The gray partridge (Perdix perdix) is a bird species living in hiding and nesting on the ground in the open landscape. Even though this species uses several well-known anti-predator adaptations and strategies, its nests are often predated. The range of nest predators and the circumstances of predation have not, however, been satisfactorily described yet. This diploma thesis summarizes the results of experiments carried out on artificial nests and is supplemented by the description of nest behaviour of two incubing hens obtained from video shooting their nests. This work also includes the results of video shoots of predators on artificial nests, the most common of them being the marten. The successful survival of nests in all experiments was influenced mainly by hiding the nest in vegetation. However, the presence of feather odour of adult birds increased the risks of predation even for well-hidden nests. Nests placed in grass biotopes survived the best regardless their covering. What mattered most in other biotopes (along the edges of field roads, forests or groves and field biotopes off any lines) was the covering of nests with vegetation. Partridges nesting close to the edge of a forest or a grove are not very safe from predators. The fact that both nesting partridges and nest predators prefer a...
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:nusl.cz/oai:invenio.nusl.cz:321024 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Holomek, Stanislav |
| Contributors | Šálek, Miroslav, Poláková, Simona |
| Source Sets | Czech ETDs |
| Language | Czech |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | info:eu-repo/semantics/masterThesis |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess |
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