AVIS-IBIS

Birds of Indian Subcontinent

Age and site fidelity in female sparrowhawks, Accipiter nisus

Publication Type:Journal Article
Year of Publication:1993
Authors:Newton, I
Journal:Animal Behaviour
Volume:46
Issue:1
Date Published:1993
ISBN Number:0003-3472
Keywords:Accipiter, Accipiter nisus, Accipitridae
Abstract:Abstract. Female sparrowhawks often used the same nesting territory in successive years, but sometimes changed territories between one breeding season and the next. The tendency to stay on the same nesting territory, rather than move to a different territory, increased progressively with age up to the oldest age groups of 6-9 years old. This was due to the same individuals showing greater site fidelity with increasing age, and not to the progressive disappearance from the study population of individuals showing the greatest inclination to move. Within any one age group, females were more likely to change nesting territories after a breeding failure than after a success. However, this tendency was more marked in the younger age groups than among the older ones. As a group, females that stayed on the same territories from one year to the next showed high nest success, but no improvement between the years, whereas females that changed territories showed improved success in the year after the move.
URL:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003347283711711
Short Title:Animal Behaviour
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