Summary
Most passerines have all-purpose territories in which both breeding and feeding take place. However, Ortolan Buntings (Emberiza hortulana) in Norway seem to depend on foraging areas outside nesting territories. We used radio transmitters to study patterns of farmland use by Ortolan Buntings nesting on a burned forest area. Territories on the forest burn were located closer to farmland than expected by chance. Males were absent from territories on average 27 % of the time and used foraging areas up to 2.7 km away from their territories. Males had to fly over an average of 1.4 territories of other males to reach those foraging areas. The distance between territory and closest area of farmland (range 40–460 m) did not affect the proportion of time absent from territories, or other measures of farmland use. However, there was a trend that duration of absences increased with territory-farmland distance among mated males, and duration of absences were shorter during the nestling period than before. Thus, it seems that minimizing travel costs may be a behavioural strategy. Even so, males with territories close to farmland were not more often paired than males further away from farmland. These findings indicate that the spatial distribution of one habitat (farmland) affects territory establishment and foraging behaviour of Ortolan Buntings nesting in another habitat (a forest burn).
Zusammenfassung
Bei den meisten Singvögeln ist das Revier sowohl Brut- als auch Nahrungsraum. Bei Ortolanen (Emberiza hortulana) in Norwegen, die auf Brandflachen brüten, scheint dies aber anders zu sein. Radiotelemetrische Untersuchen zeigten, dass sie von Nahrungsgründen außerhalb der Brutterritorien abhängig sind. Die Nester auf den Brandflachen häuften sich am Rand zum benachbarten Ackerland. Männchen waren durchschnittlich 27 % der Zeit vom Brutrevier abwesend und gingen his zu 2,7 km vom Brutplatz entfernt auf Nahrungssuche, wozu sie durchschnittlich 1,4 Reviere anderer Männchen überfliegen mussten. Der Abstand zwischen Brutrevier und nächstem Nahrungsplatz (zwischen 40 und 460 m) hatte keinen Einfluss auf den Zeitanteil außerhalb des Brutreviers. Die Dauer der Abwesenheit stieg jedoch bei verpaarten Männchen mit der Entfernung zwischen Brutrevier und Ackerland und sie war kürzer während der Nestlingsphase. Dies wird als Verhaltensstrategie zur Minimierung der Flugkosten interpretiert. Männchen mit Revieren näher am Ackerland waren nicht häufiger verpaart als mehr entfernte Revierinhaber. Diese Untersuchungen zeigen, dass beim Ortolan die räumliche Verteilung eines Habitats (hier Ackerland) einen Einfluss auf die Etablierung von Brutrevieren und das Nahrungssuchverhalten in einem anderen Lebensraum (hier Brandflächen) hat.
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Dale, S., Olsen, B.F.G. Use of farmland by Ortolan Buntings (Emberiza hortulana) nesting on a burned forest area. J Ornithol 143, 133–144 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02465445
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02465445