Abstract
The breeding ecology of the Australian magpie Gymnorhina tibicen in suburban and rural areas was compared as part of a study into the synanthropy of the species in southeast Queensland, Australia. During the two years of the study suburban magpies were found to have significantly advanced breeding dates compared to rural magpies. Suburban magpies typically re-nested when an initial nest failed, although this did not result in greater productivity than that of the rural magpies. Suburban magpies had similar mean numbers of young per breeding pair; they also showed higher mortality between fledging and a final count in February. This study suggests that introduced predators and deaths due to motor vehicles may account for this mortality in suburban areas. Anthropogenic factors present within suburban areas such as the watering of lawns and the widespread provision of food for wildlife are likely to play an important role in the differences in the timing of breeding. In addition, temperature may also have an inhibitory effect on the onset of breeding, an influence lessened in the suburban areas due to higher temperatures.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adams, L.W. (1994) Urban Wildlife Habitats. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis.
Alley, T.H. (1979) Diet differences in adult and nestling Australian magpies. Corella 3, 86.
Blakers, M., Davies, S.J.J.F. and Rilley, P.N. (1984) The Atlas of Australian Birds. Melbourne University Press, Melbourne.
Boal, C.W. and Mann, R.W. (1999) Comparative breeding ecology of Cooper's hawks in urban and exurban areas of southeastern Arizona. Journal of Wildlife Management 63, 77–84.
Brittingham M.C. and Temple S.A. (1988) Avian disease and winter bird feeding. Passenger Pigeon 50, 195–203.
Burger, J. and Gochfeld, M. (1992) Vulnerability and mortality of young Australian magpies on roads. Wilson Bulletin 104, 365–367.
Carrick, R. (1972) Population ecology of the Australian black-backed magpie, royal penguin and silver gull. United States Department of Interior Wildlife Research Report 2, 41–99.
Catterall, C.P., Green, R.J. and Jones, D.N. (1991) Habitat use by birds across a forest-suburb interface in Brisbane: implications for corridors. In Nature Conservation 2 The Role of Corridors (D.A. Saunders and R.J. Hobbs, eds.), pp. 247–258. Surrey Beatty & Sons, Sydney.
Catterall, C.P. and Kingston, M. (1993) Remnant bushland of southeast Queensland in the 1990's. A report to the Brisbane City Council, Brisbane, Australia.
Cilento, N.J. and Jones, D.N. (1999) Aggression towards humans in Australian magpies: Nest defence or territorial behaviour. Emu 99, 85–90.
Cowie, R.J. and Hinsley, S.A. (1987) Breeding success of blue tits and great tits in suburban gardens. Ardea 75, 81–90.
Cowie, R.J. and Hinsley, S.A. (1988) Feeding ecology of great tits (Parus major) and blue tits (Parus caeruleus) breeding in suburban gardens. Journal of Animal Ecology 57, 611–626.
Davies, N.B. and Lundberg, A. (1985) The influence of food on time budgets and timing of breeding of the dunnock Prunella modularis. Ibis 127, 100–110.
Emlen, J.T. (1974) An urban bird community in Tucson, Arizona: derivation, structure, regulation. Condor 76, 184–197.
Falk, J.F. (1976) Energetics of a suburban lawn. Ecology 57, 141–150.
Floyd, R.B. and Woodland, D.J. (1981) Localization of soil dwelling scarab larvae by the black-backed magpie, Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham). Animal Behaviour 29, 510–517.
Gehlbach, F.R. (1996) Eastern screech owls in suburbia: a model of raptor urbanisation. In Raptors in Human Landscapes (D.M. Bird, D.E. Varland and J.J. Negro, eds.), pp. 69–74. Academic Press, London.
Green, R.J. (1984) Native and exotic birds in a suburban habitat. Australian Wildlife Research 11, 181–190.
Hahn, T.P., Boswell, T., Wingfield, J.C. and Ball, G.F. (1997) Temporal flexibility in avian reproduction. Current Ornithology 14, 39–73.
Howard, P. and Jones, D.N. (in press) The meaning of feeding: A qualitative study of practices and reasons for feeding wildlife in urban southeast Queensland. In Urban Wildlife: More Than Meets the Eye! (K. Burgin, and D. Lunney, eds.), Royal Zoological Society of N.S.W., Sydney.
