Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / The yellow-cardinal (Gubernatrix cristata) is a passerine bird that occurs in southern Brazil, especially along the border with Uruguay and Argentina. It is an endangered bird and your population is decreasing due to loss and fragmentation of your habitats besides illegal capture. In Brazil, its captive breeding is regulated by the government agency and allows the maintenance of individuals in different places with different breeding systems. Among the parasites that affect passerines, the coccidia of the genus Isospora are the most easily found in both captive and free-living birds. Commonly cause injury to the intestinal tissue and could occasionally affect other organs. In this work, we describe a new species of Isospora in yellow-cardinal and also establish the occurrence of the protozoan and its relationship with factors such as sex, use of parasiticide products, type of cage, contact with feces, food type and frequency of cleaning in birds kept in captivity in the city of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. / O cardeal-amarelo (Gubernatrix cristata) é um pássaro que ocorre no sul do Brasil, principalmente na fronteira com Uruguai e Argentina. É uma ave ameaçada de extinção e sua população está decrescendo devido a perda e fragmentação do seu habitat além da captura ilegal. No Brasil sua criação em cativeiro é regulamentada pelo órgão governamental e possibilita a manutenção dos indivíduos em vários locais com diferentes sistemas de criação. Os coccídeos do gênero Isospora estão entre os mais encontrados na ordem Passeriformes, tanto em aves cativas quanto em aves de vida-livre. Comumente causam injúrias no tecido intestinal, podendo ocasionalmente afetar outros órgãos. Neste trabalho pôde-se descrever uma nova espécie de Isospora em cardeais-amarelo e também estabelecer a ocorrência deste protozoário e relacionar com fatores como sexo, uso de produtos parasiticidas, tipo de recinto, contato com fezes, tipo de alimentação e frequência de limpeza dos recintos nas aves mantidas em cativeiro na cidade de Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil.

Orientador: Marlies Sazima / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-07T09:26:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Rocca-de-Andrade_MarciaAlexandra_D.pdf: 8074594 bytes, checksum: 9b23bf58883dbdee47e992b14876d450 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / Resumo: Beija-flores são considerados os polinizadores vertebrados mais importantes na região Neotropical. Outras aves que visitam flores são geralmente consideradas como parasitas da relação flor-beija-flor, não apresentando o elevado grau de especialização para a nectarivoria como os beija-flores. Apesar de flores ornitófilas serem muito vistosas, apresentando partes florais ou estruturas associadas às flores ou inflorescências muito coloridas, beija-flores também visitam flores não-ornitófilas, as quais na maioria dos casos não são polinizadas durante a tomada de néctar. Durante um estudo de dois anos e três meses sobre a disponibilidade de recurso floral para aves em uma área de Mata Atlântica no sudeste do Brasil, a atividade das aves e a abundância de flores foram estimadas através de transecções lineares e escalando árvores com equipamento de escalada esportiva. O volume de néctar acumulado e a concentração de açúcares foram medidos com o auxílio de micro-seringa e refratômetro manual, respectivamente, a partir de flores ou botões ensacados no dia anterior até o final da manhã seguinte. Espécies de aves foram registradas durante registros visuais e observações focais quando em visita às flores. Sessenta e duas espécies de plantas foram estudadas e beija-flores foram registrados em 95% delas; um número muito pequeno de espécies foi visitado também por outras aves. A maioria das espécies foi de epífitas e as demais foram ervas, lianas ou árvores. Cerca de 68% das espécies foram polinizadas por aves, sendo o restante pilhado. Flores visitadas por beija-flores se distribuíram ao longo do ano, o que deve ser importante para a manutenção de espécies de beija-flores residentes na área, e a maioria deste recurso ocorreu no sub-bosque, apesar de também existir recurso no dossel. Características de néctar foram muito variáveis entre as espécies: as médias de volume acumulado variaram de 1,5 a 220,6 µl e as médias da concentração variaram de 3,1 a 40,9% (Capítulo 1). Dentre as espécies de beija-flores, três pertencem à subfamília Phaethornithinae e dez à Trochilinae. Duas espécies residentes foram observadas ao longo de toda a estratificação vertical da floresta, visitando flores e carregando pólen entre estratos diferentes, enquanto outras espécies ocorreram em apenas um estrato: sub-bosque ou dossel (Capítulo 2). No dossel, duas espécies foram visitadas e