Register      Login
Emu Emu Society
Journal of BirdLife Australia
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > MU > MU04027
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 106(4)

Influence of food and nest predation on the life histories of two large honeyeaters

Kihoko Tokue A B and Hugh A. Ford A C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Zoology, School of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resources Management, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia.

B Present address: School of Bioresources and Technology, Kingmonkut’s University of Technology, Thonburi, Bangkok 10150, Thailand.

C Corresponding author. Email: hford@une.edu.au

Emu 106(4) 273-281 https://doi.org/10.1071/MU04027
Submitted: 25 May 2004  Accepted: 4 August 2006   Published: 19 October 2006

Abstract

Nests of Red Wattlebirds (Anthochaera carunculata) and Noisy Friarbirds (Philemon corniculatus) were watched during four breeding seasons near Armidale, New South Wales (NSW). Friarbirds have larger clutches than Wattlebirds (mode of three v. two) and a shorter breeding season. Two hypotheses (food and nest predation) could explain these differences in life history between the species. We predict that if the food hypothesis is correct Friarbirds would experience a greater seasonal range in food abundance, and hence more abundant food during the breeding season. We also predict that Friarbirds should spend longer incubating, brooding and guarding chicks, because they need to spend less time feeding. If the nest predation hypothesis is correct, Wattlebirds would suffer higher nest predation, and so should spend more time incubating, brooding and guarding their nests, and should visit the nest more synchronously and attack more nest predators. Synchronous visits to the nest reduce the likelihood that predators will be attracted to the nest. We found that Friarbirds spent a greater percentage of time incubating and brooding in the first week after nestlings hatched, and had longer incubation and brooding bouts than Wattlebirds. Wattlebirds left their nests unattended for a greater percentage of the time during incubation, but there was no difference during the nestling stage. There were no differences in the number of incubation bouts per hour, nor in the number of brooding bouts per hour between species. Friarbirds more often visited the nest synchronously during the nestling stage. There was no difference in nest success between the species, with most failures resulting from predation. These results support more of the predictions of the food hypothesis than the nest predation hypothesis. Friarbirds feed themselves and their young on large insects, such as cicadas and scarab beetles, which are abundant for only a short period in the study area, when Friarbird young are dependent. Wattlebirds feed their young on a wide range of insects, including many small ones, which are available over a longer period. The range of clutch-sizes and breeding seasons shown by honeyeaters generally, and friarbirds specifically, provide the opportunity for further testing of these and other hypotheses.


Acknowledgments

We thank Stephen Debus, Justin Billing and Lisa Kingma for assistance in the field and Stuart Cairns for statistical advice.


References

Barrett G., Silcocks A., Barry S., Cunningham R., Poulter R. (2003). ‘The New Atlas of Australian Birds.’ (Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union: Melbourne.)

Berry, L. (2001). Breeding biology and nesting success of the Eastern Yellow Robin and the New Holland Honeyeater in a southern Victorian woodland. Emu 101, 191–197.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Blakers M., Davies S. J. J. F., and Reilly P. N. (1984). ‘The Atlas of Australian Birds.’ (Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union and Melbourne University Press: Melbourne.)

Clarke, M. F. (1988). The reproductive behaviour of the Bell Miner Manorina melanophrys. Emu 88, 88–100.
Cockburn A. (1996). Why do so many Australian birds cooperate: social evolution in the Corvida? In ‘Frontiers of Population Ecology’. (Eds R. B. Floyd, A. W. Sheppard and P. J. de Bono.) pp. 451–472. (CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne.)

Dow, D. D. (1970). Reproductive behaviour of the Noisy Miner, a communally breeding honeyeater. Living Bird 16, 163–185.
Ford H. A. (1989). ‘The Ecology of Birds: An Australian Perspective.’ (Surrey Beatty: Sydney.)

Ford, H. A. (1998). Faithfulness to breeding site and birthplace in Noisy Friarbirds Philemon corniculatus. Emu 98, 269–275.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Higgins P. J., Peter J. M., and Steele W. K. (Eds) (2001). ‘Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds. Vol. 5: Tyrant-flycatchers to Chats.’ (Oxford University Press: Melbourne.)

Hunter J. T. (2003). Vegetation and floristics of Imbota Nature Reserve. Report to National Parks and Wildlife Service of NSW, Armidale, NSW.

Lack D. (1968). ‘Ecological Adaptations for Breeding in Birds.’ (Methuen: London.)

Magrath, R. D. , Leedman, A. W. , Gardner, J. L. , Giannacsca, A. , Nathan, A. C. , Yezerinac, S. M. , and Nicholls, J. A. (2000). Life in the slow lane: reproductive life history of the White-browed Scrub-wren, an Australian endemic. Auk 117, 479–489.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Paton D. C. (1979). The breeding behaviour and feeding ecology of the New Holland Honeyeater Phylidonryris novaehollandiae in Victoria. Ph.D. Thesis, Monash University, Melbourne.

Poiani, A. (1993). Reproductive biology of the Bell Miner (Manorina melanophrys, Meliphagidae) at Healesville, south-eastern Victoria. Wildlife Research 20, 579–598.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Rowley I., and Russell E. (1991). Demography of passerines in the temperate Southern Hemisphere. In ‘Bird Population Studies: Relevance to Conservation and Management’. (Eds C. M. Perrins, J. B. Lebreton and G. Hirons.) pp. 22–44. (Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK.)

Saunders, A. S. J. , Ambrose, S. J. , and Burgin, S. (1995). Gape width and prey selectivity in the Noisy Friarbird Philemon corniculatus and Red Wattlebird Anthochaera carunculata. Emu 95, 297–300.
Sibley C. G., and Ahlquist J. E. (1990). ‘Phylogeny and Classification of Birds.’ (Yale University Press: New Haven, CT.)

Skutch, A. F. (1949). Do tropical birds rear as many young as they can nourish? Ibis 91, 430–455.


Slagsvold, T. (1982). Clutch size variation in passerine birds: the nest predation hypothesis. Oecologia 54, 159–169.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Woinarski, J. C. Z. (1985). Breeding biology and life history of small insectivorous birds in Australian forests: response to a stable environment? Proceedings of the Ecological Society of Australia 14, 159–168.


Yom-Tov, Y. (1987). The reproductive rates of Australian passerines. Australian Wildlife Research 14, 319–330.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |