Eastern Bluebirds Are Attracted to Two-Box Sites

In early March, just prior to the onset of the breeding season, responses by Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis) to playbacks of the territorial song of conspecifics are more likely on sites with two nest boxes rather than one. One or two boxes were placed randomly at potential territorial sites durin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Wilson bulletin (Wilson Ornithological Society) 1995-06, Vol.107 (2), p.289-295
Main Authors: Plissner, Jonathan H., Gowaty, Patricia Adair
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal nesting
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Applied ecology
Behavior
Biological and medical sciences
Bird nesting
Birds
Bluebirds
Breeding
Breeding seasons
Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife
Eggs
Eggs and nests
Female animals
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Male animals
Mating behavior
Nest building
Nesting sites
Parks, reserves, wildlife conservation. Endangered species: population survey and restocking
Sialia sialis
Territoriality
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Summary:In early March, just prior to the onset of the breeding season, responses by Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis) to playbacks of the territorial song of conspecifics are more likely on sites with two nest boxes rather than one. One or two boxes were placed randomly at potential territorial sites during early winter; so responsiveness is not explained by territoriality of the previous season. Explanations for our observations include that bluebirds prefer potential territorial sites with two boxes because of increased habitat quality or that bluebirds locate two-box sites more readily than one-box sites. We infer from our result that potential territorial sites with two nesting boxes are more attractive to bluebirds than sites with only one nesting box.
ISSN:0043-5643
2162-5204