polinizadas por outras aves além dos beija-flores, até mesmo por pica-paus (Capítulo 3.1), sendo mais adaptadas à síndrome de ornitofilia por aves que pousam (Capítulo 3.2). Uma das espécies de bromélias (Vriesea rodigasiana) foi estudada acerca de seu principal polinizador com base em freqüência de visitas e carga de pólen germinado por visita (Capítulo 3.3) / Abstract: Hummingbirds are considered the most important vertebrate pollinators in the Neotropics. Other flowervisiting birds are often considered as parasites of the flower-hummingbird relationship, not presenting the high degree of specialization for nectarivory as hummingbirds. Although ornithophilous flowers are very showy, displaying colorful floral parts or structures associated with the flowers or inflorescences, hummingbirds also visit non-ornithophilous flowers, which most of the time are not pollinated during nectar probing. In a two years and three months study about floral resource availability for birds in the Atlantic rainforest in South-eastern Brazil, their activities and flower abundance were estimated throughout the studied months and in vertical stratification. Records were made every month, during line transects samplings and accessing canopy with climbing equipment. Accumulated nectar volume and concentration were measured with microliter syringes and a hand-refractometer, respectively, from bagged flowers at the end of the morning. Bird species were registered during sightings and focal observations while visits to flowers. Sixtytwo species of plants were studied and hummingbirds were recorded on 95% of them; a few were also visited by other birds. Most species are epiphytes, and some are shrubs, lianas or trees. About 68% of these species are pollinated by hummingbirds, from the others they steal or rob nectar. Flowers visited by hummingbirds are distributed throughout the year, which is important to support resident species, and most of this resource occurs in the understorey, although there is also resource in the canopy. Nectar features are very variable among species: mean accumulated nectar volume ranging from 1.5 to 220.6 µl, and mean sugar concentration from 3.1 to 40.9% (Chapter 1). Among the hummingbirds, three species belong to the subfamily Phaethornithinae and ten to Trochilinae. Two resident species are recorded all over the vertical stratification, visiting flower species along their vertical distribution, carrying pollen between different strata, while other species only occur in one stratum: understorey or canopy (Chapter 2). In the canopy two species are visited and pollinated by other birds besides hummingbirds, even by woodpeckers (Chapter 3.1), and are more adapted to pollination by perching-birds (Chapter 3.2). One of the bromeliads (Vriesea rodigasiana) was chosen for a study about relative pollinator efficiency, measured by visitation frequency and germinated pollen load per visit (Chapter 3.3) / Doutorado / Doutor em Biologia Vegetal

Target shooting in the United States has become an increasingly popular sport in the last century. In addition to the large quantity of lead pellets littering range grounds and surrounding land, considerable amounts of clay target fragments cover shooting range areas as well as adjoining habitats. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) within the target, as well as lead pellets from shotguns pose multiple threats to a variety of wildlife. To determine the effects of clay target and lead pellet ingestion on wildlife, I conducted controlled experiments on Coturnix quail exposed to clay targets in the lab, and collected wild birds and mammals exposed to lead pellets at a shooting range. The first Coturnix study determined whether quail voluntarily consumed target fragments or limestone fragments. In both fall (F=29.2, P<0.01) and spring (F=6.45, P=0.02) experiments, I found that quail consistently selected limestone fragments, but almost completely rejected clay target fragments. In the second study, quail were force-fed varying amounts of target dust on a weekly basis to simulate sporadic exposure to clay target dust. In both summer (F=1.63, P=0.23) and winter (F=0.34, P=0.8) trials, male quail did not have significant weight loss. Female quail had insignificant weight losses in summer trials (F=1.63, P=0.23) but experienced weight gains in winter trials (F=3.53, P=0.04). In the third and final Coturnix study, varying amounts of target dust were incorporated into daily feed rations to simulate frequent exposure to clay target dust. Male quail experienced weight loss in both summer (F=16.13, P<0.01) and winter (F=8.47, P<0.01) trials. Female quail also suffered weight loss in both summer (F=15.62, P<0.01) and winter (F=17.50, P<0.01) trials. Weight loss likely resulted from inadequate nutrition as opposed to target poisoning. However, because