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The Nesting Biology of the House Finch in Honolulu, Hawaii

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The Nesting Biology of the House Finch in Honolulu, Hawaii WESTERN BIRDS Volume 6, Number 2, 1975 THE NESTING BIOLOGY OF THE HOUSE FINCH IN HONOLULU, HAWAII LAWRENCE T. HIRAI, Department of Zoology, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822 The House Finch, ½arpodacusmexicanus frontalis (Say), is a small seed-eatingpassefine found throughout western North America. It was introduced to Hawaii, probably from San Franciscoas an escapedcage- bird, prior to 1870 (Grinnell 1911). Today it is found on all the main Hawaiian islands. This was a field study of the nesting biology of the House Finch from January 1972 through July 1974, coveringthree nestingseasons. Some of the findingsare discussedin relation to what is known about HouseFinch populationsin North America. METHODS AND STUDY SITE Most of the study consistedof field observations,with almost daily checksof nests. Measurementswere madeusing a caliper,ruler, or tape measure.Weights were obtainedusing Pesola scales. To facilitate future identification, eggswere marked with a black "Shatpie" pen; nestlings were marked in 1972 with red nail polish, but in 1973 and 1974 with a red Shatpie pen, which provedmore satisfactory. Nestlingsnear fledg- ing and adults were bandedwith U.S. Fish and Wildlife Servicemetal bandsand one or two plasticbands in different color combinations.Un- less otherwise indicated calculations are in the form mean + one stan- dard deviation. The 0.05 value is consideredthe level of rejection. The study site was confined to the University of Hawaii 0.4 km' main campus,located in Manoa Valley, a residentialarea in Honolulu. WesternBirds 6:33-44, 1975 33 HOUSE FINCH The House Finch is one of about 15 bird speciesfound on or near the campus. All are introducedexcept the migratoryand nonnestingGold- en Plover (Pluvialisdominica). From 25 to 50 pairs of HouseFinches nest on campusat any one time, the nestingseason covering about six months from mid-February through August. The breedingseason is followed from late July-Augustthrough October by a molting period. THE NEST In 1972 I found 91 nests, in 1973 103 nests, and in 1974 63 nests, under construction,with eggsor young. Nestsdo not usuallypersist from one year to the next or eventhrough one nestingseason; House Finches build new nests for each effort. Because House Finches do not defend very large territories, usuallyat the most only the smallareas around the active nests,nests are often in closeproximity to nestsof other House Finchesand bird species. The 257 neststhat I found were built in 26 different types of vege- tation. Pandanus(Pandanus) and palms (Palmae) were the most com- mon nestingtrees, with 41.2% and 28.0% of the total numberof nests, respectively. Monkeypod (Samaneasaman) with 7.4% and Fiddlewood (Citbarexylumspinosum) with 6.6% were other frequently usedtrees. Nestsusually were constructedon sitesproviding cover and shade,such as in clustersof pandanusleaves, on stemsor axesof palm leaves,or in foliagelocated in the outer portionsof trees. The height of a nest was measuredfrom the bottom of the nest to the groundbelow if the nestwas lower than 4.6 m or estimatedas close- ly as possibleif higher. Heightswere variable,ranging from 1.8 to 15.0 m, with an averagein 1972 of 4.3 + 1.5 m, in 1973 of 5.0 + 2.4 m, and in 1974 of 4.6 + 1.6 m. Nest constructiontakes from 6 to 22 days, averaging11.8 + 4.7 days for 15 nests. Nest buildingis done almostexclusively by the fe- male. Only materialbrought to the nestby the femaleis used,and the male aids the female in molding the nest only in the first half of the nest-buildingperiod. Thereafteronly the female workson the nest,the male accompanyingthe female to and from the site, singingfrom a nearby perch. Preparationof the site, suchas enlargingit by nibbling away adjacent leaves,takes the first one or two days of nest building. Then the foundation is laid down and the nest is molded into shape. At this stage larger-sizedmaterial is used, such as old Fiddlewood inflo- rescences,fibrous strips of Coconut (Cocos nucifera) and pandanus, freshand dried grassesand leaves,string, paper strips, and feathers. The cup lining is finally added, consistingof fine and soft coconutfibers, hair, and frayed cigarettefilters. HOUSE FINCH The finished cup-shapednest variesfrom a rather loose to a very compact structure. Nest dimensionsof 25 nestsmeasured in 1973 were (in cm): outer width x length, 9.5 ñ 1.3 x 12.0 ñ 3.3; inner width x length, 5.5 + 0.6 x 6.2 + 0.6; outer cup depth, 7.3 ñ 1.7; inner cup depth, 4.2 ñ 0.8; and rim thicknessfrom 1.0 ñ 0.6 to 4.7 + 2.8. EGGS AND CLUTCH SIZE Copulation occursat the invitation of the female and is seen,at the earliest,a few daysbefore nest building is completed.I havenever seen malecourtship display lead immediately to a