Breeding Behavior and Nesting of the Eastern Robin

Young, Howard

doi:10.2307/2422072

Cited by 43 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Most of the parameters of breeding in T. m. caurinus, such as those relating to nests, fecundity, and length of season, are so similar to those described for other subspecies (Howe 1898;Schantz 1939;Howell 1942;Young 1955;Klimstra and Stieglitz 1957;Howard 1967;Gaber et al 1971;James and Shugart 1974;Knupp et al 1977) that they warrant no additional description. The population of T. m. caurinus studied by Martin (1973) on the Comox Burn, Vancouver Island, differs in a fundamental aspect from that of Vancouver on the mainland.…”

Section: Breeding Schedulementioning

confidence: 80%

“…Percents of egg-to-fledgling success in subspecies other than T. m. caurinus are on record as 37-50 (Graber et al 1971), 45 (Young 1955), 50.5 (Howell 1942), and 60.9 (Johnson et al 1976), and, with one exception (Graber et al 197 I), all of these studies took place in urban or rural cultivated sites. Among Vancouver robins, however, the success rate was 86.6% and from data derived from the British Columbia Nest Records Scheme for caurinus in gardens and parks (currently on file at the British Columbia Provincial Museum, Victoria) was 72%.…”

Section: Breeding Schedulementioning

confidence: 99%

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Seasonal reproductive changes in the American robin (Turdus migratorius L.) of the Pacific Northwest

Kemper¹,

Taylor²

1981

Can. J. Zool.

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1981. Seasonal reproductive changes in the American robin ( Turdus migratorius L.) of the Pacific Northwest. Can. J. Zool. 59: 212-217. Gonadal analysis of the American robin of southwestern British Columbia indicates that males progress rapidly into breeding condition after mid-March. Females respond more slowly but before mid-April may be laying eggs. Males begin to regress in testis weight before summer solstice, although all are spermatogenic until July. By this time, females are incubating the last clutch of eggs of the season and almost all other adults are postbreeding. They revert rapidly to gonads of winter size and status.In most reproductive parameters, those of the American robin of southwestern British Columbia are essentially like those of robins throughout the rest of North America; however, two major differences have emerged in this study. One concerns this robin's seasonally early deviation from hatching time predictions for the American robin elsewhere, based on April noon-time temperature variables, and the other is its rate of egg-to-fledgling success which is higher than that recorded for any other subspecies. KEMPER, D. L., et J. M. TAYLOR. 1981. Seasonal reproductive changes in the American robin (Turdus migratorius L.) of the Pacific Northwest. Can. J. Zool. 59: 212-217.L'analyse des gonades du merle amkricain dans le sud-ouest de la Colombie Britannique a permis de constater que les mNes subissent ap&s la mi-mars une maturation rapide qui les rendra en Ctat de se reproduire. Les femelles sont plus lentes a se transformer, mais peuvent pondre des ceufs avant la mi-avril. Le poids des testicules commence a diminuer avant le solstice d'CtC, bien que tous les maes soient spermatoghnes jusqu'en juillet. A ce moment, les femelles portent leur dernikre portte d'ceufs de la saison et presque tous les autres adultes sont en phase post-reproductrice. Les gonades reprennent rapidement leur taille et leur morphologie d'hiver.La plupart des paramktres de la reproduction du merle amCricain dans I'ouest de la Colombie Brittannique ressemblent essentiellement a ceux des autres merles du reste de 1'AmCrique du Nord; cependant, on peut constater deux diffkrences importantes: (1) chez le merle du sud-ouest de la Colombie Britannique, le temps nCcessaire a I'tclosion slCcarte des prkvisions 6tablies pour le merle amkricain ailleurs, prCvisions basCes sur les variables de tempkrature midi, la mi-avril; (2) le succ&s du stade aeuf au stade oisillon emplumt est plus tlevC chez le merle du sud-ouest de la Colombie Britannique que chez toutes les autres sous-espkces.[Traduit par le journal] IntroductionMost studies of the American robin (Turdus migratorius L.) have been concerned with the phenology of nesting, clutch size and success, and breeding behavior (Howe

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Section: Breeding Schedulementioning

confidence: 80%

Section: Breeding Schedulementioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal reproductive changes in the American robin (Turdus migratorius L.) of the Pacific Northwest

Kemper¹,

Taylor²

1981

Can. J. Zool.