there were no biochemical analyses performed to test for PAH presence, no definite conclusions can be made. The second study focused on lead contamination in Passeriformes, perching birds, and small mammals. Seventeen of 20 birds (85%) (Passerine spp) captured at the shooting range had elevated lead levels (F=5.21, P<0.028), when compared to birds (n=20) at the control site. Nine of 26 (35%) white-footed mice (Peromyscous leucopus), trapped at the shooting range had elevated liver (F=9.78, P=0.0029) and kidney (F=22.49, P<0.01) lead levels. These results indicate that Passerine species as well as Peromyscous species around shooting ranges inadvertently consume lead, either as lead pellets, mistaking them for grit or dietary items, or through environmental sources such as water, soil, and vegetation. / Master of Science

Physical properties of the environment may shape signalling traits by determining how effective signals are in influencing the behaviour of other individuals. Evidence abounds of signalling environment driving the evolution of colours and sounds, yet little is known about its influence upon gestural displays. Here, we performed a continent-wide phylogenetic comparative analysis to test the hypothesis that habitat structure drives the evolution of aerial sexual displays in passerine birds. We found that aerial displays are seven times more likely to evolve in open-habitat passerines than in forest ones, likely as a result of physical properties that allow aerial displays to transmit more broadly in open habitats. Our results provide an emblematic example of how environmental factors may help predict the direction of evolution of otherwise unpredictable sexual traits. The broader range of aerial displays in open habitats may also mean that females can sample more males, potentially leading to more intense sexual selection in open-habitat, aerial-displaying males / Propriedades físicas do ambiente podem influenciar a evolução de sinais ao determinar quão efetivos eles são em influenciar o comportamento de outro indivíduo. Diversos estudos mostram a influência do ambiente sobre a evolução de cores e sons. Entretanto, pouco se sabe de sua influência sobre sinais motores (i.e., displays). Nesse trabalho, conduzimos uma análise comparativa filogenética para testar a hipótese de que a estrutura do hábitat influencia a evolução de displays sexuais aéreos em aves Passeriformes. Descobrimos que display aéreos têm uma probabilidade sete vezes maior de evoluir em passeriformes de ambiente aberto do que nos florestais, provavelmente decorrente de propriedades físicas que permitem que displays aéreos sejam transmitidos mais amplamente em ambientes abertos. Nossos resultados são um exemplo emblemático de como fatores ambientais podem ajudar a prever a direção de evolução de caracteres sexuais, frequentemente tidos como imprevisíveis. O raio mais amplo de displays aéreos em ambientes abertos também pode permitir que fêmeas consigam amostrar mais machos da população, potencialmente intensificado a seleção sexual sobre machos de ambiente aberto que exibem displays aéreos

Submitted by Edisangela Bastos (edisangela@ufpa.br) on 2013-09-04T13:13:27Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 23898 bytes, checksum: e363e809996cf46ada20da1accfcd9c7 (MD5) Dissertacao_PadroesDistribuicaoConservacao.pdf: 40845406 bytes, checksum: 465f22ee741559c843a97147db453e14 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ana Rosa Silva(arosa@ufpa.br) on 2013-09-05T12:01:52Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 23898 bytes, checksum: e363e809996cf46ada20da1accfcd9c7 (MD5) Dissertacao_PadroesDistribuicaoConservacao.pdf: 40845406 bytes, checksum: 465f22ee741559c843a97147db453e14 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-09-05T12:01:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 23898 bytes, checksum: e363e809996cf46ada20da1accfcd9c7 (MD5) Dissertacao_PadroesDistribuicaoConservacao.pdf: 40845406 bytes, checksum: 465f22ee741559c843a97147db453e14 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2004 / A Caatinga, bioma exclusivamente brasileiro, localizado principalmente na região nordeste, é um dos ecossistemas menos conhecidos do ponto de vista científico e também um dos mais ameaçados e transformados pela ação humana. Foram determinadas as áreas com maior riqueza de passeriformes, como estas espécies estão distribuídas na região e como utilizam o hábitat. Além disso, também foi testada a eficiência das unidades de conservação da Caatinga e das áreas prioritárias definidas pelo PROBIO na proteção de táxons endêmicos e ameaçados da região. Os 273 táxons de passeriformes registrados para Caatinga, em sua maioria (66%), dependem, direta ou indiretamente, das florestas da região para sobreviver. Foram registrados 37 táxons endêmicos à região, sendo 26 