Search results for "FICEDULA"
showing 10 items of 54 documents
Do Pied Flycatcher Females Defend an Extra Nest Hole Against Conspecific Females?
1999
AbstractIn birds, females are often aggressive against conspecific females during the breeding. There are many explanations for this intrasexual aggression by females: e.g., nest site or food resource defence, prevention of intraspecific brood parasitism or infanticide, and monopolization of paternal care. A pair might also benefit by defending an alternative nest site in addition to the current nest site. Here, I study by experimentation whether pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) females defend an extra nest box as an alternative nesting site. Further, I examine whether females behave differently when their mate is present vs not present. I measured the reactions by resident females to a…
Ectoparasites, nest site choice and breeding success in the pied flycatcher
1994
It has recently been suggested that nest box studies might bias the measurement of behavioural and life-history traits, because the removal of old nests may reduce the load of ectoparasites. This experimental artefact may have notable effects on nest site choice and breeding success in cavity-breeding birds. We tested (i) if pied flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca prefer clean nest boxes and (ii) if old nest material affects the number of parasites and the breeding success of pied flycatchers. In the first experiment we offered birds one cleaned nest box and one nest box with old nest material from the previous year. The two nest boxes were placed in very similar sites near each other. In this …
Ultraviolet reflection and female mate choice in the pied flycatcher, Ficedula hypoleuca
2002
In pied flycatchers females seem to prefer male territory quality rather than male characteristics, and the results of female mate choice experiments are divergent. In this outdoor aviary study, we examined how altering the ultraviolet reflection of males affects female mate choice behaviour. We chose pairs of males with similar human-visible dorsal colour and morphological traits. We then reduced the proportional ultraviolet reflectance in one male with sunscreen chemicals. The other male was treated with a chemical that slightly increased the ultraviolet reflectance of the plumage. In the experiment females clearly preferred males with slightly increased ultraviolet reflection. Our result…
Carry-over effects of conditions at the wintering grounds on breeding plumage signals in a migratory bird : roles of phenotypic plasticity and select…
2016
To understand the consequences of ever-changing environment on the dynamics of phenotypic traits, distinguishing between selection processes and individual plasticity is crucial. We examined individual consistency/plasticity in several male secondary sexual traits expressed during the breeding season (white wing and forehead patch size, UV reflectance of white wing patch and dorsal melanin coloration) in a migratory pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) population over an 11-year period. Furthermore, we studied carry-over effects of three environmental variables (NAO, a climatic index; NDVI, a vegetation index; and rainfall) at the wintering grounds (during prebreeding moult) on the expressi…
Impact of Busy Roads on Breeding Success in Pied Flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca
2002
The impact of dense traffic on the breeding success in pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) was studied using roadside nest-boxes. Nest site selection and breeding success of flycatchers were observed in relation to the distance from the road. The number of occupied territories was no higher closer to the road than it was deeper inside the forest. The distance to the road had no effect on the laying date, clutch size, or brood size. However, nests closer to the road were more likely to fail at the chick stage. The number of broods that were closer to roads and were lost completely was significantly higher than those further away. As a consequence, the number of fledglings per breeding atte…
Indirect cues of nest predation risk and avian reproductive decisions
2009
Current life-history theory predicts that increased mortality at early stages of life leads to reduced initial investment (e.g. clutch size) but increased subsequent investment during the reproduction attempt. In a field experiment, migratory pied flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca perceived differences in mammalian nest predation risk and altered their reproductive strategies in two respects. First, birds avoided nest sites manipulated to reflect the presence of a predator. Second, birds breeding in risky areas nested 4 days earlier and laid 10 per cent larger clutches than those in safe areas, a result that runs counter to the prevailing life-history paradigm. We suggest that the overwhelmin…
Trade-offs between sexual advertisement and immune function in the pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca).
2004
Good genes models of sexual selection assume that sexual advertisement is costly and thus the level of advertisement honestly reveals heritable viability. Recently it has been suggested that an important cost of sexual advertisement might be impairment of the functioning of the immune system. In this field experiment we investigated the possible trade-offs between immune function and sexual advertisement by manipulating both mating effort and activity of immune defence in male pied flycatchers. Mating effort was increased in a non-arbitrary manner by removing females from mated males during nest building. Widowed males sustained higher haematocrit levels than control males and showed higher…
Negatively condition dependent predation cost of a positively condition dependent sexual signalling.
2006
Predation is considered as an important factor constraining the expression of sexual signals. Nevertheless, direct quantitative evidence for predation provoking significant viability costs on individuals signalling at high rates is scarce. Moreover, it is unclear whether high rate signallers are able to balance presumably increased predation costs. We examined whether a condition dependent audible sexual signal, drumming, makes Hygrolycosa rubrofasciata male spiders more prone to predation by pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca), and whether sexual signalling rate is related to escaping ability once attacked. When birds were given a choice between two spider males manipulated to drum eithe…
Mākslīgo ligzdvietu iekšējā apgaismojuma loma melnā mušķērāja Ficedula hypoleuca un lielās zīlītes Parus major ligzdošanas vietas izvēlē
2018
Balstoties uz iepriekš publicētiem pētījumiem, kuros konstatēta ligzdvietas iekšējā apgaismojuma līmeņa nozīme dobumperētāju ligzdvietu izvēlē, tika izvirzīts pieņēmums, ka mērķsugu īpatņi biežāk ligzdošanai izvēlēsies gaišākās nekā tumšākas mākslīgās ligzdvietas. Par darba mērķi tika uzstādīts noskaidrot mākslīgo ligzdvietu iekšējā apgaismojuma ietekmi uz melnā mušķērāja Ficedula hypoleuca un lielās zīlītes Parus major ligzdošanas vietas izvēli. Visi četri pētījuma veikšanai izvēlētie parauglaukumi atradās Garkalnes un Inčukalna novados, dabas liegumā “Garkalnes meži,” skrajos, viendabīgos priežu monoaudzes sausieņu tipa mežos. Eksperimenta veikšanai tika sagatavotas parauglaukumos jau eso…
TRYPANOSOMES OF SOME FENNOSCANDIAN BIRDS
1994
Linear measurements and derived indices of trypanosomes from species of Fennoscandian birds were compared to those reported form Trypanosoma avium, T. everetti, T. ontarioensis and T. paddae. The trypanosomes encountered in the Fennoscandian birds were identified as T. avium from Tengmalm's owl Aegolius funereus and the pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca, T. everetti from the great tit Parus major and collared flycatcher F. albicollis and T. ontarioensis from the collared flycatcher; T. paddae was not seen.