Nest-Site Selection and Nesting Success of Grey-Backed Thrushes in Northeast China

Abstract

We identified microhabitat features affecting nest-site selection and examined nest-site characteristics associated with success for the Grey-backed Thrush (Turdus hortulorum) in the Dagang Forestry Farm, Jilin Province, northeast China. We collected data from 79 nests from April to August 2008. Twenty-nine nests (36.7%) were successful, 47 (59.5%) failed due to predation, and the rest were either destroyed by storms or abandoned. The overall daily survival rate (DSR) was 0.9563 ± 0.0072. Nest attempts beginning late in the breeding season were more likely to be depredated. Averaged DSR of laying and late nestling (days 7–12 after hatching) periods were higher than those of incubation and brooding (days 1–6 after hatching). We compared habitat variables between nest and random sites and assessed the effects of nest-location and nest-patch characteristics on DSR. Grey-backed Thrushes selected nest sites with shorter ground cover and a high density of small trees and shrubs. DSR was positively related to distance from the nest to the main stem of the nest tree and negatively correlated with horizontal exposure. Further research should focus on identification of nest predators, implications of nest exposure and begging calls on nesting success, and breeding habitat requirements at different spatial and temporal scales of Grey-backed Thrush in fragmented landscapes of northeast China.