dependentes de florestas. As áreas de maior riqueza de espécies estão diretamente relacionadas com a diversidade de hábitats. Foram identificadas 10 áreas prioritárias mais importantes para a conservação de táxons endêmicos e ameaçados de passeriformes. As unidades de conservação da Caatinga além de cobrirem apenas uma pequena extensão da região, não representam bem os táxons endêmicos e ameaçados do bioma. Assim, um sistema eficiente de conservação para a Caatinga deve incluir toda a diversidade paisagística existente na região, dando prioridade para unidades de conservação nas áreas compostas pelos encraves florestais e caatingas adjacentes. / The Caatinga is an exclusively Brazilian biome mainly located in the Northeast region. This ecosystem is little studied and is also one of the most threatened and altered by humans. The aim of this study was to determine the areas with highest richness of passeriforms, to identify how these species are distributed and how they use habitat resources. Moreover, we tested the efficiency of Conservation Units and Priority Areas proposed by PROBIO to protect endemic and threatened taxa. Most of the 273 taxa of passeriforms recorded for the Caatinga depend direct or indirectly upon forests to survive. A number of 37 taxa were registered as endemic for the region, of these 26 are dependent of forest. The areas of higher richness are directly related to habitat diversity. A total of 10 most important priority areas were identified for the conservation of endemic and threatened passerines. In addition to covering only a reduced area of the ecosystem, the conservation units do not fully represent the endemic and threatened taxa for the biome. Thus, an efficient system of conservation of the Caatinga shall consider the landscape diversity, especially for the conservation units forested areas and caatinga-like neighbouring vegetation.

Although sleep forms an important part of an animal’s life, there is a paucity of knowledge about sleep behaviour. The function of sleep in birds is poorly understood, even though birds spend a large part of their lives sleeping. Sleep behaviour in passerine birds has not been looked at as extensively as that of non-passerine birds. I looked at the sleep behaviour of three relatively common passerine birds occurring in southern Africa, namely the Malachite Sunbird (Nectarinia famosa), the Cape White-eye (Zosterops pallidus) and the Fan-tailed Widowbird (Euplectes axillaris). By using an infra-red sensitive camera I described basic sleep behaviours at various ambient temperatures, of all three species, such as sleep position and eye closure, and also investigated the incidence of unihemispheric sleep. Individuals of all three species spent most of the night asleep and kept on waking up intermittently throughout the night, with no significant differences between temperatures. Cape White-eyes and Malachite Sunbirds showed an increase in back sleep and a decrease in front sleep at 5oC. Little evidence of unihemispheric sleep was found, suggesting that it is more likely to occur in non-passerines, especially ground dwelling birds. Diurnal birds generally sleep during the hours of darkness. Most male southern African sunbirds have pectoral tufts, although the function of these is not always understood. In male Malachite Sunbirds it has recently been found that they display their pectoral tufts almost continuously throughout the night, whilst asleep. I explored the possible function of this behaviour and suggest that these tufts might be a deterrent to predators, as they look like ‘eyes’ in the dark. A review of the use and occurrence of pectoral tufts in southern African sunbird species is also presented. Blood glucose concentrations of most birds are much higher than those found in mammals and it is still not known how they evade the complications of such high levels. I investigated the change in blood glucose concentrations of Malachite Sunbirds at two different ambient temperatures and at different times of the night and day and explored the possibility that gluconeogenesis might be used by birds to ‘warm up’ during arousal of torpor in the early morning, before daylight. Generally blood glucose levels were fairly high, between 13.6 and 21.4 mmol/L, which was expected. Blood glucose levels were higher at 5oC than at 25oC and generally lower in the early hours of the morning. Therefore I reject the assumption that Malachite Sunbirds use gluconeogenesis as an additional form of heat generation during torpor. It is thought that the difference in the levels of blood glucose might be a function of the cold temperature and the consumption of their nectarivorous diet. This research clearly highlights the need for further studies to be undertaken in the sleeping behaviours and patterns of birds, especially in southern African species. It also shows that more studies need to be done on the use of pectoral tufts in sunbird species and furthermore it is suggested that more research is needed to elucidate the mechanism by which Malachite Sunbirds are able to rapidly ‘warm up’ during arousal, when in torpor. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

