Title:

How Urban Kestrels Falco tinnunculus Divide Their Hunting Grounds: Partitioning or Cohabitation?

Subtitle:

Sposób użytkowania terenów łowieckich przez miejskie pustułki w Czeskich Budziejowicach ; Hunting ranges of urban Kestrels

Creator:

Riegert, Jan ; Fainová, Drahomíra ; Mikeš, Václav ; Fuchs, Roman

Contributor:

Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences

Publisher:

Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences ; Natura Optima Dux Foundation

Place of publishing:

Warsaw

Date issued/created:

2007

Description:

pg(s) 69–76

Type of object:

Journal/Article

Subject and Keywords:

Kestrel ; Falco tinnunculus ; urban ; hunting range ; pustułka zwyczajna ; pustułka ; sokół pustułka

Abstract:

The hunting ranges of 34 male urban Kestrels were studied in a small city (40 km2) in S Bohemia (Czech Republic). It was assumed that males from the city center and periphery hunt for voles mainly on the city's outskirts. The “city-center” males are unable to defend their hunting ranges on the periphery because of aggression on the part of the “periphery” Kestrels. To counter this, they may either 1) invade the hunting ranges of periphery males or 2) establish their own exclusive hunting ranges. Our data supported the first suggestion. Hunting range size varied greatly, from 0.8 to 25.0 km2 (7.2 ± 6.9 km2), with large overlaps of between 0.3% and 51.4% (12.5 ± 11.6%). The ranges of city-center males were several times larger than those of the periphery males, and greatly overlapped the ranges of other city center and periphery males. Overlapping of the hunting ranges of periphery males was less extensive. The higher energy costs in terms of flying to distant suitable hunting areas and frequent changes of hunting grounds should decrease the preference for nesting in the city center. Therefore, we suggest that Kestrels derive other advantages from living in the city center (e.g., the high quality of nest sites). Cohabitation, whereby city center males invade the hunting grounds of periphery males, appears to be a more effective strategy than partitioning.

Relation:

Acta Ornithologica

Volume:

42

Issue:

1

Start page:

69

End page:

76

Resource type:

Text

Detailed Resource Type:

Journal

Format:

text/xml

Resource Identifier:

10.3161/068.042.0101

Source:

MiIZ PAN, call no. P.257 ; MiIZ PAN, call no. P.4568 ; click here to follow the link

Language:

eng

Language of abstract:

pol ; eng

Rights:

Rights Reserved - Free Access

Terms of use:

Copyright-protected material. May be used within the limits of statutory user freedoms

Digitizing institution:

Museum and Institute of Zoology of the Polish Academy of Sciences

Original in:

Library of the Museum and Institute of Zoology of the Polish Academy of Sciences

Access:

Open