copulatoryattempt. Egg laying usuallystarts the day after nestbuilding ends, although I observeda female adding material to a 1974 nest that containedat leastthree eggs. The first egg,and most probablythe entire clutch,is laid in the early morninghours, before 08:00. Usuallyone egg per day is laid until the clutchis completed.Out of a total of 44 nests,only five had a day or moreskipped in the layingof the clutch. In no case wasmore than one egglaid per day. House Finch eggsare colored light blue, with black or brown-black specksor lines concentratedat the roundedends. Eggmeasurements were taken only from neststhat were found on or before the day the first eggswere laid and where the clutcheswere completed. Eggswere measuredand weighedthe day they were laid. Basedon 197 eggsfrom 48 nestsfrom the threestudy years, greatest width x lengthand weight averaged13.5 -+ 0.6 x 19.1 + 0.9 mm and 1.89 ñ 0.15 g, respectively. Eggswithin a clutchdo not showsignificant differences in weightwheth- er they were laid first, second, third, fourth, or fifth in a clutch, in small or large clutches,or early or late in the nestingseason (one-factor anovas, P)O.05). Bergtold(1913) gavemeasurements of House Finch eggsfrom Den- ver, Colorado,that averaged13.7 x 19.6 mm, somewhatlarger than my measurements.The largereggs from Denveralso were heavier in weight. Basedon two clutchescontaining four and five eggs,an eggweighed 2.25 ñ 0.08 g. There is a significantdifference in the weightsof the eggsfrom Denverand Honolulu (two-tailedt-test, t -- 7.030, d.f. -- 204, P•O.00'l). Without other information, such as the availability of food for the HouseFinch populationson campusfor the pastthree yearsand in Denverduring the early 1900s,no adequateexplanation is possible. Clutchsize on campusaveraged about four eggsand doesnot differ significantlyfrom those reported from Arizona and California (two- tailed t-tests, P)O.05; Table 1). Only papersthat have information amenablefor statistical comparisonare used in Table 1. Hensley's (1959) data were slightlymodified in that 1 usedn: 11, insteadof his 35 HOUSE FINCH Table 1. Clutch sizes for House Finches CALI- CALI- ARIZONA FORNIA FORNIA HAWAII RANGE 3-5 3-6 4-6 2-5 MEAN 4.0 4.3 4.4 4.2 STANDARD DEVIATION 0.4 0.9 0.6 0.6 NO. OF NESTS 11 18 25 127 SOURCE Hensley Grinnell Evenden This (1959) and (1957) Study Linsdale (1936) n: 12, because one of the clutch sizes could not be determined from the'paper. Also Grinnell and Linsdale (1936) caution that the four neststhat they found with 3-eggclutches may havebeen incomplete. THE INCUBATION PERIOD The incubationperiod, the length of time betweenthe layi•ngof the last egg in the clutch until that egg hatcheswhen all the eggshatch, rangedfrom 11.5 to 13.5 days,averaging 12.8 + 0.6 daysfor 29 nests. Clutch sizesof the nestsused to calculatethe incubationperiod ranged from two to five, but did not affect the lengthof the incubationperiod (one-factor anova, F = 3.37, m/n = 3/25, P = 0.1-0.05). The incubation period in Hawaii does not differ from the length of 13.3 + 1.1 days (based on 11 nests) determined by Evenden (1957) at Sacramento, California (two-tailed t-test, t = 1.887, d.f. = 38, P = 0.1-0.05). Because of water evaporation,a HouseFinch eggloses 15.9 --+6.1% of its origin- al weightbefore hatching (based on 58 eggsfrom 22 nests). An egg pips, at the earliest,less than 24 hoursbefore the young hatches. Hatchingmay occur at any hour of the day or night, and the eggsof a clutch hatch out overa periodof daysand not all on one day. In rare instancesone young may hatcheach day until all the younghave emerged. Usuallytwo younghatch on the first day of hatchingand one youngper day thereafteruntil all the younghave hatched. I havenever found all the eggsof a clutch hatching on the same day. Eggsalso hatch in the order that they are laid. In six caseswhere only one young hatchedon the first day of hatchingand wherethe entire clutcheventu- ally hatched,the first egglaid was the one that hatchedfirst. In nine other cases,where more than one young hatched on the first day, the remainingeggs in the clutcheshatched in the order in which they were laid. The female gets rid of the egg pieceseither by flying off with them or eatingthem at the nest. 36 HOUSE FINCH Basedon the hatchinginformation and on temperature-proberead- ingsat two 1973 nests,incubation, the applicationof heat to the eggs by the adult HouseFinch, possiblystarts by the night the first eggof the clutchis laid andalmost certainly by the secondnight, and not when the penultimateor last eggis laid, as in someother bird species. THE NESTLING PERIOD At hatching,a HouseFinch is helplessand blind, with somefluffy whitish down on the head and body. A chick fledges,or leavesthe nest, 14 to 19 days after hatching,averaging in 1972 16.8 + 1.1 days (basedon 12 youngfrom six nests)and in 1973 18.5 + 1.0 days(based on 24 youngfrom eightnests).
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