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- Title
ADAPTATIONS TO NESTING HABITAT IN THE REPRODUCTIVE BEHAVIOUR OF THE BLACK-BILLED GULL LARUS BULLERI.
- Authors
Beer, C. G.
- Abstract
SUMMARY The nesting habitats adopted by most colonies of Black-billed Gulls Larus bulleri are river-beds that are subject to flooding. A number of respects in which the reproductive behaviour of Black-billed Gulls differs from that of at least most other gulls, such as Black-headed Gulls, can be viewed as adaptations, or byproducts of adaptations, to such nesting habitats:- A different breeding site from the year before is often selected, The bulk of pair formation is accomplished before the gulls occupy their breeding sites; nesting territories are set up by mated pairs, In hostile encounters during the pair formation phase, site attachments are weak or transitory, In agonistic situations generally, attack thresholds appear to be relatively high, and fleeing thresholds relatively low, High intensity forms of'Choking' appear to be missing from the agonistic display repertoire, The growth of nest groups is rapid and orderly; nesting territories are small and the concentration of nests in the groups high, The time between occupation of the gullery site and the start of laying is short, and the synchrony of laying is high; this is probably related to the close proximity of the nests, The parents and young abandon the nest very soon after the egg hatch, and no 'brood' nests are made, The young may develop locomotory powers more quickly than is the case in most other species; they can swim at an early age, and take to the water in tightly packed groups during alarms, The question of why these gulls should choose such vulnerable breeding sites is discussed.
- Publication
Ibis, 1966, Vol 108, Issue 3, p394
- ISSN
0019-1019
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/j.1474-919X.1966.tb07350.x