The Breeding Ecology of the Crested Myna Acridotheres cristatellus on Tropical Hainan Island

Liu, Jinmei; Liang, Wei

doi:10.2326/osj.20.83

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Our findings are in contrast to those reported from the Canary Islands, where the species avoided these orientations due to prevailing winds (Rodríguez & Rodríguez 2007). Similarly, northeasterly orientations were not preferred and were unsuccessful for nesting Crested Myna Acridotheres cristatellus in Hainan because of severe wind (Liu & Liang 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First Confirmed Breeding Records of Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea Tunstall, 1771 (Passeriformes: Motacillidae) in Cyprus

Iezekiel

Dimitriou

Bakaloudis

et al. 2023

Ornithological Science

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In this paper we describe first breeding of Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea in Cyprus. Twenty-three nests were found during the 2020 and 2021 breeding seasons in riparian habitats adjacent to major river systems in the Paphos State Forest. Most nests were located on roadside banks at a height of 2.38 m above the ground and at a distance of about 0–10 m from the river. Nests consisted of grassy cups with a mean diameter of 13.39 cm, while the nest cup itself had a mean diameter of 7.07 cm and a depth of 3.41 cm. Twelve nesting attempts were monitored with females laying eggs between early April and early July. A total of 54 eggs were laid and 44 nestlings were successfully raised from the 12 nests. The mean clutch size was 4.5 eggs per nest, the mean number of hatched eggs was 3.92 and the mean number of fledglings was 3.67. Parents fed their young mostly on invertebrates and in particular on insects. Diptera and Odonata were the most common insect Orders comprising the majority of prey items. Average insect prey size was 10.79 mm (range 2–60 mm), with little difference in prey size between that delivered by males and females. This study confirms the first breeding of the species in Cyprus, where it follows a breeding pattern similar to that in other parts of Western Palearctic range. The affinity of the Grey Wagtail to human structures and the low predation rate highlight the successful breeding potential and the future range expansion of the species across the island of Cyprus.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First Confirmed Breeding Records of Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea Tunstall, 1771 (Passeriformes: Motacillidae) in Cyprus

Iezekiel

Dimitriou

Bakaloudis

et al. 2023

Ornithological Science

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“…Snake slough in myna nests does not promote nestling growth [ 42 ] but can effectively reduce the risk of nest predation [ 12 ]. Maritime striped squirrels are the nest predators of crested mynas [ 27 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this experiment, wooden nest boxes (L × W × H = 15 × 15 × 30 cm; box opening diameter 6 cm, n = 180) used by Liu and Liang (2021b) [ 27 ] were suspended 3 m above the ground on tree trunks during breeding season in HNU (7–18 August 2020), DLS (14–25 May 2020), and QCF (1–12 August 2020), as shown in Figure 3 . Every three nest boxes were considered as one nest box sample site, and the distance between the nests within a nest box sample site was maintained within 5 m to ensure three nest boxes within a nest box sample site have similar chances of being found by predators; the distance between nest box sample sites was greater than 60 m to ensure that the nest boxes were located independently from each other.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In studies of nesting materials, the antimicrobial and antiparasitic functions of green plants [ 8 , 13 , 14 , 15 ] and that of thermal insulation of feathers [ 16 , 17 , 18 ] have received considerable attention in the field of evolutionary ecology [ 2 , 4 ]. Snake sloughs are common nesting materials for some hole-nesting bird species [ 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ]. However, few studies have explored the function of snake sloughs as nesting materials in bird nests.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They suggest that snake sloughs in great reed warbler nests may serve as a post-pairing signal revealing female parental quality [ 24 ]. Liu and Liang (2021b) observed snake sloughs in nests of crested mynas ( Acridotheres cristatellus ) in different stages of breeding [ 27 ]; later, Liu and Liang (2021a) verified the anti-predator function of snake sloughs and found that the addition of snake sloughs to nests was effective in deterring predation by the maritime striped squirrel ( Tamiops maritimus ), and by manipulating visual or olfactory cues, results showed that predators were deterred by the visual cues of the snake sloughs in the nests [ 12 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Functions of Snake Sloughs in Bird Nests Vary with Habitats: A Test of the Anti-Predation Hypothesis

Liu

Jin

et al. 2023

Animals

Self Cite

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Snake sloughs in bird nests can reduce nest predation and serve as an anti-predator strategy. However, the anti-predator function of snake sloughs in nests has only been tested twice, and it is difficult to speculate around the origin of the differences, which may well include habitat, as predator species and predation risk vary in different habitat types. Habitat would be a good place to speculate as to how differences in habitats could explain differences in responses by nest predators. Thus, we selected three different habitats, namely, the Diaoluoshan National Nature Reserve in Hainan (DLS, tropical forest), the Hainan Normal University campus (HNU, urban area), and Qingchuifeng National Forest Park in Hebei (QCF, suburban area), to verify the anti-predator function of snake sloughs in bird nests. The experimental results showed that snake sloughs in the nests reduced the predation rate of the experimental nests in HNU, whereas no such effect occurred in DLS and QCF. This suggests that the anti-predatory function of snake sloughs may not be the same over some environmental gradients and could be dependent on the species of nest predators and food resources in the habitat, which does not apply to all types of habitats.

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Egg covering by cavity-nesting birds: an experimental test of the usurpation hypothesis

Liu,

Zhang,

Zhang

et al. 2023

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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The Breeding Ecology of the Crested Myna Acridotheres cristatellus on Tropical Hainan Island

Cited by 9 publications

References 29 publications

First Confirmed Breeding Records of Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea Tunstall, 1771 (Passeriformes: Motacillidae) in Cyprus

First Confirmed Breeding Records of Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea Tunstall, 1771 (Passeriformes: Motacillidae) in Cyprus

Functions of Snake Sloughs in Bird Nests Vary with Habitats: A Test of the Anti-Predation Hypothesis

Egg covering by cavity-nesting birds: an experimental test of the usurpation hypothesis

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