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Nesting Behavior of Palila, as Assessed from Video Recordings
|Title:||Nesting Behavior of Palila, as Assessed from Video Recordings|
|Authors:||Laut, Megan E.|
Banko, Paul C.
Gray, Elizabeth M.
|Issue Date:||Oct 2003|
|Publisher:||University of Hawai'i Press|
|Citation:||Laut ME, Benko PC, Gray EM. 2003. Nesting behavior of Palila, as assessed from video recordings. Pac Sci 57(4): 385-392.|
|Abstract:||We quantified nesting behavior of Palila (Loxioides bailleui), an endangered
Hawaiian honeycreeper, by recording at nests during three breeding
seasons using a black-and-white video camera connected to a videocassette recorder.
A total of seven nests was observed. We measured the following factors
for daylight hours: percentage of time the female was on the nest (attendance),
length of attendance bouts by the female, length of nest recesses, and adult
provisioning rates. Comparisons were made between three stages of the 40-day
nesting cycle: incubation (day I-day 16), early nestling stage (day 17-day 30
[i.e., nestlings < or =14 days old]), and late nestling stage (day 31-day 40 [i.e., nestlings>
14 days old]). Of seven nests observed, four fledged at least one nestling
and three failed. One of these failed nests was filmed being depredated by a feral
cat (Felis catus). Female nest attendance was near 82% during the incubation
stage and decreased to 21% as nestlings aged. We did not detect a difference in
attendance bout length between stages of the nesting cycle. Mean length of nest
recesses increased from 4.5 min during the incubation stage to over 45 min
during the late nestling stage. Mean number of nest recesses per hour ranged
from 1.6 to 2.0. Food was delivered to nestlings by adults an average of 1.8 times
per hour for the early nestling stage and 1.5 times per hour during the late
nestling stage and did not change over time. Characterization of parental behavior
by video had similarities to but also key differences from findings taken
from blind observations. Results from this study will facilitate greater understanding
of Palila reproductive strategies.
|Appears in Collections:||Pacific Science Volume 57, Number 4, 2003|
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