Successful Incubation of Experimentally Enlarged Clutches by House Wrens

We tested the hypothesis that clutch size is limited by the inability of female House Wrens (Troglodytes aedon) to incubate more eggs than they typically lay in a clutch. We studied wrens that were breeding in nestboxes placed in a forest in central Illinois. We added two eggs to clutches of seven e...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Wilson bulletin (Wilson Ornithological Society) 1988-03, Vol.100 (1), p.70-79
Main Authors: Baltz, Michael E., Thompson, Charles F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal nesting
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Aves
Biological and medical sciences
Bird nesting
Breeding
Breeding seasons
Chicks
Clutch size
Demecology
Eggs
Female animals
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Hatching
Incubation
Troglodytes aedon
Vertebrata
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Summary:We tested the hypothesis that clutch size is limited by the inability of female House Wrens (Troglodytes aedon) to incubate more eggs than they typically lay in a clutch. We studied wrens that were breeding in nestboxes placed in a forest in central Illinois. We added two eggs to clutches of seven eggs early in the breeding season and two eggs to clutches of six eggs late in the breeding season in 1986. Incubation success was measured by counting the number of chicks present in the nest four days after the first egg of the clutch had hatched. In both early- and late-season nests, incubation success of experimentally enlarged clutches was significantly higher than that of control clutches. We conclude that clutch size of House Wrens is not likely limited by the female's inability to incubate additional eggs.
ISSN:0043-5643
2162-5204