Nest Success of Grassland Birds in Florida Dry Prairie

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This paper represents the first study of reproductive success for Sturnella magna (Eastern Meadowlark) and Columbina passerina (Common Ground-dove) in Florida dry prairie and, to our knowledge, the first published study of reproductive rates of Chordeiles minor (Common Nighthawk) in North America. We located 34 Eastern Meadowlark, 13 Common Ground-dove, and 14 Common Nighthawk nests during the 1997 and 1998 breeding seasons. We estimated daily nest success (standard error) to be 0.93 (0.01), 0.94 (0.02), and 0.93 (0.02) for Eastern Meadowlarks, Common Ground-doves, and Common Nighthawks, respectively. Subsequently, total nest success was 0.16, 0.22, and 0.28 for Eastern Meadowlarks, Common Ground-doves and Common Nighthawks. Predation was the most common cause for nest failure. Our estimates of nest success for Eastern Meadowlarks and Common Ground-doves are generally lower than reported for other regions, which could be due to the small and fragmented nature of Florida dry prairie.