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Alloparental care and adoption in Tengmalm’s Owl (Aegolius funereus)

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Abstract

Few cases of adoption have been reported in solitary breeding raptors, and in owls adoption has only been reported in two species. Here we report four cases of brood-switching of juvenile Tengmalm’s Owls (Aegolius funereus), recorded during and after the post-fledging dependence period using radio-telemetry, and a case of three orphaned siblings (one nestling and two fledglings) originally from one nestbox successfully fostered to another one. A possible evolutionary context of the brood-switching is discussed.

Zusammenfassung

Alloparentale Brutpflege und „Adoption“ beim Raufußkauz ( Aegolius funereus )

Fälle von Adoption bei solitär brütenden Greifvögeln sind nur selten beschrieben worden und bei den Eulen bisher auch nur für zwei Arten. Wir berichten hier von vier Fällen von Brut-Vertauschens bei jungen Raufußkäuzen (Aegolius funereus), die während und nach des Ausfliegens per Radiotelemetrie verfolgt wurden. Ferner beschreiben wir den Fall von drei verlassenen Jungen (eines noch im Nest, die anderen beiden gerade flügge geworden), die erfolgreich von einem Nistkasten in einen anderen umgesetzt und weiter gefüttert worden wurden. Mögliche evolutionsbiologische Zusammenhänge des Brutvertauschens werden diskutiert.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Alessandro Fantoni and Petr Kouba for their help in the field, and to Lucie Brejšková and Markéta Zárybnická for DNA analysis and sexing the nestlings. We also acknowledge Rory Putman for valuable comments on the early draft of the manuscript and for improving the English. Last but not least, we would like to thank Peter Sunde and two anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions on an earlier draft of the manuscript. This work has been supported by grants from the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CIGA ČZU 20104205 and 20144203), the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic (MŠMT 1321/213205), Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic (MZERO 0716), and by grant EHP-CZ02-OV-1-024-2015 from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic

    Marek Kouba, Jiří Šindelář & Karel Šťastný

  2. Department of Ethology, Institute of Animal Science, Prague, Czech Republic

    Luděk Bartoš

  3. Department of Animal Science and Ethology, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic

    Luděk Bartoš

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  1. Marek Kouba
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  2. Luděk Bartoš
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  3. Jiří Šindelář
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  4. Karel Šťastný
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Correspondence to Marek Kouba.

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Communicated by F. Bairlein.

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Kouba, M., Bartoš, L., Šindelář, J. et al. Alloparental care and adoption in Tengmalm’s Owl (Aegolius funereus). J Ornithol 158, 185–191 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-016-1381-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-016-1381-z

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