Breeding Performances of the European Blackbird (Turdus merula) in Morocco: Habitat Selection, Breeding Phenology, and Breeding Success

Abstract

The European Blackbird (Turdus merula) is a widespread species. In Morocco, available knowledge on this species is limited to a few descriptive pieces of information with no detailed data provided. With climate change and the intensification of agricultural activities, the study of the breeding performances of this species is indispensable for management purposes. This study investigates breeding biology, nesting habitats, breeding chronology, and reproductive success of the European Blackbird in both apple orchards and surrounding woody vegetation at Ait Ayach (Morocco) between March and August 2016. We monitored weekly nest status, nesting sites, breeding dates, and failure factors. Results showed that the European Blackbird nests mainly in apple orchards, on Golden Delicious and Starkrimson Delicious trees. Nest height above the ground was 214.15 ± 0.09 cm. Blackbird nests were cup-shaped with medium size dimensions and built from twigs, including dry leaves, stems, and roots walled by the mud. Breeding activities started firstly by nest construction during the last week of April, secondly by egg laying during the first week of May, and thirdly by hatching during the second week of May. Among the 74 surveyed nests, 100% were active during the nesting phase and 88.38% of eggs have succeeded during the incubation phase. In total, 69.03% of chicks have been emancipated. In short, 15.9% of clutches were attacked by predators, 14.35% of clutches were failed due to nest desertion, and 8.75% of chicks were dead. Our study provides the first and only detailed data on reproductive parameters of the European Blackbird in Moroccan ecosystems. Data collected from this study provide valuable information for long-term monitoring of the Moroccan Blackbird population. Additionally, our data offer a possibility of large-scale comparative studies of the reproductive ecology of the Blackbird species.

The avifauna of two high atlas valleys: breeding assemblages in forest stands and open lands

“…Further, farmland and aquatic birds were the most investigated birds (Hanane and Baamal 2011;Hanane 2016;Mansouri et al 2018Mansouri et al , 2019Mansouri et al , 2020El Hassani et al 2021), while forest and Mountainous species have received little interest (Cherkaoui et al 2009;Hanane et al 2012;Mansouri et al 2021a). Therefore, the investigation of forest ecosystems is suggested to fill the gap in forest birds.…”

Large-Scale Monitoring of Bird Communities along an Altitudinal Gradient in Two Central High Atlas Valleys

“…orchards and cereals are suggested to infuence negatively the diversity of birds because of the reduction of breeding and foraging resources which are considered necessary elements for birds. In addition, the concentration of human habitations and the agricultural activities such as the use of pesticides in agricultural felds afect the abundance and diversity of many passerines such as Turdus merula and Serinus serinus [36,[74][75][76]. Tis study showed a seasonal variation of avian diversity between both valleys of the Central High Atlas, which was one of the neglected aspects of avian diversity studies in the High and Middle Atlas Mountains of Morocco, as well as in the entire North Africa [20,64,76].…”

Diversity of avian species, their ecosystems and climate conditions in two zones of High Atlas (central Morocco) for ecotouristic purposes

“…This species richness is the result of the diversity of natural ecosystems (Dakki et al 2020;Fouzi et al 2020;Kusi et al 2020), climate circumstances (Tramblay et al 2012), and geographical situation (Mensour et al 2019). Regarding In Morocco, avian species are widely distributed in different ecosystems, counting forests, wetlands (Squalli et al 2022), farmlands (Mansouri et al 2020;El Hassani et al 2021), and urban areas (Douini et al 2022). However, most ornithological research was realised in lowlands, while in high altitudes, investigations are rare and fragmentary.…”