Nest orientation and hatching success of Black Kites Milvus migrans in Spain

Abstract

An analysis of the orientation of 182 nest sites of the Black Kite Milvus migrans in two areas in south and central Spain found that orientations toward the east were preferred. In southern Spain an analysis of the relationship between nest orientation and hatching success showed that success was lower among the nests located in non‐preferred orientations, with some inter‐annual variation. The tendency to orientate nests toward the east was greater among the early nesting pairs and the effect that the orientation had on the hatching success was also greater than in late nesting pairs. The data suggest that rainfall and prevailing winds were the main factors conditioning nest orientation.

Nest-site characteristics of WoodlarksLullula arboreabreeding on heathlands in southern England: are there consequences for nest survival and productivity?

“…data). Other species have been found to show a similar bias with associated fitness consequences; Vinuela & Sunyer (1992) and Burton (2006) showed that the hatching success of nests is greater when orientated in the preferred direction, while others have reported that the weight of chicks at fledging was also greater in such nests .…”

“…Nest orientation preferences can have fitness consequences. For example, hatching success in Black Kites Milvus migrans was higher in east-facing nests, avoiding the worst effects of rainfall and prevailing winds (Vinuela & Sunyer 1992). In two species of larks of the semi-arid shrub-steppe in Spain , there were higher chick growth rates in northand northeast-facing nests.…”

Climate and nest opening orientation in Furnarius rufus (Furnariidae)

“…In such cases, the factors determining the pattern of nest opening orientation are wind and rainfall (CONNER, 1975;INOUYE, 1976;RAPHAEL, 1985;MEZQUIDA, 2004). Also, habitat characteristics around nest such as a matrix of distinct physiognomies or tree branch arrangement (e. g. inclination) can influence the direction in which birds will positionate the nest entrance (VIÑUELA & SUNYER, 1992;ZWARTJES & NORDELL, 1998;THOGMARTIN, 1999). This relationship between nesting behavior and environmental characteristics is often observed for species from regions with stressing seasonal climatic changes, such as temperate species.…”

Nest orientation and hatching success in the tree pipit Anthus trivialis

“…In closed‐cup, open‐cup and cavity‐nesting species, therefore, nests may be oriented to avoid adverse environmental extremes – for example, rainfall and prevailing winds (e.g. Verbeek 1967, Loske 1987a, Viñuela and Sunyer 1992, Norment 1993, Williams 1993, Mezquida 2004, Norment and Green 2004, Gaedecke and Winkel 2005) and/or intense sunlight (e.g. Högstedt 1978, Verbeek 1981, Zerba and Morton 1983a, With and Webb 1993, Böhm and Landmann 1995, Yanes et al 1996, 1997, Hartman and Oring 2003, Warkentin et al 2003).…”