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“…As described by Feare (1984), the starling, like the robin, is a migratory species that roosts communally at night throughout the year, though most noticeably in the winter. Starlings, however, are not territorial in the conventional sense described for robins (Davis, 1959;Young, 1951).…”

mentioning

confidence: 98%

Unlike American Robins (Turdus migratorius), European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) do not display roost-time restlessness

Eiserer

Thompson

1989

Animal Learning & Behavior

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The daily perch-hop activity of six captive European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) was observed under natural lighting over 12 months. Moderately high levels of early morning activity gradually declined throughout the day. Unlike robins (Turdus migratorius), however, the starlings showed no evidence of the brief burst of activity at dusk called roost-time restlessness (Eiserer, 1979). The present data support the hypothesis that roost-time restlessness depends upon the conjunction of territorial and roosting behaviors, which is the case for robins but not for starlings.

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“…During the daytime, the birds are territorial and basically antagonistic towards conspecifics (Young, 1951); at dusk, however, the birds become flockers and actually seek out conspecifics at the roost site (Brewster, 1890). It is possible, therefore, that the dusk activity shown by captive robins in previous studies was the result of housing the birds under visual, but not auditory, isolation from conspecifics.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Contextual generality of roosttime restlessness in captive American robins (Turdus migratorius)

Eiserer

1981

Animal Learning & Behavior

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A series of experiments with captive American robins examined factors affecting roosttime restlessness, that is, the burst of locomotor activity that appears at dusk and is thought to be a correlate of the communal roosting habit of this species. First, the restlessness occurred earlier on cloudy days than on sunny ones, suggesting the importance of illumination level in initiating the activity burst. Second, in studies on social effects, the restlessness was greater when robins were totally isolated than when they had visual-auditory access to conspecifics; indeed, when a small flock of robins was housed together, restlessness at dusk was suppressed completely. Third, the birds were more restless when they could see a human observer than when they could not, implying an interaction of fearfulness with the roosting tendency. Finally, restlessness occurred in a large flight cage as well as in small cages, as long as the birds were not maintained in a flock. In sum, roosttime restlessness appears to be II robust phenomenon that occurs under a wide range of laboratory conditions, but which also can be substantially influenced by numerous environmental variables. Further experimental examination of these variables may advance present understanding of the survival value of communal roosting in this species.The daily activity pattern of captive American robins iTurdus migratorius) under conditions of natural illumination typically consists of moderateto-high activity in the early daylight hours, a gradual decline in activity as the day progresses, and finally a brief period of high activity at dusk just before the birds settle down for the night (Eiserer, 1979; Palmer, 1(70). Several lines of evidence suggest that the high a.tivity at dusk is a behavioral correlate of the robin's tendency to fly to a communal roost each evening and sleep there with conspecifics.First, free-living robins show a characteristic restlessness around dusk preliminary to their flights to the roost (Brewster, 1890). A comparable display of restlessness by captive robins might be expected, much as many songbirds show "migratory restlessness" on a seasonal basis, whether free-living or in captivity (Eyster, 1954). Second, the high activity of captive robins at dusk is often accompanied by an increase in the occurrence of wing-flapping which may represent flight-intention movements or an "urge to fly" (Eiserer, 1979). Third, the activity peak at dusk appears every month of the year (Eiserer, 1979; 198Oc), a finding that is in agreement with field reports that wild robins travel to a communal roost during all four seasons

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Breeding Behavior and Nesting of the Eastern Robin

Cited by 43 publications

References 13 publications

Seasonal reproductive changes in the American robin (Turdus migratorius L.) of the Pacific Northwest

Seasonal reproductive changes in the American robin (Turdus migratorius L.) of the Pacific Northwest

Unlike American Robins (Turdus migratorius), European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) do not display roost-time restlessness

Contextual generality of roosttime restlessness in captive American robins (Turdus migratorius)

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