Variation in the Timing of Reproduction and Clutch Size of Afrocanarian Blue TitsCyanistes teneriffae ultramarinusin the Saharan Atlas of Algeria

Abstract

ABSTRACT We examined the variation in the date of the onset of egg laying and clutch size in three peripheral populations of the Afrocanarian Blue Tits Cyanistes teneriffae ultramarinus at the edge of the species and subspecies geographic range. This study was carried out in three study sites, 130–290 km apart, in similar geographic conditions of the South Border Range of the Saharan Atlas in Algeria. Mean altitudes of nesting territories were between 1327 and 1437 m a.s.l. Habitats of the study sites were covered by the secondary, human-modified vegetation, ranging from a maquis shrubland, with the Holm oak Quercus ilex shrubs to woodlands dominated by the Atlas cedar Cedrus atlantica or by the Aleppo pine Pinus halepensis. 169 wooden nest-boxes were monitored for breeding parameters (laying dates and clutch sizes) during the breeding seasons 2007–2009 and 2011–2013. The timing of egg laying was relatively late for the latitude of the study sites, with overall mean laying dates varying between the study ...