Nest predation and brood parasitism are key factors affecting nest survival in passerine birds. As a result, birds may select nest sites that minimize the probability of nests being found by predators or by brood parasites. ...

Obligate brood parasites must find host nests in which to lay their eggs. The search for a suitable host nest is predicted to be more difficult if the host nest is well-concealed by vegetation (nest-concealment hypothesis) ...

Nest concealment by vegetation is considered an important factor affecting predation rates for many passerines and, therefore, is frequently measured in studies examining nest predation. However, the time when concealment ...

Grass Wrens Cistothorus platensis build two types of non-breeding nest structures: platforms and dummy nests. Platforms are rudimentary accumulations of grasses concealed between vegetation. Dummy and breeding nests are ...

Nest-site selection and nest defense are strategies for reducing the costs of brood parasitism and nest predation, two selective forces that can influence avian nesting success and fitness. During 2001-2002, we analyzed ...

We studied the effect of forest fragmentation on the nesting biology and reproductive success of three species of tapaculos (Rhinocryptidae) in relation to forest size, edge effects, and disturbance from livestock or logging ...

In birds, nest location defines the microclimatic conditions for the development of eggs and nestlings. In general, direct solar radiation and wind are the main determinants of bird nest orientation patterns. In this study, ...

Bay-capped Wren-Spinetail Spartonoica maluroides (Furnariidae) nests very close to the ground in dense clumps of grasses or sedges and builds both open and enclosed nest. We describe a proportion and characteristics of ...

Predation is the major cause of avian nest failure, and an important source of  natural selection on life history traits and reproductive behavior. However, little is known about the identity of nest predators in much of ...