Articles Open access

Impact of hay mowing on the Stonechat Saxicola torquatus nestling

Authors

Published
21 November 2023
Section
Articles
DOI
10.4081/rio.2023.659

Abstract

The impact of hay mowing on nestling Stonechats Saxicola torquatus was describes and quantified through the feeding activity of adults. Three breeding pairs (6 broods) were monitored. Occurrence of invertebrate taxa in the diet of nestling Stonechats was reported. The feeding frequency differs immediately after hay mowing (reduction up to 73%) to go back up after a few days even hunting different prey. The reduction of the feeding frequency does not appear to have affected reproductive success for the breeding pairs at least when the hay mowing takes place in limited and protected areas. The diet composition change with increasing nestling age, spiders and ants increase during the first days.

Keywords

References

  1. Brichetti P. & Fracasso G., 2008 - Ornitologia italiana. Volume 5. Turdidae Cisticuliadae. Perdisa Editore, Bologna.
  2. Cabello A. M., Soler M. & Soler J. J., 1991 - Alimentacion de la Tarabilla común (Saxicola torquata) en el sureste de la Peninsula Iberica durante el periodo otoño-invierno. Ardeola, 38 (2): 317-326. <https://www.ardeola.org/uploads/articles/docs/224.pdf>
  3. Caffi M., 2007 - Biologia riproduttiva del Saltimpalo (Saxicola torquatus) nidificante nella bassa pianura lombarda (Italia). Natura Bresciana, 35: 131-136.
  4. Cramp S., 1988 - Handbook of the birds of Europe the Middle East and North Africa. Volume V, Tyrant Flycatchers to Thrushes. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
  5. Dale B. C., Martin P. A. & Taylor P. S., 1997 - Effects of hay management on grassland songbirds in Saskatchewan. Wildlife Society Bulletin, 25 (3): 616-626.
  6. Dennis P., Skartveit J., McCracken D. L., Pakeman R. J., Beaton K., Kunaver A. & Evans D. M., 2008 - The effect of livestock grazing on foliar arthropods associated with bird diet in upland grassland of Scotland. Journal of Applied Ecology, 45 (1): 279-287. <https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2007.01378.x> DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2007.01378.x
  7. Fanelli G. & Menegoni P., 1997 - Le praterie della Riserva Naturale Monterano (Lazio settentrionale). Archivio Geobotanico, 3 (1): 51-64.
  8. Frawley B. J. & Best L. B., 1991 - Effects of mowing on breeding bird abundance and species composition in alfalfa fields. Wildlife Society Bulletin, 19:135-142.
  9. Fuller R. J. & Glue D. E., 1977 - The breeding biology of the Stonechat and Whinchat. Bird Study, 24 (4): 215-228. <https://doi.org/10.1080/00063657709476561> DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00063657709476561
  10. Greig-Smith P. V., 1982 – Dispersal between nest-sites by Stonechats Saxicola torquate in relation to previous breeding success. Ornis Scandinavica, 13 (3): 232-238. <https://doi.org/10.2307/3676304> DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/3676304
  11. Greig-Smith P. V. & Quicke D. L. J., 1983 – The diet of nestling Stonechats. Bird Study, 30 (1): 47-50. <http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00063658309476774> DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00063658309476774
  12. Krupa M., 2004 - Food of Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus nestlings: differences related to the age of nestlings and sex of feeding parents. Acta Ornithologica, 39 (1): 45-51. <https://doi.org/10.3161/068.039.0110> DOI: https://doi.org/10.3161/068.039.0110
  13. Magee J. D., 1965 - The breeding distribution of the Stonechat in Britain and the causes of its decline, Bird Study, 12 (2): 83-89. <https://doi.org/10.1080/00063656509476090> DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00063656509476090
  14. Orłowski G., Wuczyński A. & Karg J., 2015 - Effect of brood age on nestling diet and prey composition in a hedgerow specialist bird, the Barred Warbler (Sylvia nisoria). PLoS ONE, 10 (6): e0131100. <https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0131100> DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0131100
  15. Owens R. A. & Myres M. T., 1973 - Effects of agriculture upon populations of native passerine birds of an Alberta fescue grassland. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 51 (7): 697-713. <https://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z73-104> DOI: https://doi.org/10.1139/z73-104
  16. Revaz E. & Schaub M., 2008 - Foraging ecology and reproductive biology of the Stonechat (Saxicola torquatus): comparison between a revitalized, intensively cultivated and historical, traditionally cultivated agro-ecosystem. Journal of Ornithology, 149: 301-312. <https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-007-0269-3> DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-007-0269-3
  17. Torok J., 1986 - Food segregation in three-hole nesting bird species during the breeding season. Ardea, 74: 129-136.
  18. van Oosten H. H., 2016 - Comparative breeding biology of three insectivorous songbirds in Dutch dune grasslands. Ardea, 104: 199-209. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5253/arde.v104i3.a2

Metrics

Citations and online attention from Dimensions, Altmetric and PlumX.

PlumX Metrics

License

Copyright (c) 2023 Loris Pietrelli, Massimo Biondi, Patrizia Menegoni

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

PAGEPress has chosen to apply the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) to all manuscripts to be published.