The Relationship Between The Parental Care And Reproductive Success Of The Falco Tinnunculus During The Breeding Period

The author observed the Falco tinnunculus'daytime activity of the breeding behavior in the artificial nests in Zuojia Natural Protection Area in Jilin province in detail during March to August in 2005 and 2006 respectively. The time of male and female invested to breeding activity was used to analysis the parental care, and to explore the relationship between parental care and reproductive success.The breeding period of Falco tinnunculus'is divided into four periods: nest occupying period, egg-laying period, incubation period, and nestling period. Falco tinnunculus'daytime activity is divided into two kinds: outside nest behavior and nearby nest behavior. Nearby nest behavior includes six kinds: hovering behavior, driving behavior, perch alerting behavior, nest-sitting behavior, mating behavior and foraging behavior.The display behavior, mate's choice, mating behavior and nest occupying behavior of Falco tinnunculus'can not be distinguished easily. It starts to seek mate as early as the middle of March. And the male exhibits"love feeding"behavior in the seeking mate period. Male and female display obvious nest-choosing and terrain-protecting behaviors in the occupying nest period, and it is mainly male. Parents spend most time on outside nest behavior, which the proportion of female is 77.0 percent and the male's is 84.0 percent in this period. And the food of female is partly supplied by male, and averagely 1.60±0.33 times a day. Falco tinnunculus mate frequently in the period, and averagely 5.90±0.88 times a day. There is no obvious nest-building behavior in the breeding period. Most of the parents that enter breeding period earlier use the old artificial nests that have been used by Falco tinnunculus, and they don't clear the leftover in the nest.Falco tinnunculus'group earliest lay on March 25th. And most are lay eggs every other day. The average clutch size is 5.29±0.21, commonly is 4 to 6 and specially 7. In the egg-laying period the food of female is mostly supplied by male, and averagely 2.14±0.34 times a day. The main activities of female birds are nearby nest behavior that mainly about laying eggs and the protection and alert to nest, and the proportion of which is occupied 52.2 percent of all the time. Male's main activities are outside nest behavior that mainly about preying for female and the proportion of it is 77.9 percent. There is mating behavior in the period, and averagely 1.60±0.41 times a day. In the latter period male occasionally replaces female to incubate when female takes food.The distinct character in the incubating period is: female is mainly incubating, the longest nest-sitting time is 692 minutes, and other behaviors time is less than other periods. Male occasionally replaces female to incubate when female takes food. The proportion of...