Babblers together with the close related Timallidae are not very common inmates of the zoological gardens. In the Czech Republic they are only bred in the zoological gardens in Ohrada, Pilsen and Prague. The breeding in the zoological gardens is not generally very successful. The zoo in Prague with its number of species owns the largest collection of these birds in Europe. In the past the breeders in Prague were the first ones in Europe who managed to raise for example Rufous-fronted Laughingthrush, Sunda Laughingthrush, Barred Laughingthrush or Sumatran Laughingthrush (Black-and-white Laughingthrush). As the first ones in the Czech Republic they were able to reproduce the critically endagered Blue-crowned Laughingthrush (Courtois's Laughingthrush). The Blue-crowned Laughingthrush is so rare that for several years it was not clear at all if they still live in nature. In the year 2000 they were rediscovered in the number of 240 pieces. The quantity of them in the zoological gardens all over the world does not exceed 100 pieces. The zoo in Chester does a European breeding book of these pieces. Some birds in Prague reproduce repetitively and they prove that the right method of the breeding was found. Hopefully this method would lead to the birth of the securing population in the care of humans. This securing population is very important for the protection of these birds. The attempt of this work is to assess the links between the results of the breeding and their conditions, the comparison of the nesting activities of the two chosen species of babblers, then the summarizing of the expansion and the results of the breeding of the individual species and also the processing of the expansion, the development of the quantity and the problems of the protection of the babblers in nature. The following facts were found out: the breeding of the birds in the exposition or in its environment does not have an essential influence on their nesting activity. However, for the nesting activity it is more important if they are a newly formed couple or a couple paired for a longer time and at the forest babbler it is the female that has an important role in incubation period. However, at the Sumatran Laughingthrush there is a frequent changing in different time intervals. The work also shows that only 5 species out of 12, that showed the nesting activity, are able to build a nest without the help of the keepers. That can be attributed to their closer relational breeding and also to putting the higher number of artificially reared individuals into the breeding.

Satellite DNA (satDNA) is among the fastest evolving elements in the genome and is highly abundant in some eukaryotic genomes. Its highly repetitive nature means it is challenging to assemble, and thus underrepresented in most assemblies and often understudied as a result. Birds are an ideal model organism for the study of satDNA and its evolution, since the large amount of available sequenced genomes of this clade allows for dense sampling across various evolutionary timescales, and the low number of satDNA families within their satellitomes facilitates their study and comparison between species. Here, we characterize satDNA and its evolution across Passeriformes, an avian clade containing two-thirds of all bird species spanning ~50 million years of evolution. With this goal we use both short-read data and long-read assemblies of species representative of over 30 passerine families in this clade to shed light on the evolution of its satellitome. We focus on examining the phylogenetic relationships between satellites common to most species as well as characterizing satellite array structure and location in genome assemblies. We also analyse satellite abundance in each genome, focusing on differences in the satellite content between male and female individuals to look for satellites present in the female-specific W sex chromosome and the germline-restricted chromosome. Seven satDNA families shared by a quarter of the species were found, that were likely present in an ancestral species shared by most, if not all the species of Passeriformes. We observed that satDNA evolution is complex and does not follow species phylogeny and that satellite arrays generally have a simple head-to-tail conformation, with evidence in four of the sampled species of satDNA arrays with higher-order repeats. We also found two satDNA families with fairly consistent monomer length and conserved regions that we hypothesise to might be functional.

