Composition of nests constructed by species in the Motacillidae, Sylviidae and Prunellidae

Bird nests can be complex bio-engineered structures constructed from a range of materials to provide a site for incubation, and in many species chick rearing. Reports of the materials used in nest walls and cup linings are typically qualitative and do not assist in understanding the functional properties of the structure as a whole. This paper provides size and composition data for nests from four species of the Motacillidae family: the meadow pipit ( Anthus pratensis), pied wagtail ( Motacilla alba), grey wagtail ( Motacilla cinerea), and the yellow wagtail ( Motacilla flava), three species of the Sylviidae family: willow warbler ( Phylloscopus trochilus), Eurasian reed warbler ( Acrocephalus scirpaceus) and Eurasian blackcap ( Sylvia atricapilla), and the dunnock ( Prunella modularis) of the Prunellidae family. Three hypotheses were tested: do nest dimensions correlate with body mass? Is it possible to distinguish among species based on their nest composition; and for individual species? Is it possible to distinguish between the cup lining and outer nest wall based on the materials used in construction? Nest composition and size varied among species although the degree of intra-specific variation was different. Size of a nest was unrelated to average female adult body mass. Composition relied on similar types of materials but in differing quantities between species. It was possible to distinguish among species in terms of nest construction, and between the cup lining and the outer nest, on the basis of at least one of the component materials. By providing quantitative data on composition, it may be possible in the future to understand better the structural, insulative and hydrological properties of the nest. Such information will be invaluable as we begin to develop an understanding of the factors that have driven evolution of nest architecture.

Avifauna of meadow ecosystems in borderland areas of Lviv and Volyn Oblasts

Meadow ecosystems comprise a significant part of the area of Ukraine, especially in its western regions. Those ecosystems are subjects of concern today because of the active agricultural use and droughts that also threatens the animal population of meadows, including birds. Studies of meadow bird species of western Ukraine are limited to atlases, which results in a lack of precise data. This work was part of an international project on the conservation of the great snipe Gallinago media and allowed us to collect valuable data on the abundance and occurrence of meadow bird species nearby to the Polish and Belarusian borders of Ukraine — territories that are commonly ignored by Ukrainian researchers. The surveys of meadow birds conducted near the Ukrainian-Polish border in 2020 have shown that the general state of the marshes is worse compared to 2019: even close to the Western Bug river, only deep oxbow lakes were wet or contained some water, but minor lakes and wetlands of the valley were found to be dry. In total, we observed 141 bird species belonging to 17 orders. Among them, 26 were common by abundance and frequency, such as the great egret Ardea alba, the white stork Ciconia ciconia, the common quail Coturnix coturnix, the corn crake Crex crex, the northern lapwing Vanellus vanellus, the common redshank Tringa totanus, the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus, the Eurasian skylark Alauda arvensis, the meadow pipit Anthus pratensis, the western yellow wagtail Motacilla flava, the sedge warbler Acrocephalus schoenobaenus, the marsh warbler A. palustris, the great reed warbler A. arundinaceus, the common whitethroat Sylvia communis, the whinchat Saxicola rubetra, the thrush nightingale Luscinia luscinia, the common linnet Linaria cannabina, the corn bunting Emberiza calandra, the common reed bunting E. schoeniclus, and 7 more species, which were observed frequently though are not typical marshland species. We have identified the species that can be used as indicators of parameters of marsh ecosystems such as grass height (corn crake, western yellow wagtail, and sedge warbler), moisture (common redshank, common cuckoo, and the sedge and great reed warblers), and habitat type (corn crake, European bee-eater Merops apiaster, sedge warbler, common reed, and corn buntings).

Reindeer carcasses provide foraging habitat for several bird species of the alpine tundra.

On August of 2016, 323 wild tundra reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) were struck by lightning on southern Norway, killing virtually the entire herd. During fieldwork for parallel studies in 2017, we opportunistically registered the occurrence and behavior of avian species on carcasses from this mass die-off. Several passerine species other than corvids were observed actively foraging on arthropods that are typically associated with carcass decomposition, such as blowfly (Calliphoridae sp.) adults and larvae. In decreasing order of abundance, five passerine species (excluding corvids) were observed taking arthropods at the site: the Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis, least concern), Northern Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe, least concern), Common ReedBunting(Emberizaschoeniclus, near threatened), Bluethroat (Lusciniasvecica, near threatened), and Lapland Bunting (Calcarius lapponicus, vulnerable) (status according to IUCN). Previous studies on these passerines have documented a very sharp decline in their abundance in Norway. The insect abundance associated with ungulate carcasses may provide an important food resource for such species, and may impact their life history, fitness, and eventually population dynamics. This mechanism, however, has received almost no attention from the scientific community, and warrants further investigation.

Brood parasitism on Meadow Pipits Anthus pratensis by Common Cuckoos Cuculus canorus in two mountain areas in Norway

In the period 2001–2014 we studied Common Cuckoo Cuculus canorus brood parasitism on Meadow Pipits Anthus pratensis in two mountain areas; one located in the eastern and one in the western part of southern Norway. In the total material of 211 Meadow Pipit nests, 14 (6.6%) were parasitized by the cuckoo. The parasitism rate showed considerable variation both in time and space, with highest rate in one of the areas in 2005 (35.3%). Cuckoo eggs were quite similar in appearance to host eggs. In spite of this, 30% of the cuckoo eggs were rejected by desertion. No host ejection of parasite eggs was observed. Nest predation rates were rather low. Due to climate change, it has been hypothesized that the cuckoo, a long-distance migrant, may arrive too late to successfully utilize the Meadow Pipit because the latter is better able to advance the breeding season due to a shorter migration distance. Our data lend support to the mismatch hypothesis, but the low sample size regarding cases of parasitism does not allow us to make any firm conclusions. Long-term monitoring of host-parasite interactions in specific populations is important to further disclose the mechanisms responsible for the decline in the Norwegian cuckoo population.