Abstract
Arionid slugs have been reported to attack nestlings of some ground‐ or shrub‐nesting passerine birds, mainly in Europe. We review these reported cases and consider their effects. The slugs can cause grave or even fatal injuries to the nestlings. Surprisingly, no brood defence by the parents has been described. The information on the frequency of slug predation in bird populations is scanty, and the scale of the phenomenon is unknown. The expansion of the invasiveArion vulgarisMoquin‐Tandon, 1855 (synonymouslyA. lusitanicusorA. lusitanicusauct. non Mabille, 1868) in Europe may result in an increase of the negative influence of slugs on the breeding success of some passerines in the near future.
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