The Auk: Ornithological Advances
Published September 12, 2018 (News release from the American Ornithological Society)
Video data of more than 200 grassland bird nests in Alberta, North Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin show that when and why baby birds decide to leave the nest is more complex than anyone guessed. The more siblings in a nest, the longer it took for all of them to fledge, consistent with the idea that some nestlings may stay behind to take advantage of reduced competition after the first siblings leave. Fledging behaviour also varied between species and over the course of the breeding season.
Video
Lead author: Christine Ribic, University of Wisconsin – caribic@wisc.edu