Habitat Selection and Nesting of a South Swedish Whitethroat Sylvia communis Lath. Population

Structural heterogeneity of linear habitats positively affects Barred WarblerSylvia nisoria, Common WhitethroatSylvia communisand Lesser WhitethroatSylvia currucain farmland of Western Poland

“…We hypothesize that heterogeneity functions in the same manner as width, providing birds with varied niches. Brambles and nettles had the greatest influence on the distribution of Common Whitethroat, which uses these habitats most frequently for nesting (Persson 1971, Mason 1976, Bocheń ski 1985, Hałupka et al 2002. Our results also support those reported by Stoate and Szczur (2001) who showed that Common Whitethroats in field boundaries use brambles and nettles most frequently as nest sites.…”

“…All species avoided a high proportion of low vegetation which may be related to reducing foraging (Hałupka et al 2002). Only Common Whitethroats may be attracted by low vegetation at the beginning of the breeding season when the foliage of brambles or shrubs is not well developed (Persson 1971). Nevertheless, even a small clump of herbaceous vegetation may be entirely sufficient for Common Whitethroat to build a nest.…”

“…Barred Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat, species considered to be hedgerow specialist (Fuller et al 2001), were positively influenced by increasing shrub volume. In contrast, Common Whitethroats were not affected: it is known that Common Whitethroats establish territories in non-shrubby habitats and may even occasionally occupy patches of Oilseed Rape Brassica napus (Persson 1971). Several studies have shown that the width of hedgerows is one of the most important variables for the overall richness of bird species (see review Hinsley & Bellamy 2000).…”

“…Nevertheless, the value of linear habitats to each species is not the same (Wuczyń ski et al 2011). Habitat selection by Sylvia warblers has been previously investigated in the context of interspecific territoriality (Cody 1978, Tsiakiris et al 2009, Polak 2012, migration (Turrian & Jenni 1989, Vickery et al 1999) and many aspects of breeding biology and ecology (Persson 1971, Macdonald 1979, Bairlein et al 1980, Bocheń ski 1985, Hedenström & Åkesson 1991, Hałupka et al 2002, Brauze 2012, but detailed studies carried out in linear habitats are sparse. To the best of our knowledge, only Stoate and Szczur (2001) have focused on the influence of field boundary structure on the breeding territory establishment of Common Whitethroat.…”

Breeding Biology of the Sylvia Warblers

“…Blackcaps, living mainly in canopy woodland, nest lower down than Lesser Whitethroats, which are largely woodland edge and hedgerow birds. Persson (1971a) showed that Swedish Whitethroats build their nests higher later in the season, when the vegetation has grown. In the present study nests started in June were not significantly higher than nests started in May (chi-squared test 5.96, P > 0.05, d.f.…”