van Balen J.H. (1984) The relationship between nest-box size, occupation and breeding parameters of the Great Tit Parus major and some other hole- nesting species. ARDEA 72 (2): 163-175

The relationship between nest-box size, occupation and breeding parameters was studied in the years 1971-1974 in Liesbos, by presenting nest-boxes of 'normal' and reduced size (Table 1). Great Tits preferred to nest in the normal boxes, and postponed egg laying and produced smaller clutches in the experimental boxes. Clutch size reduction was due to the type of box, not to the late dates of laying. Blue Tits and Pied Flycatchers mainly occupied experimental boxes, probably due to competition from the larger Great Tit. Blue Tit clutches were also later in the experimental than in the normal boxes, and were smaller, in response to the late laying dates. The survival of Great Tit and Blue Tit eggs and nestlings in the experimental boxes was uniformly high, as is usual in normal boxes in this type of forest. In 1974, when Great Tit broods in experimental boxes were enlarged, nestling survival tended to be negatively related to brood size. Nestling weight at the age of 7, 10 and 14 days was significantly related to the date of hatching (broods hatching later weighed more) and brood size. An experimental study with boxes of reduced size in the laboratory showed that mortality among the nestlings, their weight loss and the maximum temperatures measured between the nestlings rose as the size of the brood and the ambient temperature increased. Large broods in small nest-boxes run the risk of reaching a hyperthermic state at ambient temperatures of 20ŚC and higher. The results obtained by different authors on the relationship between nest-box size and clutch size are compared (Table 13). This relationship is most evident in species with have large clutches in relation to the size of the cavity.