Abstract
Summary Earle, R.A. & Underhill, L.G. 1991. The effects of brood size on growth of South African Cliff Swallow Hirundospilodera chicks. Ostrich 62: 13–22. We aimed to determine if growth rates of South African Cliff Swallow Hirundo spilodera chicks varied between broods of different sizes, with a view to understanding conspecific brood arasitism. Reression analyses and logistic growth curves were used to model body-mass and wing-length of chicks at Afferent ages to interpret observed differences in the growth of chicks in experimentally established brood sizes. Only the regression analyses showed meaningful differences between brood sizes. The swallows were unable to raise broods of four or five chicks successfully, and we conclude that the most frequently observed clutch and brood sizes (two or three) are the most productive, and that there is no apparent advantage of brood parasitism for the parasite.
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