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Effect of neighbour visibility on nest attendance patterns of Barn Swallows Hirundo rustica in loose colonies
Author(s) -
FUJITA GO,
HIGUCHI HIROYOSHI
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
ibis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.933
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1474-919X
pISSN - 0019-1019
DOI - 10.1111/j.1474-919x.2011.01145.x
Subject(s) - hirundo , nest (protein structural motif) , barn , biology , ecology , zoology , plumage , sterna , geography , biochemistry , archaeology
To assess the benefits of nesting at a site hidden from neighbours in a loosely colonial species, the Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica , we carried out two field experiments, obstruction removal and mirror placement, both replicating a situation in which a nest is made visible from another nest. Under manipulated conditions in both experiments, females increased the length of time they stayed at their nests during the egg‐laying and late incubation stages, while males extended their duration of stay during the egg‐laying and early nestling stages in mirror placement experiments only. The results suggest that Barn Swallows conceal their nests to reduce fitness costs imposed by neighbours nesting in view and that hiding the nest can reduce the amount of time spent guarding the nest during certain stages of the breeding period.