Nest site, laying period, and breeding success of the Woodchat Shrike (Lanius senator) in Mediterranean France

SummaryBreeding habitats in Mediterranean France consist in open, dry grasslands with a low and discontinuous grass layer and scattered bushes and trees. The choice of nest supports was largely opportunistic, the most abundant suitable nest support type (bush or tree) and the most abundant species b...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of ornithology Vol. 139; no. 1; pp. 49 - 54
Main Authors Isenmann, Paul, Fradet Guillaume
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Heidelberg Springer Nature B.V 01.01.1998
Subjects
Animal behavior
Breeding success
Clutch size
Grasslands
Lanius senator
Nests
Predation
Predators
Success
Threatened species
France
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Summary:SummaryBreeding habitats in Mediterranean France consist in open, dry grasslands with a low and discontinuous grass layer and scattered bushes and trees. The choice of nest supports was largely opportunistic, the most abundant suitable nest support type (bush or tree) and the most abundant species being present at each study site have been used. About 75% of the nests were placed at heights between 1 and 3 m. Laying period lasted from 9 May until 6 July (peak of first clutches: 21–30 May). Mean clutch size was 5.14±0.82 eggs (n=114). Breeding success was independent from the site, the height and the concealment of nests. Mean survival rate of nests from laying to fledgling was 0.365. The main cause of low breeding success was high nest predation exerted by a rich guild of predators. The species is mainly threatened through dramatic habitat shrinkage due to pastoralism reduction leading to closures of lightly bushed grasslands in Mediterranean France.
ISSN:2193-7192
2193-7206
DOI:10.1007/BF01651315