Submitted by Marlene Santos (marlene.bc.ufg@gmail.com) on 2018-07-26T17:56:37Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Jesús Nazareno Pinto Ledezma - 2017.pdf: 8871426 bytes, checksum: 451cfc37da75487787cfc68ca57f9d82 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2018-07-27T15:03:35Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Jesús Nazareno Pinto Ledezma - 2017.pdf: 8871426 bytes, checksum: 451cfc37da75487787cfc68ca57f9d82 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-07-27T15:03:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Jesús Nazareno Pinto Ledezma - 2017.pdf: 8871426 bytes, checksum: 451cfc37da75487787cfc68ca57f9d82 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-06-07 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / One of the major challenges in biology is to understand the processes that originate and maintain of species diversity, and that in turn, determinate the observed patterns of biological diversity at different spatial and temporal scales. Here, we explore the historical processes that generate the species diversity and the assembly of local assemblages of Furnariides, the largest bird continental endemic radiation. In general, we used data of geographic distribution, local assemblages, life history (e.g., habitat preference) and molecular phylogenies. Furnariides diversified mainly during the Tertiary period, period in which South America was an island continent. Also, they are tightly related with the habitat that they occupy, where, the forest habitats represent the ancestral habitat for this clade. The Furnariides species richness pattern follows the same species richness pattern of birds in general, with a higher concentration of species at low latitudes and in forest habitats. Although the concentration of species is higher in these regions, the regions at higher latitudes and of open habitats, present rapid rates of speciation, extinction and colonization, suggesting that these habitats represent an effective arena for diversification in the Neotropics, and that are important for the maintenance of species diversity in forest habitats. Finally, the phylogenetic structure of assemblages of Furnariides, is influenced for the habitat preferences, and that the assembly of local assemblages is determined by the combined effect of historical colonisation and local extinction, as well as, the niche conservatism and environmental filtering. / Um dos principais desafios em biologia é entender os processos que dão origem e mantêm a diversidade de espécies, e que, por sua vez, determinam os padrões observados da diversidade biológica em diferentes escalas espaciais e temporais. Nesta tese, exploramos os processos históricos que geram a diversidade de espécies e a montagem de assembleias locais no infraorder dos Furnariides, a maior radiação continental endêmica de aves. De maneira geral se usaram dados de distribuição das espécies, de assembleias locais, historia de vida (e.g., preferência de habitat) e filogenias moleculares. Se demostra que os Furnariides principalmente diversificaram no período Terciário, período no qual América do Sul foi uma ilha continente. Além disso, estão estreitamente relacionadas com o habitat que elas ocupam, sendo que os habitats de floresta representam o habitat ancestral deste clado. O padrão de riqueza de espécies de Furnariides segue o mesmo padrão de riqueza de aves em geral, com uma maior concentração de espécies em latitudes menores e em habitats de floresta. Embora a concentração de espécies seja maior em estas regiões, as regiões de latitudes maiores e de habitats abertos, apresentaram taxas de especiação, extinção e dispersão mais rápidas, sugerindo que os habitats abertos representam areias efetivas de diversificação no Neotrópico e são importantes para o mantimento da diversidade de espécies em habitats de floresta. Finalmente, a estrutura filogenética das assembleias dos Furnariides e influenciada pela preferência de habitat, além disso, a montagem de assembleias locais depende do efeito combinado das taxas diferencias de colonização e extinção local, assim como a conservação de nicho e da filtragem ambiental.

Eastern Kingbirds (Tyrannus tyrannus) breed from coast to coast in North America and build open-cup nests in trees. They have been extensively studied across most of their range and have only on occasion been documented to reuse a nest from a previous season. However, at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge (MNWR), located in southeastern Oregon, ~10 % of female Eastern Kingbirds reuse old nests of mainly American Robins (Turdus migratorius). In an attempt to address why nest reuse is so common at MNWR, I used artificial nests to evaluate two hypotheses as to why nest reuse is common in this breeding population. The first hypothesis states that Eastern Kingbirds reuse nests to save time and/or energy (TES) and the second one states nest reuse occurs because there is a shortage of suitable nest sites (NSS). I was able to reject the TES hypothesis because artificial nests provided no apparent reproductive benefits to Eastern Kingbirds, except that if a nest had failed it took less time to lay a replacement clutch after an initial failure if an artificial nest was used instead of building a new nest. A more reasonable explanation is that Eastern Kingbirds face a limited availability of suitable nest sites. With this in mind, I took vegetation measurements to address the hypothesis that Eastern Kingbirds make adaptive choices when selecting a nest site, in which case they would choose sites that increase their probability of breeding successfully. Successful nests, both natural and artificial, were placed higher in a tree and on a steeper angled nest branch than their failed counterparts. Those findings suggest that Eastern Kingbirds make adaptive choices when selecting a nest site.