Ardea
Official journal of the Netherlands Ornithologists' Union

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Hartley I.R. & Shepherd M. (1994) Nesting success in relation to timing of breeding in the Corn Bunting on North Uist. ARDEA 82 (1): 173-183
A four-year study of Corn Buntings Miliaria calandra on North Uist, Scotland produced breeding data for 211 nests. Corn Buntings were predominantly single brooded and bred from late May to late August, 55.9% of nesting attempts were successful in fledging at least one chick. In most years there was no relationship between clutch size or hatching success and timing of breeding. The number of fledglings produced per egg increased as the season progressed simply because fewer nests failed completely. Nest failure were mainly due to predation of nestlings or chicks (23.2%) and desertion of eggs or young (12.8%). Predation of nests was significantly higher earlier in the season than later and this was probably because hogweed, Heracleum sphondylium, plants provided more nesting cover later in the season. We suggest that food availability did not limit breeding success of females but could influence the occurrence of polygyny, which is common in Corn Buntings, by reducing the need for male assistance with provisioning of nestlings.


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