We present the first documentation of nestling care by multiple male feeders at nests of the Veery (Catharus fuscescens) in a Mid-Atlantic Piedmont forest in northern Delaware. This is only the second confirmation of this behavior in a Nearctic-neotropical migrant songbird. Five of six nests (83%) were attended by a male that concurrently fed nestlings at a second or third nest. Three of six nests (50%) were attended by one female and two males. No females were observed at more than one nest. We monitored >140 Veery nests at our study site since 1998, and believe the dense breeding habitat and single-brooded nature of the Veery have inhibited our ability to confirm this behavior prior to 2011. Our data suggest this behavior is widespread in our study population.
How to translate text using browser tools
1 June 2012
Multiple Male Feeders at Nests of the Veery
Matthew R. Halley,
Christopher M. Heckscher
ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

The Wilson Journal of Ornithology
Vol. 124 • No. 2
June 2012
Vol. 124 • No. 2
June 2012