First record of Eurasian Jackdaw (Corvus monedula) parasitism by the Great Spotted Cuckoo (Clamator glandarius) in Israel.(SHORT COMMUNICATIONS)

Publication: Wilson Bulletin

Publication Date: 01-JUN-05

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The Great Spotted Cuckoo (Clamator glandarius) is an obligate brood parasite. In Europe, the cuckoo's main host is the Common Magpie (Pica pica), and the Carrion Crow (Corvus corone) serves as a secondary host (Cramp 1985a). Cuckoos will parasitize other corvids, both in Europe (Cramp 1985a, Soler 1990) and in Africa (Jensen and Jensen 1969, Cramp 1985a), but their breeding success is generally greater when parasitizing magpies (Soler 1990). Parasitism of Eurasian Jackdaws (Corvus monedula) by Great Spotted Cuckoos has been observed in Spain, but at low frequencies (Soler 1990, 2002).

In Israel, the Great Spotted Cuckoo is a summer resident, arriving from mid-December to late March, and then leaving in June after the nesting season (Shirihai 1996). In Israel, Great Spotted Cuckoos mainly parasitize Carrion Crows (Yom-Tov 1975); to a lesser extent (isolated observations) they also parasitize Eurasian Jays (Garrulus glandarius; Shirihai 1996), Fan-tailed Ravens (Corvus rhipidurus; Shirihai 1996), and House Crows (Corvus splendens; Yosef 1997, 2002). Here, we report six instances of Great Spotted Cuckoos parasitizing jackdaw nests. We monitored hatching and fledging success of cuckoos in jackdaw nests to better understand the suitability of this species as a host for Great Spotted Cuckoos.

METHODS

The study site--an organic crop field and a date plantation (combined size = 32 ha) at Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu, Israel (32[degrees] 30' N, 35[degrees] 30' E)--was situated in the Jordan Rift Valley, 7 km from the city of Beit Shean and about 200 m below sea level. During the 2003 nesting season, we monitored five jackdaw pairs that nested in small nest boxes (50 cm wide x 30 cm long x 30 cm high; entrance 22 cm high x 15 cm wide) and two pairs that nested in large nest boxes (50 x 75 x 50 cm; entrance 25 x 15 cm). The small nest boxes, intended for Eurasian Kestrels...

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