David M. B. Parish

Parental investment, reproductive success and polygyny in the lapwing, Vanellus vanellus.

We studied the consequences of monogamy and polygyny for male and female lapwings at a site in northern England between 1993 and 1995. Males and females differed in breeding behaviour, and thus the pattern of reproductive investment: males contributed less time than females to the care of their offspring and more time to mating behaviour. We argue that this has resulted from sexual selection. Reproductive behaviour was similar in monogamous and polygynous individuals of both sexes. Male mating success was related to territory size, with males on the largest territories gaining more females. Polygynous male lapwings reared on average between 58 and 100% more chicks each year than monogamous males because of fewer complete breeding failures; between-year return rates of males to the area were similar. This would result in a strong advantage in terms of lifetime reproductive success for polygynous male lapwings. The seasonal breeding success of polygynous females was marginally, but not significantly, lower than that of monogamous females. Between-year return rates of monogamous and polygynous females were similar. Copyright 1998 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

Attempted double-brooding in the Lapwing Vanellus vanellus

double-clutchingoccurs when a female lays two clutches in rapidsuccession, with the eggs and chicks from thefirst clutch tended by the male and the eggsand chicks from the second tended by thefemale. A more appropriate term, employedhere, is double-brooding. Double-brooding, as distinct from other multiple-clutch systems,is relatively infrequent among waders. It isregarded as regular in the Stone Curlew

Landscape-dependent use of a seed-rich habitat by farmland passerines: relative importance of game cover crops in a grassland versus an arable region of Scotland

Capsule Game cover crops in a pastoral region of southwest Scotland supported passerines at more than twice the density found in similar crops in an arable region. Aims To investigate the use of seed-rich habitats (game cover crops) by farmland passerines in the agricultural grasslands of southwest Scotland relative to the arable east. Methods Birds were counted in game cover crops and conventional crops on nine farms in Dumfries and Galloway, and Ayrshire, during the winters of 2003/04 and 2004/05. Similar data from eastern Scotland were re-analysed to compare the relative use of the two crop types in the contrasting regions. Results Passerine densities in game cover crops in southwest Scotland were two orders of magnitude greater than in conventional crops. Furthermore, densities within grassland game cover crops were more than double those in arable areas and densities in grassland conventional crops were just 14% of those in equivalent arable habitats. Conclusion The significantly greater difference between passerine densities in game cover crops and conventional crops in a grassland versus an arable region of Scotland could not be explained by differences in the bird communities, crop types, boundary habitats, weather, observer effects or survey methods used. We suggest that game cover crops may be more attractive in grassland regions because alternative food sources are rarer than in arable regions.

Do Yellowhammers Emberiza citrinella achieve higher breeding productivity in their introduced range than in their native range

Capsule Success in New Zealand is not from enhanced reproductive productivity, but may be from better winter food supplies and fewer natural predators.