Abstract
Finding a suitable place for overnight roosting may be crucial for survival during winter. If the number of suitable roosting sites is limited, intra- and interspecific competition may occur. In a nest box group, two cases of tit deaths were recorded in a winter season. The tits had apparent beak marks from pecks on their heads, and so were probably killed by other birds roosting in the boxes. Both dead individuals (a Blue Tit and young female of Great Tit) were competitively weaker individuals considering the hierarchy among wintering tits. They did not belong to the local winter flock. Presence of bird droppings on the bodies of the killed tits indicates that after the fight an individual (probably the winner of the competition) still roosted in the box. In both cases there was at least 57.7% of boxes that were not used by birds, suggesting that the birds fought for the best roosting sites. To the best of our knowledge, these are the first records concerning birds fighting for roosting sites during the winter season, which resulted in a death of one of the competing individuals.
Highlights
The availability of suitable tree cavities for hole-nesting birds can be limited, which has been studied mostly during the breeding season (Newton 1994)
In Europe, interspecific fights between hole-nesters in competition for nesting sites are especially known for tits and flycatchers, where Great Tits Parus major (Linnaeus, 1758) kill Pied Flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca (Pallas, 1764) or Collared Flycatchers Ficedula albicollis (Temminck, 1815) inside nest boxes (Merilä & Wiggins 1995, Ahola et al 2007)
At the time of capture all of the birds (12 Great Tits and two Blue Tits) already possessed leg-rings, which had been fitted during trapping near the OS MIZ PAS bird feeder in the 2010/2011 winter season, or in previous years
Summary
The availability of suitable tree cavities for hole-nesting birds can be limited, which has been studied mostly during the breeding season (Newton 1994). Intra-specific fights resulting in deaths were described for the Starling Sturnus vulgaris (Linnaeus, 1758) (Flux & Flux 1992) and in one case for the Tree Swallow (Lombardo 1986). Since a great number of hole-nesters use tree holes as a roosting site in the winter season, competition for these sites may occur in this period (Newton 1998). Such competition has been demonstrated in experimental aviaries, where Great Tits displaced Blue Tits Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) from nest boxes (Kempenaers & Dhondt 1991). Outside of the breeding season, inter- and intra-specific competition among birds concerns
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