Hughes, J.M. and Mather, P.B. (1991) Variation in size of territory groups in the Australian magpie, Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham). Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland 101, 13–19.
Hughes, J.M., Pearce B.L. and Vockenson, K. (1983) Territories of the Australian magpie Gymmnorhina tibicen. Emu 83, 108–111.
Jokimaki, J. and Huhta, L. (2000) Artificial nest predation and abundance of birds along an urban gradient. Condor 102, 838–847.
Jokimaki, J., Suhonen, J., Inki, K. and Jokinen, S. (1996) Biogeographical comparison of winter bird assembleges in urban environments in Finland. Journal of Biogeography 23, 379–386.
Johnston, R.F. (2001) Synathropic birds in North America. In Avian Ecology and Conservation in an Urbanizing World. (J. M. Marzluff, R. Bowman and R. Donnelly, eds.), pp. 49–68. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Norwell, USA.
Jones, D.N. (2002) Magpie Alert: Learning to Live with a Wild Neighbour. University of New South Wales Press, Sydney, Australia.
Jones, D.N. and Everding, S.E. (in press) Communal roosting in a suburban population of Torresian crows. Landscape and Urban Planning.
Jones, D.N. and Nealson, T. (2003) Management of aggressive Australian magpies by translocation. Wildlife Research 30, 167–177.
Jones, L.R. (1986) The effect of photoperiod and temperature on the testicular growth in captive black-billed magpies. Condor 88, 91–93.
Lack D. (1954) The Natural Regulation of Animal Numbers. Oxford University Press, London, UK.
Lloyd, P. (1999) Rainfall as a breeding stimulus and clutch size determinant in South African arid-zone birds. Ibis 141, 637–643.
McLees, B. (2001) Feeding Wildlife. Right or Wrong. BSc. (Hons) Thesis. Deakin University, Melbourne, Victoria.
Marzluff, J.M. (2001) Worldwide urbanisation and its effects on birds. In Avian Ecology and Conservation in an Urbanizing World. (J. M. Marzluff, R. Bowman and R. Donnelly, eds.), pp. 19–49. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Norwell, USA.
Morneau, F., Decarie, R., Pelletier, R., Lambert, D., DesGranges, J.L. and Savard, J.P. (1999) Changes in breeding bird richness and abundance in Montreal parks over a period of 15 years. Landscape and Urban Planning 44, 111–121.
O'Leary, R. and Jones, D.N. (2002) Foraging of suburban Australian magpies during dry conditions. Corella 26, 53–54.
Orians, G.H. (1960) Autumnal breeding in the tricoloured blackbird. Auk 77, 379–398.
Parker, J.W. (1996) Urban ecology of the Mississippi kite. In Raptors in Human Landscapes (D.M. Bird, D.F. Varland and J.J. Negro, eds.), pp. 45–52. Academic Press, London, UK.
Perrins, C.M. (1970) The timing of birds breeding seasons. Ibis 112, 242–255.
Robinson, A. (1956) The annual reproductive cycle of the magpie, Gymnorhina dorsalis (Campbell), in south western Australia. Emu 56, 235–336.
Rollinson, D.J., O'Leary, R. and Jones, D.N. (2003) The practice of wildlife feeding in suburban Brisbane. Corella 27, 52–59.
Rowley, I. (1974) Bird Life. Collins, Sydney, Australia.
Selaander, R.K. and Nichololson, D.J. (1962) Autumnal breeding of boat-tailed grackles in Florida. Condor 64, 81–91.
Svensson, E. and Nilsson, J. (1995) Food supply, territory quality, and reproductive timing in the blue tit (Parus caeruleus). Ecology 76, 1804–1812.
Wood, K.A. (1996) Bird assemblages in a small public reserve and adjacent residential area at Wollongong, New South Wales. Wildlife Research. 23, 605–620.
Zar, J.H. (1999) Biostatistical Analysis, 4 ed. Prentice-Hall Int. Inc., New Jersey.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rollinson, D.J., Jones, D.N. Variation in breeding parameters of the Australian magpie Gymnorhina tibicen in suburban and rural environments. Urban Ecosystems 6, 257–269 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:UECO.0000004826.52945.ed
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:UECO.0000004826.52945.ed