Breeding Biology of Fire-Tailed Myzornis (Myzornis pyrrhoura) In An Alpine Environment In Southwestern China

Abstract

ABSTRACT We studied the breeding biology of the Fire-tailed Myzornis (Myzornis pyrrhoura) in an alpine environment (3000–3800 m) of the Gaoligong Mountains in southwestern China during its breeding seasons in 2013 and 2014. Nests were built by both sexes and mainly contained moss and rhododendron flakes. They were located on vertical banks or rock faces, about 20–152 cm above the ground. This species was socially monogamous and sexually dimorphic both in plumage pattern and body size. Egg-laying was mainly initiated in mid-April and ended in early July, and the mean date of clutch initiation was 25 April in 2013 (n = 4) and 27 April in 2014 (n =5), respectively. The clutch size averaged 3.00 ± 0.15 (n = 10), and fresh eggs weighed 1.84 ± 0.19 g (n = 11). Males and females made virtually equal contributions in breeding activities, including incubation, provisioning, brooding, and nest sanitation. Incubation lasted for 15 days (n = 2) with a notably high nest attendance (eggs were incubated 99.48% of the ti...