag losses to 12% (2.0 ha À1 ) for plots burned once, and 3% (0.5 ha À1 ) for plots burned twice and unburned plots. We also examined snags used by cavity-nesting birds. Snags preferred for nesting were generally ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), larger diameter, and moderately decayed as compared to available snags. For monitored snags that met the preferred criteria, there was a net loss (1.7 snag ha À1 or 34%) after the first burn, while the loss of useable snags was less than 1 snag ha À1 following the second burn (15%) or on unburned controls (8%). We recommend protection of preferred snags, in particular large ponderosa pines, especially during primary fire applications on fire-suppressed landscapes. Published by Elsevier B.V.

- by Sahas Barve
- •
- Animal Behavior, Birds (Ecology), Breeding Biology