Abstract
Solar radiation, winds and cover vegetation can affect nest construction decisions in birds; for example, the orientation of their entrance. In this study, the nest entrance orientation of rufous hornero (Furnarius rufus) in a subtropical desert site from Northern Argentina was examined. It was evaluated whether solar radiation and winds influence the mean orientation of nests with abundant upper vegetation cover and of those with little or no upper vegetation cover. Nests with abundant upper vegetation cover showed a randomly defined nest entrance orientation, suggesting that solar radiation and winds are not relevant in nest construction. Nests with little or no upper vegetation cover showed a non-random entrance, southeastern oriented, which would avoid direct solar radiation. Thus, nest with little or no upper vegetation cover were oriented towards prevailing southern humid winds as to increase cooling inside the nest. This work emphasizes the importance of including nest vegetation cover as a variable that may affect nest orientation.https://doi.org/10.25260/EA.20.30.1.0.1019
Highlights
Nest orientation of rufous hornero (Furnarius rufus): Vegetation, wind and solar radiation effects in Northwestern Argentina
It was evaluated whether solar radiation and winds influence the mean orientation of nests
no upper vegetation cover were oriented towards prevailing southern humid winds
Summary
Orientación de nidos de hornero (Furnarius rufus): Efectos de la vegetación, el viento y la radiación solar en el noroeste de la Argentina. En este estudio se examinó la orientación de la entrada en nidos de hornero (Furnarius rufus) en un sitio desértico subtropical del norte de la Argentina. Se evaluó si la radiación solar y los vientos influyen en la orientación media de los nidos con abundante cobertura vegetal superior y en los que tienen escasa o nula cobertura vegetal superior. Los nidos con abundante cobertura vegetal superior mostraron una orientación aleatoria de la boca de entrada, lo que sugiere que la radiación solar y los vientos no influyen al momento de la construcción del nido. Los nidos con poca o nula cobertura vegetal superior presentaron una orientación de entrada no aleatoria hacia el sureste, con lo cual reducen la radiación solar directa.
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