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- Title
APPEARANCE OF A CONSPECIFIC MALE HELPER AT THE NEST-BOX OF AN EASTERN BLUEBIRD (SIALIA SIALIS).
- Authors
BURTKA, JENNIFER L.; GRINDSTAFF, JENNIFER L.
- Abstract
Eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis) are socially monogamous passerines with rare documented occurrences of polygyny, polyandry, and juvenile-helping behavior. We observed an adult male assisting another adult male at a nest-box with a single nestling. Both adults fed the nestling and defended the nest. One of the males attended a new nest with a second female on an adjacent territory as the nestling in the first nest-box approached fledging. Although both males were present at the second nest, we did not observe helping behavior. It is unusual for territorial breeding adults to tolerate the presence of an adult male in this species. It is possible that the helper male was related to the breeding pair or that the banded male tolerated the helper male due to increased predation in the area. The presence of an adult male helper is a rare observation for eastern bluebirds, and this observation contributes valuable information about the diversity of breeding strategies utilized by bluebirds.
- Subjects
EASTERN bluebird; BABY birds; ANIMAL social behavior; POLYGYNY; BIRD breeding; PREDATION; BIRDS
- Publication
Southwestern Naturalist, 2013, Vol 58, Issue 3, p386
- ISSN
0038-4909
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1894/0038-4909-58.3.386