La Tour du Valat

Institut de recherche pour la conservation des zones humides méditerranéennes

Titre :	Great reed warbler Acrocephalus arundinaceus and reed warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus respond differently to cuckoo dummy at the nest
Auteurs :	Andrzej Dyrcz, Auteur ; Lucyna Halupka, Auteur
Type de document :	Article
Dans :	Journal of Ornithology (147(4) OCT 2006)
Article en page(s) :	649-652
Langues:	Anglais
Résumé :	A cuckoo Cuculus canorus dummy was exposed at 24 nests of great reed warbler Acrocephalus arundinaceus (GRW) and 34 nests of reed warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus (RW) during the egg-laying stage. The eight GRW pairs attacked the cuckoo directly, striking the dummy, but such a behaviour was not recorded in RWs. Also, other behavioural measures (closest distance from the model, duration of distress calls and number of excitement calls) indicated a lower level of defence by RWs compared to GRWs. In the study area, the parasitism rate was much lower in GRWs (1.7% of nests) than in RWs (11.3%). We suggest that one of the reasons for the lower level of cuckoo parasitism on GRWs is its stronger nest defence and hence higher risk of injury or even death for the cuckoo during egg dumping.

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