Dynamics in numbers of group-roosting individuals in relation to pair-sleeping occurrence and onset of egg-laying in european bee-eaters Merops apiaster
Sleeping in the nest at the beginning of the breeding season is common for birds nesting in cavities. Here, we report evidence that European Bee-eaters Merops apiaster sleep in pairs in the nesting burrow. In 3.2% of the nest checks, we found two individuals sleeping together. This behaviour ceased...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
28 June 2017
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| In: |
Journal für Ornithologie
Year: 2017, Volume: 158, Issue: 4, Pages: 1119-1122 |
| ISSN: | 1439-0361 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s10336-017-1468-1 |
| Online Access: | Verlag, Volltext: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10336-017-1468-1 Verlag, Volltext: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-017-1468-1 
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| Author Notes: | Liviu G. Pârâu, Sjouke A. Kingma, Simon E. Weigl, Hannah L. Dugdale, Catherine M. Lessells, Julia Schroeder |
| Summary: | Sleeping in the nest at the beginning of the breeding season is common for birds nesting in cavities. Here, we report evidence that European Bee-eaters Merops apiaster sleep in pairs in the nesting burrow. In 3.2% of the nest checks, we found two individuals sleeping together. This behaviour ceased once hatching started. A decrease in the number of birds at a communal roost coincided with the incidences of pair-sleeping and initiation of egg-laying. Thus, checking the burrows of European Bee-eaters at the beginning of the breeding season increases the chance of observing pair-sleeping. |
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| Item Description: | Gesehen am 07.06.2018 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1439-0361 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s10336-017-1468-1 |