Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Gerhardt, Richard P.
• Gerhardt, Dawn M.
• Vasquez, Miguel Angel

Titel

Siblicide in Swallow-Tailed Kites

Ist Teil von

• The Wilson bulletin (Wilson Ornithological Society), 1997-03, Vol.109 (1), p.112-120

Ort / Verlag

Lawrence, KS: Wilson Ornithological Society

Erscheinungsjahr

1997

Quelle

EZB Electronic Journals Library

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• We studied the reproductive behavior of Swallow-tailed Kites (Elanoides forficatus) in northern Guatemala. Modal clutch size was two (range 1-2), but no nests succeeded in fledging more than one young. Eggs were laid at intervals of three to four days and hatched at intervals of three to five days. Second eggs weighed significantly less than first eggs. Second chicks either received no food or obtained so little that they did not grow. First chicks vigorously attacked their nestmates, and all second chicks died within five days of hatching. Food stress was not found to be a proximate cause of this behavior. Siblicide appears to be innate in this population of Swallow-tailed Kites, even though the northern subspecies does not exhibit this behavior. Swallow-tailed Kites are, in certain aspects, an anomaly among species within the order Falconiformes that exhibit obligate siblicide.