We describe the nest sites, nests, eggs, and incubation and provisioning behavior of the endemic Giant Laughingthrush (Garrulax maximus) in a coniferous forest (2,850–2,950 m asl) at Lianhuashan, southern Gansu, central China. We found seven shallow bowl-shaped nests in Picea-Abies trees, 4.0 ± 1.5 m (x¯ ± SD, n = 7) above the ground during May and June 2003, 2007, and 2008. Clutch size was 2.2 ± 0.4 unspotted blue eggs (2–3, n = 6) of which 1.4 ± 0.5 nestlings hatched (1–2, n = 7), and 1.0 ± 1.0 young fledged (0–2, n = 7). Three nests failed, possibly due to predation or abandonment during prolonged rainfall. Both males and females incubated clutches; nest attentiveness during the day decreased from 92.6 ± 0.9% before hatching to 59.4 ± 1.5% during days 3–7 of the nestling period. Both parents fed the nestlings (1.0 ± 1.0 times/hr) and consumed the feces (0.3 ± 0.5 times/hr) during the 7–15 days after hatching
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1 June 2010
Breeding of the Giant Laughingthrush (Garrulax maximus) at Lianhuashan, Southern Gansu, China
Jie Wang,
Chen-Xi Jia,
Song-Hua Tang,
Yun Fang,
Yue-Hua Sun
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The Wilson Journal of Ornithology
Vol. 122 • No. 2
June 2010
Vol. 122 • No. 2
June 2010