K hniezdnemu správaniu
leucistov: prípadová štúdia u drozda čierneho (Turdus
merula) On the breeding behaviour of leucistic
birds: case study in the Blackbird (Turdus
merula)
Ján KOČÍ
Scherrera 36, 921 01 Piešťany, Slovakia
Anton KRIŠTÍN
Institute of Forest Ecology SAS, Ľ. Štúra 2, 960
01 Zvolen, Slovakia; kristin@ife.sk
Abstract:
The breeding behaviour of leucistic birds is
poorly known. The Blackbird is the species in
which leucism occurs most frequently in
Europe. In Slovakia, a total of 35 records of
leucistic individuals with different range of
white coloration have been published in
Slovakia, while complete leucists are rare. In
the urban environment of Žilina (NW Slovakia),
we studied the breeding behaviour and breeding
success of a completely leucistic female,
which is the first known case of such a female
breeding in this species. From April 20, to
September 7, 2024, her behaviour, nesting
attempts, nesting success and causes of
nesting failure were monitored on the
university campus of the University of Žilina
with a park-like habitat (for a total of 148
hours during 36 days). Observations were made
between 5 and 15 hours CET and documented by
photo. The individual moved during the
research in a polygon of 17 ha (530 × 320 m).
Altogether six copulations (4–12 m from the
nest) and five nesting attempts were
registered (findings of individual nests on
20. 4., 14. 5., 20. 5., 27. 5., 1. 6.), but
none of the nesting attempts were successful.
The most likely causes of nest failure were
nest predators (2), weather (2) and park
management (1). Direct predation was observed
in one case by a magpie during egg incubation.
Individual nests were located 330, 360, 390
and 410 m apart (distances from the first
detected nest), on trees and shrubs at a
height of 2–3.5 m, at a distance of 4–7 m from
the edge of the stand, 2–25 m from the nearest
building, 5–15 m from the nearest sidewalk or
road.
Citácia / Cite as
Kočí J. & Krištín A. 2024: On the breeding
behaviour of leucistic birds: case study in the
Blackbird (Turdusmerula). Tichodroma
36: DOI: 10.31577/tichodroma.2024.36.5