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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 105(4)

Diamond Firetails (Stagonopleura guttata) preferentially nest in mistletoe

Stuart J. N. Cooney A B C and David M. Watson A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Applied Ornithology Group, Institute for Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, PO Box 789, Albury, NSW 2640, Australia.

B Present address: School of Botany and Zoology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia.

C Corresponding author. Email: Stuart.Cooney@anu.edu.au

Emu 105(4) 317-322 https://doi.org/10.1071/MU05030
Submitted: 14 June 2005  Accepted: 30 September 2005   Published: 21 December 2005

Abstract

More than two-thirds of the terrestrial avifauna of Australia have been reported to use mistletoe as a nest substrate. Despite the prevalence of this behaviour, no previous research has measured nest-site selection relative to mistletoe availability. Thus, no species has been found to preferentially select mistletoe as a nesting substrate. We conducted a comprehensive search of a 365-ha woodland near Holbrook, New South Wales, for Diamond Firetail (Stagonopleura guttata) nests and recorded the nesting substrate. We also quantified the number of mistletoe plants in the study area and estimated their area as a percentage of the total canopy. Although mistletoe conservatively accounted for ~2.3% of the canopy, 13 of 43 (30%) Firetail nests in the study site were in mistletoe. More Firetail nests were found in mistletoe than expected by chance. This finding provides the first evidence for nest-site preference in mistletoe. We predict that nests placed in mistletoe have a selective advantage owing to increased nesting success, although this was not tested in this study, as all nests were inactive. We propose that the dense evergreen foliage of mistletoe provides a good structure for efficient nest building, a favourable microclimate and high levels of nest concealment that may reduce predation risk.


Acknowledgments

Our thanks go to the owners of Morgan’s Ridge, Andrew and Leonie Mathie, for allowing us to work in their little piece of paradise. To Simon McDonald for assistance with the GIS, Gary Luck for input and discussions about the project, and to two anonymous reviewers for improving the clarity of this paper. The Johnstone Centre assisted financially with a scholarship to SJNC and the Birds Australia Stuart Leslie Foundation (awarded to SJNC), provided finances for equipment used in the project. DMW acknowledges the support of the ARC (DP0342549).


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