Relationships among Territory Size, Habitat, Song, and Nesting Success of Northern Cardinals

We collected data from 30 territories of Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) during 3 breeding seasons (1979-1981) in eastern Texas. Territory size was positively correlated with tree height and negatively correlated with the density of foliage at ground level and at 3 m above the ground, and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Auk 1986-01, Vol.103 (1), p.23-31
Main Authors: Conner, Richard N., Anderson, Mary E., Dickson, James G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal nesting
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Applied sciences
Arthropods
Autoecology
Biological and medical sciences
Biomass
Bird nesting
Bird songs
Density
Exact sciences and technology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Leaves
Male animals
Other techniques and industries
Syllables
Territories
Vertebrata
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Summary:We collected data from 30 territories of Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) during 3 breeding seasons (1979-1981) in eastern Texas. Territory size was positively correlated with tree height and negatively correlated with the density of foliage at ground level and at 3 m above the ground, and with the density of shrubs. Nesting success was positively correlated with presence of patchy understory foliage and arthropod biomass in territories. Cardinals with low song complexity and shorter songs held better-quality territories and had better nesting success than cardinals with more complex songs. We suspect that young males may use long, complex songs to establish a territory initially, and in subsequent years put less time and effort into song and more into care and defense of young.
ISSN:0004-8038
1938-4254
DOI:10.1093/auk/103.1.23