Nidifuge
Nest fugitive
Ex. Waders, Waterfowl
Nidicoles
Nest dwelling
Ex. Most birds, passerines
Precocial birds
leave nest early
Altricial birds
stay in nest
Methods of Feeding
Precocial - point at food
Majority - from parent's beak
Helpers at the nest
1st brood helps with raising of the 2nd
Ex. Florida Scrub Jay
Stimuli for Feeding
-Young gape spontaneously
-Some need shaking of nest or other sound
-The young eventually lose acoustic, and learn visual stimuli
-Gaudy mouth linings
-Mouth reflection pearls
Frequency of feeding
Large predators - 2 to 10x daily
Small insectivores - 60x/hour
Bluebirds - 900x/day
Nest Sanitation
-No foreign objects
-Parents remove fecal sacs
-Some EAT waste of chicks
-Defecate outside of nest (Eagles)
Unclean bird nests
Wood Pigeon - worst nest contained 6573 insects of 53 species
Great Horned Owl - young may die because of rotting rabbits left in nest
Defense of Young
-Distraction (Killdeer)
-Carry young (ducks)
-Young Hoopoes have multiple defenses such as 1) Snake hiss
2) Liquid excrement
3) Offensive odor
Cannibalism and Fratricide
Young kill nest mates
Barn Owls - 2/3 die due to cannabilsm by nest mates
Great Egret - fed small fish (not enough for all?)
Other examples: Gulls, terns, storks, ducks, hawks, eagles