Abstract
Northern Shrikes (Lanius excubitor) are the most widely distributed of true shrikes (Laniinae) with a circumpolar breeding range. In Israel, it is a permanent resident (Paz 1987). I studied sex-biased, nest site-fidelity of a population of this species during three breeding seasons (mid-January to mid-June, 1987-1989). The study area was on Sede Zin, a loess-covered plateau, near Sede Boqer (30?52'N, 34047'E; 475 m altitude) in the Negev Desert highlands. The region is arid with mild winters and warm summers. The Sede Zin plateau supports a sparse dwarf-shrub community dominated by Hammada scoparia, Zygophyllum dumosum, Raemuria hirtella, Anabasis syriacus, and Artemesia herbaalba. The major woody species are Tamarix nilotica, Atriplex halimus, Retama raetam, and Thymelaea hirsuta (Danin et al. 1975).
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