We examined the relationships between cavity temperature, ambient temperature outside the cavity and structural characteristics of 70 cavities measured for 1 night to determine if cavity roosting birds may potentially select warmer tree cavities for wintertime roosting. The mean temperature increment of the cavity (=cavity-ambient temperature) varied from -2.4 to 4.9 degrees C and increased with higher day-to-night fluctuations in the ambient temperature, smaller cavity entrance and better health status of the cavity tree. Cavities in healthy trees were warmer than those in dead trees, but this difference disappeared with rising mean ambient temperatures. This interaction between the effects of tree health status and mean ambient temperature, as well as the effect of day-to-night fluctuations in the ambient temperature, were supported by the analysis of repeated measurements of temperature taken on 12 consecutive nights in five cavities. The variability in cavity microclimates makes the selection of warmer roost sites possible, and the predictors of microclimate may provide indirect cues to prospecting birds.

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Parent birds make efforts to prevent the immediate costs of predation through plastic behavioural responses to the actual predation risk, but this may incur future costs for offspring due to reduced parental care. However, the temporary nature of predator encounters suggests that nestling feeding reduced during the risky periods may be later compensated for by an increased feeding effort (the predation risk allocation hypothesis). We tested this prediction in the Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) confronted with its major nest predator/competitor, the European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris). A brief encounter with a live starling was followed by a reduction in the nestling feeding rate, but the lost feedings were subsequently compensated for by an increased feeding rate. This compensatory effect was higher in older nestlings that are highly demanding in terms of energy requirements and fitness value from the parents' perspective. Thus, birds are potentially able to respond not only to the immediate risk of nest predation by nest defence but also to compensate for the potential costs of nest defence in terms of unfulfilled nestling demands. However, data on the amount of delivered food are necessary to distinguish whether parents truly compensate for lost feeding or whether the increased feeding frequency represents a nest guarding strategy.

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