THE TIMING OF BIRDS‘ BREEDING SEASONS

1970/04/01 by C. M. Perrins, Christopher M. Perrins · 38 citations
Environmental Science · Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Avian ecology and behavior #Animal Behavior and Reproduction #Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies

paper · doi:10.1111/j.1474-919x.1970.tb00096.x

Abstract

Summary Examination of survival rdtes of nestlings and fledglings of some species show that there is a strong tendency for those young which are hatched earliest in the season to have the greatest chance of surviving to breed. Since natural selection so strongly favours parents who leave many surviving young, the question arises as to why other birds breed later than the date at which they could most successfully raise their young. It is suggested that the food supply for the breeding females immediately prior to the breeding season may limit their ability to form eggs and the females may thus not be able to lay at the time which would result in young being in the nest at the best time for raising them, but as soon after this time as the female is able to produce her eggs. Not all species are likely to be prevented, by food shortage, from breeding at the best time for raising young and the groups of birds most likely to be affected are discussed.

Cited by

• Seasonal variation in reproductive success and post-nuptial moult of blue tits in southern Europe: an experimental study
• A winter feeding experiment on an island Song Sparrow population
• The role of personal reproductive experience on nest building in a wild bird
• Food Supply and the Occurrence of Brood Reduction in Swainson's Hawk
• Drivers of nest site selection and breeding success in an Alpine ground-nesting songbird
• Fitness costs and benefits of a non‐native floral resource for subalpine solitary bees
• Variation in body condition, corticosterone response and immune function is related to the timing of nesting in Franklin’s Gull
• Intra‐population variation in the effects of sea ice reduction on an Arctic breeding bird
• Effect of a previous high pathogenicity avian influenza ( HPAIV ) infection on the breeding success of Northern Gannets ( Morus bassanus)
• Supplemental feeding as experimental tool to understand why birds do not lay earlier in the season
• Breeding biology of the African Pygmy Falcon: long-term variation and seasonal decline in breeding performance of an arid zone raptor
• When do tropical birds breed? The case of Colombian species assemblages
• Multi‐year partner fidelity is associated with higher annual reproductive output in a biparental subtropical shorebird
• Decline in the frequency and benefits of multiple brooding in great tits as a consequence of a changing environment. [europepmc]
• The impacts of climate change on the annual cycles of birds. [europepmc]
• Temporal differences in food abundance promote coexistence between two congeneric passerines. [europepmc]
• Energy expenditure during egg laying is equal for early and late breeding free-living female great tits. [europepmc]
• Celestial moderation of tropical seabird behavior. [europepmc]
• Winter severity predicts the timing of host shifts in the mosquito Culex erraticus. [europepmc]
• Better stay together: pair bond duration increases individual fitness independent of age-related variation. [europepmc]
• Wind speed during migration influences the survival, timing of breeding, and productivity of a neotropical migrant, Setophaga petechia. [europepmc]
• Variable detours in long-distance migration across ecological barriers and their relation to habitat availability at ground. [europepmc]
• Is pre-breeding prospecting behaviour affected by snow cover in the irruptive snowy owl? A test using state-space modelling and environmental data annotated via Movebank. [europepmc]
• Shadowed by scale: subtle behavioral niche partitioning in two sympatric, tropical breeding albatross species. [europepmc]
• Environmental and genetic determinants of innovativeness in a natural population of birds. [europepmc]
• Effects of extreme thermal conditions on plasticity in breeding phenology and double-broodedness of Great Tits and Blue Tits in central Poland in 2013 and 2014. [europepmc]
• State-dependent capital and income breeding: a novel approach to evaluating individual strategies with stable isotopes. [europepmc]
• Climate change relaxes the time constraints for late-born offspring in a long-distance migrant. [europepmc]
• Climate change and bird reproduction: warmer springs benefit breeding success in boreal forest grouse. [europepmc]
• CNVs are associated with genomic architecture in a songbird. [europepmc]
• Behavioural plasticity in the early breeding season of pelagic seabirds - a case study of thin-billed prions from two oceans. [europepmc]
• Mismatches between breeding phenology and resource abundance of resident alpine ptarmigan negatively affect chick survival. [europepmc]
• Determination of nest occupation and breeding effect of the white stork by human-mediated landscape in Western Poland. [europepmc]
• Extreme events are more likely to affect the breeding success of lesser kestrels than average climate change. [europepmc]
• Nest boxes buffer the effects of climate on breeding performance in an African urban raptor. [europepmc]
• Familiarity breeds success: pairs that meet earlier experience increased breeding performance in a wild bird population. [europepmc]
• Extreme temperatures compromise male and female fertility in a large desert bird. [europepmc]
• The genomics of adaptation to climate in European great tit ( Parus major ) populations. [europepmc]

Related

• Supplemental feeding as experimental tool to understand why birds do not lay earlier in the season
• Breeding of Darwin’s Finches at an Unusually Early Age in an El Niño Year
• Arrival date, age and breeding success in white stork Ciconia ciconia
• Duration of nest-building in passerine birds: the roles of latitude, nest size, and nest type
• Does hatch date set the clock? Timing of post‐fledging movements for families of a colonially breeding, long‐distance migratory songbird