It is well established that once birds have laid their eggs they sometimes incubate non-egg objects. However, reports of birds incubating solely non-egg objects (without prior manipulation by researchers) are rare. Here we report on our observation of a Long-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus scolopaceus incubating a clutch composed entirely of mammalian bones. To our knowledge, this is the first report on (a) incubation of foreign objects in Scolopacidae, (b) incubation of a ‘clutch’ composed entirely of bones, and (c) incubation of foreign objects in a nest atypical for this species in both construction and nest habitat. We discuss possible explanations for this presumably maladaptive behaviour.
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1 October 2012
Unusual Incubation: Long-Billed Dowitcher Incubates Mammalian Bones
Lillie A. Langlois,
Katrina Murböck,
Martin Bulla,
Bart Kempenaers
Ardea
Vol. 100 • No. 2
October 2012
Vol. 100 • No. 2
October 2012
incubation
Limnodromus scolopaceus
Long-billed Dowitcher
nesting habitat
non-egg object
pseudo-egg