@article {KNZ0025, title = {Predation on red-winged blackbird eggs and nestlings}, journal = {The Wilson Bulletin}, volume = {91}, year = {1979}, pages = {426 -433}, abstract = {

The contents of red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) nests are subject to extensive and highly variable losses. Normally, most red-wing eggs fail to produce young that are able to leave the nest. Most researchers have found 60 to 100\% of the losses to be due to predation on nest contents, where the entire brood or clutch is lost at once. Fewer than 5\% of the losses normally appear to be related to starvation of nestlings or nestling competition. The remainder of the losses (under 40\%) result from a variety of causes, including egg infertility, nest desertion, and nest tipping due to growth of the supporting vegetation. In this study, I relate predatory losses of red-wing nestlings and eggs to water depth at nest-sites, habitat type, and number of young in the nest. My studies were done in east-central Kansas; several previous authors have presented data from similar studies in other parts of the range of the Red-winged Blackbird

}, keywords = {LTER-KNZ, blackbird, predation}, url = {http://www.jstor.org/stable/4161244}, author = {Shipley, F.S.} }