Broods of Pied Flycatcher nesting in natural tree holes and nest-boxes in Białowieża Forest (E Poland) were compared. Natural holes in primeval stands of the Białowieża National Park were located by following singing males, then monitored several times during the season. Nest-boxes situated in the managed part of the forest were inspected weekly. Flycatchers breeding in natural holes started laying eggs on average two days later (15 May) and laid smaller clutches (6.4 eggs) than birds breeding in nest-boxes (13 May and 6.7 eggs). The prédation rate was significantly lower in natural holes (av. 47%) than in nest-boxes (av. 65%). This result indicates that generalisations regarding the evolution of adaptations to predation by nest-box populations should be treated with caution.
How to translate text using browser tools
1 July 2004
Breeding Success and Timing of the Pied Flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca Nesting in Natural Holes and Nest-Boxes in the Białowieża Forest, Poland
Dorota Czeszczewik
R. V. Alatalo
,
A. Carlson
,
A. Lundberg
1988. Nest cavity size and clutch size of Pied Flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca breeding in natural tree-holes. Ornis Scand. 19: 317–319. Google Scholar
R. V. Alatalo
,
A. Carlson
,
A. Lundberg
1991. Polygyny and breeding success of Pied Flycatchers nesting in natural cavities. In:
J. Blondel
(ed.).
Demographical, physiological, genetical and behavioural aspects of population biology of passerine birds. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp.: 323–330. Google Scholar
R. V. Alatalo
,
D. Ericksson
,
L. Gustafsson
,
A. Lundberg
1990. Hybridization between Pied and Collared Flycatchers — sexual selection and speciation theory. J. Evol. Biol. 3: 375–389. Google Scholar
R. V. Alatalo
,
A. Lundberg
,
M. Bjorklund
1982. Can the song of male birds attract other males? An experiment with the pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca. Bird Behaviour 4: 42–15. Google Scholar
R. Berndt
,
W. Winkel
1967. Die Gelegegrösse des Trauerschnäppers (Ficedula hypoleuca) in Beziehung zu Ort, Zeit, Biotop und Alter. Vogelwelt 88: 97–136. Google Scholar
D. Czeszczewik
,
W. Walankiewicz
2003. Natural nest sites of the Pied Flycatcher in a primeval forest. Ardea 91: 221–230. Google Scholar
D. Czeszczewik
,
W. Walankiewicz
,
C. Mitrus
,
W. K. Nowakowski
1999. Nest-box data of Pied Flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca may lead to erroneous generalizations. Vogelwelt Suppl. 120: 361–365. Google Scholar
B. Enoksson
1993. Effects of female age on reproductive success in European Nuthatches breeding in natural cavities. Auk 110: 215–221. Google Scholar
J. B. Faliński
1986. Vegetation dynamics in temperate zone lowland primeval forests: Ecological studies in Bialowieza Forest. Dr W. Junk. Publ. Dordrecht, pp. 1–537. Google Scholar
A. Järvinen
1990. Incubation and nestling periods in hole-nesting passerines in Finnish Lapland. Ornis Fennica 67: 65–72. Google Scholar
W. Jędrzejewski
,
A. Zalewski
,
B. Jędrzejewska
1993. Foraging by Pine Marten Martes martes in relation to food resources in Białowieża National Park, Poland. Acta Theriol. 38: 405–26. Google Scholar
C. Mitrus
2003. A comparison of the breeding ecology of Collared Flycatchers nesting in boxes and natural cavities. J. Field Ornithol. 74: 293–299. Google Scholar
S. G. Nilsson
1975. [Clutch size and breeding success of birds in nest-boxes and natural cavities]. Vår Fagelvärld 34: 207–211. Google Scholar
S. G. Nilsson
1984. Clutch size and breeding success of the Pied Flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca in natural tree-holes. Ibis 126: 407–10. Google Scholar
W. K. Nowakowski
,
P. Boratyński
2000. [An identification of predators traces in nest boxes]. Not. Ornitol. 41: 55–69. Google Scholar
K. L. Purcell
,
J. Verner
,
L. W. Oring
1997. A comparison of the breeding ecology of birds nesting in boxes and the cavities. Auk 114: 646–656. Google Scholar
R. J. Robertson
,
W. B. Rendell
1990. A comparison of the breeding ecology of a secondary cavity nesting bird, the Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor), in nest-boxes and natural cavities. Can. J. Zool. 68: 1046–1052. Google Scholar
A. F. Skutch
1949. Do tropical birds rear as many young as they can nourish? Ibis 91: 430–55. Google Scholar
T. Slagsvold
1986. Nest site settlement by Pied Flycatcher: does the female choose her mate for the quality of his house or himself? Ornis Scand. 17: 210–220. Google Scholar
T. Slagsvold
1987. Nest site preference and clutch size in the Pied Flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca. Ornis Scand. 18: 189–197. Google Scholar
L. Tomiałojć
,
T. Wesołowski
1996. Structure of a primaeval forest bird community during 1970s and 1990s (Białowieża National Park, Poland). Acta Ornithol. 31: 133–154. Google Scholar
L. Tomiałojć
,
T. Wesołowski
,
W. Walankiewicz
1984. Breeding bird community of a primaeval temperate forest (Białowieża National Park, Poland). Acta Ornithol. 20: 241–310. Google Scholar
J. H. van Balen
,
C. J. H. Booy
,
J. A. van Franeker
,
E. R. Osieck
1982. Studies on hole-nesting birds in natural nest sites. 1. Availability and occupation of natural nest sites. Ardea 70: 1–24. Google Scholar
W. Walankiewicz
1991. Do secondary cavity nesting birds suffer more from competition for cavities or from predation in a primeval deciduous forest? Natural Areas Journal 11: 203–211. Google Scholar
W. Walankiewicz
2002a. Breeding losses in the Collared Flycatcher Ficedula albicollis caused by nest predators in the Białowieża National Park (Poland). Acta Ornithol. 37: 21–26. Google Scholar
W. Walankiewicz
2002b. Nest predation as a limiting factor to the breeding population size of the Collared Flycatcher Ficedula albicollis in the Białowieża National Park. Acta Ornithol. 37: 73–89. Google Scholar
T. Wesołowski
1998. Timing and synchronisation of breeding in a Marsh Tit Parus palustris population from a primaeval forest. Ardea 86: 89–100. Google Scholar
T. Wesołowski
,
T. Stawarczyk
1991. Survival and population dynamics of Nuthatches Sitta europaea breeding in natural cavities in a primeval temperate forest. Ornis Scand. 22: 143–154. Google Scholar
T. Wesołowski
,
L. Tomiałojć
,
C. Mitrus
,
P. Rowiński
,
D. Czeszczewik
2002. The breeding bird community of a primaeval temperate forest (Białowieża National Park, Poland) at the end of the 20th century. Acta Ornithol. 37: 27–45. Google Scholar
W. Winkel
1989. Langfristige Bestandsentwicklung von Kohlmeise (Parus major) und Trauerschnäpper (Ficedula hypoleuca): Ergebnisse aus Niedersachsen. J. Ornithol. 130: 335–343. Google Scholar
![](/ContentImages/journals/aorn/39/1/1/WebImages/068.039.0100.cover.jpg)
Acta Ornithologica
Vol. 39 • No. 1
July 2004
Vol. 39 • No. 1
July 2004
Białowieża Forest
breeding biology
clutch size
Ficedula hypoleuca
nest-boxes
Pied Flycatcher
Predation rate