Vertebrate Zoology 57(1): 79-82, doi:
Utilizing material from old nests - a way to time-saving in a short breeding species? The case of the Long-tailed Tit Aegithalos caudatus
Grzegorz HebdaCorresponding author: Grzegorz Hebda © Grzegorz Hebda. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Citation:
Hebda G (2007) Utilizing material from old nests - a way to time-saving in a short breeding species? The case of the Long-tailed Tit Aegithalos caudatus. Vertebrate Zoology 57(1): 79-82 |  |
Abstract
The Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus) is a species characterized by high levels of nest depredation and a short breedingseason. In the face of such high levels of nesting failures, behavioural adaptations to reduce failures should be expected.Here I report on two cases where Long-tailed Tits appeared to reduce their re-nesting interval by utilizing material fromdestroyed nests to build new ones. I suggest that using a previous nest to build a subsequent nest is an adaptation in Longtailed Tits aimed at increasing the speed with which a pair can begin to re-nest and hence increasing their breeding success in a given year.
Keywords
Breeding biology, open nest, nest-depredation rate, behavioural adaptation, Poland