Seasonal variation in breeding performance and nestling diet of Cirl BuntingsEmberiza cirlusin England

Effects of breeding habitat and field margins on the reproductive performance of Skylarks (Alauda arvensis) on intensive farmland

“…Nests with underweight nestlings or deserted broods were often found to be predated at a later visit (not further quantified). It is known that hungry nestlings increase the frequency and volume of their begging calls, which attracts the attention of predators and increases predation rates (Redondo and Castro 1992;Evans et al 1997). Although predators were not identified, birds of prey seemed to be the most frequent predators based on feather remains, similar to the results of Praus and Weidinger (2010).…”

Breeding ecology of farmland YellowhammersEmberiza citrinella

“…This is particularly surprising as studies of other buntings suggest that early nests experience lower survival rates than subsequent ones. 3,5 In 1995, when nest survival was 34.2% at Loddington and 40.7% nationally, nest failure rate at the nestling stage was significantly higher at Loddington than nationally (z = 4.77, P < 0.01). This may be due to the fact that our data relate only to first broods which coincided with a period of cold weather in 1995.…”

“…All four species are strongly associated with arable habitats and their declines have been attributed to changes in agricultural practices. 3,4,5 While changes in winter habitat and food availability have been suggested as contributing to declines in numbers of buntings, 6,7 breeding conditions, particularly reduced invertebrate abundance resulting from increased pesticide use, have been linked to lower breeding success of other declining farmland birds such as Grey Partridge 8 and Skylark. 9 This study aims to establish an understanding of the breeding requirements of Yellowhammers on a modern commercial farm.…”

“…However, if nest predator abundance had not been reduced in 1995, these nests may have failed due to predation as a result of increased calling of nestlings, as suggested by Evans. 5 The number of young fledged per first brood recorded in Germany by Lille 20 …”

Provisioning with cereal grain depresses the body condition of insectivorous YellowhammerEmberiza citrinellanestlings

“…which breed on farmland, and are of high conservation concern (Yellowhammers E. citrinella, Cirl Buntings E. cirlus, Reed Buntings E. schoeniclus, Corn Buntings E. calandra [Eaton et al 2009]), require protein-rich invertebrates for growth and development, the availability of which are a key determinant of fledging success (Morris et al 2005, Hart et al 2006. Parents of these species may supplement nestling diet with cereal grain from ripening crops (Evans et al 1997, Stoate et al 1998, Brickle & Harper 1999, Brickle & Peach 2004, despite grain having a lower protein and energy content than the equivalent weight of invertebrates (Potts 1986, Hart et al 2006. The effects of cereal grain on the body condition of nestlings of these species are unknown.…”