Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Western North American Naturalist

Publisher

Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum, Brigham Young University

Publication Date

2014

Volume

74

Disciplines

Animal Sciences | Life Sciences | Poultry or Avian Science | Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology

Abstract

The Mountain Plover (Charadrius montanus) is a declining migratory shorebird that nests on shortgrass prairies across the western Great Plains. This ground-nesting species exhibits an uncommon split-clutch mating system, in which each member of a pair simultaneously incubates a nest and uniparental care continues throughout brood-rearing. We report on an observation of within-season nest reuse in this species. To our knowledge, this report includes the first documented occurrence of 2 different Mountain Plovers using the same nest cup in the same breeding season. Nest reuse could represent a time- and energy-saving strategy for renesting individuals.

Keywords

Mountain Plover, shorebirds, breeding ecology, nests

DOI

10.3398/064.074.0114

Rights

Western North American Naturalist 74(1), © 2014

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