![]() Parents fledged 0.89 chicks per nest (n = 11 nests) when nests were actively protected from human disturbance and theft in 2012–2013. During 2011, breeding success was particularly low (20%, n = 10 nests) due to high levels of human disturbance, with chicks being removed from nests. Chick growth rates were as expected given the size of the species, and chicks reached a fledging mass of approximately 5.7 kg. Feeding peaked during the early and late morning. Attendance decreased as chicks aged, but prey provisioning remained constant throughout the nestling stage at 1.2 deliveries per day. Parental attendance was constant in the first 40 days of chick rearing, with attending parents only leaving the nest briefly to collect water for cooling the chicks or to collect material to maintain the nest. Chick growth and breeding success were monitored at the same time. For this study, nest attendance and prey provisioning were recorded with nest cameras for Shoebills in the Bangweulu Wetlands in Zambia in 20. To provide protection to this threatened species, conservationists need a better understanding about Shoebill foraging and breeding ecology, their habitat use and their distribution.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |