The breeding biology of the common redstart, Phoenicurus phoenicurus, was studied from 295 nests over 20 years in a nest-box population breeding in managed pine forest in the northeast of the Czech Republic, central Europe. The laying of first eggs lasted from 30 April until 30 June with two distinct peaks in May and June. The estimated proportion of pairs producing two broods per season was 65.4%, the highest estimate in studies of this species. Nest success was only 45.1%, one of the lowest known values. The mean clutch size was 6.30 eggs in assumed first broods and 5.39 eggs in assumed second broods. The production of two broods per season and relatively small clutches is probably a parental adaptation to conditions of frequent nest predation. The two breeding attempts per season could not, however, compensate for the latitudinal differences in clutch size and breeding success, and the seasonal breeding productivity was lower in comparison to populations in the northern area of distribution. At higher air temperatures the breeding started earlier. The air temperature also affected nest success which was highest at mean temperature values and decreased to both low and high temperature extremes. The effects of precipitation, first-egg-laying date, clutch size and year of observation on nest success were not significant.
The bird communities in three cemeteries of Bratislava (the Ondrejský cemetery, the Ružinov cemetery and the Slávičie údolie cemetery) were investigated within the period 1992-1995 with the aim to characterise breeding bird communities in this urban type of habitat. A total of 33 breeding bird species was found in the localities, with nine species constantly breeding in each of them. The mean density varied from 3.30 to 14.72 breeding pairs (BP)/ha. Altogether, five species were classified as dominant: Turdus merula, Carduelis chloris, Sylvia atricapilla, Serinus serinus, Streptopelia decaocto. The breeding bird communities follow the geometric model of abundance distribution, indicating harsh environment. The occurrence of breeding birds depended on the location of the cemetery in the town, and on the age, structure and composition of its vegetation. Passer montanus, Passer domesticus and Sturnus vulgaris occupied habitats with old lime trees characterised with high basal area. Fringilla coelebs was associated with high ash trees and Luscinia megarhynchos with dense young trees. Birds most connected with dense conifers included Turdus merula and Carduelis chloris. Areas with medium tree and shrub cover were prefered by Serinus serinus, Sylvia atricapilla, Parus major. Information generated by this study have important implications for management of vegetation in cemeteries.
Breeding ecology of woodchat shrikes Lanius senator was investigated in the EL-Kala National Park in North-East Algeria (36°53’N; 8°30’E) in 1998–1999. Quercus suber was the tree species most frequently used as support for nests, which were constructed at a mean height of 5 m. First eggs in clutches were laid 7 May, and clutch size was 4.9. Approximately 42% eggs gave fledglings. Clutch size declined during the course of the breeding season but fledgling success did not. Fledging success was positively correlated with per clutch mean egg length and the height of the nest location above ground. We suggest that the major selective pressures that shape the life history of Algerian woodchat shrikes are relatively heavy predation and poor food availability.
Captive breeding of the common shrew, Sorex araneus was conducted between 2003 and 2005. Young specimens were collected from natural populations in September of 2003 and 2004. They were kept under long day conditions (16 hours of daylight) until they reached sexual maturity and were then bred. Eleven out of 18 females gave birth to 17 litters, including 13 (76%) that survived to weaning. The total for all litters was 77 offspring, 54 of which (70%) left the nest. Males born in captivity and kept under variable photoperiod conditions attained sexual maturity (combined testis masses ranged from 167 to 236 mg). These results indicate that maintaining of continuous breeding colony under laboratory conditions of this species should be possible. The main problem remains relatively high animal mortality: 42% of caught shrews died before mating began and 57% of males born in captivity did not survive the acceleration of sexual development.
Breizacanthus aznari sp. n. is described from the banded cusk-eel Raneya brasiliensis (Kaup) (Ophidiiformes: Ophidiidae) from the Patagonian coast in Argentina. Breizacanthus Golvan, 1969 is currently composed of five species (including the new species) and is characterised by the absence of trunk spines, a short cylindrical proboscis with two types of hooks and lemnisci longer than the proboscis receptacle. Breizacanthus aznari is clearly distinguished from B. chabaudi Golvan, 1969 by having 12 longitudinal rows of hooks on the proboscis, instead of 16-18. The new species resembles B. golvani Gaevskaya et Shukhgalter, 1984, B. irenae Golvan, 1969, and B. ligur Paggi, Orecchia et Della Seta, 1975, all possessing 12 longitudinal rows of hooks. However, B. aznari differs from B. golvani in having 4-5 large hooks per row (vs. 8-9) and larger eggs. The new species can be distinguished from B. irenae by the shorter body size of females, the different range of numbers of large hooks of males (4-5 and 5-6, respectively), the smaller maximum number of small hooks of females (3 and 4, respectively), and the shorter lemnisci. Breizacanthus aznari differs from B. ligur by the smaller body length of females, the smaller maximum body length of males, the different range of numbers of large hooks of males (4-5 and 5-6, respectively), and smaller lemnisci. This is the first record of a species of Breizacanthus from fishes of the order Ophidiiformes and from the Southern Hemisphere. Comparative data on species of Euzetacanthus Golvan et Houlin, 1964 and Breizacanthus are also provided.