A comparison of the breeding biology of the Bornean Whistling-Thrush (Myophonus borneensis) and White-crowned Forktail (Enicurus leschenaulti borneensis)
Advances in understanding geographic patterns of life history variation depend on documentation of life history traits for species in poorly studied regions. In the tropics, most species have not had their life history traits described. We compared the reproductive biology of two closely related Mus...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Resilience Alliance
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Journal of Field Ornithology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journal.afonet.org/vol93/iss3/art3/ |
| _version_ | 1828301520031973376 |
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| author | Elise C. Zarri Thomas E. Martin |
| author_facet | Elise C. Zarri Thomas E. Martin |
| author_sort | Elise C. Zarri |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Advances in understanding geographic patterns of life history variation depend on documentation of life history traits for species in poorly studied regions. In the tropics, most species have not had their life history traits described. We compared the reproductive biology of two closely related Muscicapids, the Bornean Whistling-Thrush (Myophonus borneensis) and the Bornean subspecies of the White-crowned Forktail (Enicurus leschenaulti borneensis), coexisting in Mount Kinabalu Park in Sabah, Malaysia. Both species specialize in riparian habitats, but whistling-thrushes are more adaptable to human presence and can be found nesting on and foraging around buildings, whereas forktails are more wary of humans. We located and monitored 77 forktail nests and 130 whistling-thrush nests from 2009 to 2020. Mean clutch size was 2.00 ± 0.04 for forktails and 1.89 ± 0.04 for whistling-thrushes. Mean egg mass at lay was 4.07 ± 0.04 g for forktails and 11.65 ± 0.12 g for whistling-thrushes. Forktail incubation period (17.0 ± 0.42 d) was slightly shorter than for whistling-thrush (18.6 ± 0.19 d), but both species had similar rates of incubation attentiveness. Nestling periods were much shorter for the forktail (15.89 ± 0.39 d) than the whistling-thrush (24.00 ± 0.20 d). The shorter nestling period was associated with faster growth and higher provisioning rates for forktails than whistling-thrushes. Whistling-thrushes are larger and better able to protect their nests from predation, yielding much lower daily nest predation rates (0.012 ± 0.002) than in forktails (0.042 ± 0.006). Indeed, whistling-thrushes were themselves predators of nestlings and eggs of other passerines, whereas forktails were not. The larger size and lower predation risk may explain the slower growth and development of whistling-thrushes. Both species are vulnerable to climate change and droughts because of their reliance on riparian habitats. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T13:23:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-73321ec71f12418cbd987ffc337a80ea |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1557-9263 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T13:23:55Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | Resilience Alliance |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Field Ornithology |
| spelling | doaj.art-73321ec71f12418cbd987ffc337a80ea2022-12-22T02:45:14ZengResilience AllianceJournal of Field Ornithology1557-92632022-09-019333133A comparison of the breeding biology of the Bornean Whistling-Thrush (Myophonus borneensis) and White-crowned Forktail (Enicurus leschenaulti borneensis)Elise C. Zarri0Thomas E. Martin1Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USAMontana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USAAdvances in understanding geographic patterns of life history variation depend on documentation of life history traits for species in poorly studied regions. In the tropics, most species have not had their life history traits described. We compared the reproductive biology of two closely related Muscicapids, the Bornean Whistling-Thrush (Myophonus borneensis) and the Bornean subspecies of the White-crowned Forktail (Enicurus leschenaulti borneensis), coexisting in Mount Kinabalu Park in Sabah, Malaysia. Both species specialize in riparian habitats, but whistling-thrushes are more adaptable to human presence and can be found nesting on and foraging around buildings, whereas forktails are more wary of humans. We located and monitored 77 forktail nests and 130 whistling-thrush nests from 2009 to 2020. Mean clutch size was 2.00 ± 0.04 for forktails and 1.89 ± 0.04 for whistling-thrushes. Mean egg mass at lay was 4.07 ± 0.04 g for forktails and 11.65 ± 0.12 g for whistling-thrushes. Forktail incubation period (17.0 ± 0.42 d) was slightly shorter than for whistling-thrush (18.6 ± 0.19 d), but both species had similar rates of incubation attentiveness. Nestling periods were much shorter for the forktail (15.89 ± 0.39 d) than the whistling-thrush (24.00 ± 0.20 d). The shorter nestling period was associated with faster growth and higher provisioning rates for forktails than whistling-thrushes. Whistling-thrushes are larger and better able to protect their nests from predation, yielding much lower daily nest predation rates (0.012 ± 0.002) than in forktails (0.042 ± 0.006). Indeed, whistling-thrushes were themselves predators of nestlings and eggs of other passerines, whereas forktails were not. The larger size and lower predation risk may explain the slower growth and development of whistling-thrushes. Both species are vulnerable to climate change and droughts because of their reliance on riparian habitats.https://journal.afonet.org/vol93/iss3/art3/life historymontanemount kinabalumuscicapidaeriparian |
| spellingShingle | Elise C. Zarri Thomas E. Martin A comparison of the breeding biology of the Bornean Whistling-Thrush (Myophonus borneensis) and White-crowned Forktail (Enicurus leschenaulti borneensis) Journal of Field Ornithology life history montane mount kinabalu muscicapidae riparian |
| title | A comparison of the breeding biology of the Bornean Whistling-Thrush (Myophonus borneensis) and White-crowned Forktail (Enicurus leschenaulti borneensis) |
| title_full | A comparison of the breeding biology of the Bornean Whistling-Thrush (Myophonus borneensis) and White-crowned Forktail (Enicurus leschenaulti borneensis) |
| title_fullStr | A comparison of the breeding biology of the Bornean Whistling-Thrush (Myophonus borneensis) and White-crowned Forktail (Enicurus leschenaulti borneensis) |
| title_full_unstemmed | A comparison of the breeding biology of the Bornean Whistling-Thrush (Myophonus borneensis) and White-crowned Forktail (Enicurus leschenaulti borneensis) |
| title_short | A comparison of the breeding biology of the Bornean Whistling-Thrush (Myophonus borneensis) and White-crowned Forktail (Enicurus leschenaulti borneensis) |
| title_sort | comparison of the breeding biology of the bornean whistling thrush myophonus borneensis and white crowned forktail enicurus leschenaulti borneensis |
| topic | life history montane mount kinabalu muscicapidae riparian |
| url | https://journal.afonet.org/vol93/iss3/art3/ |
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