Vol. 77 (3) 2025

ARTICLES

The High Level of Between-Year Burrow Reuse in a European Bee-Eater Merops apiaster Colony

Ivana Novčić1*, Miloš Radaković1,2 & Marko Raković3

More info

*1University of Belgrade – Faculty of Biology, Studentski trg 16, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia; E-mail: inovcic@bio.bg.ac.rs
2Institute for Nature Conservation of Serbia, Japanska 35, 11070 Belgrade, Serbia; E-mail: milos.radakovic@zzps.rs
3University of Belgrade – Institute for Multidisciplinary Research, Kneza Višeslava 1, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia; E-mail: markorakovic@imsi.bg.ac.rs

https://doi.org/10.71424/azb77.3.002908

PDF

Abstract

In this paper, we report a high level of burrow reuse by European bee-eaters (Merops apiaster) in a mixed colony shared with common starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) and common swifts (Apus apus) at Višnjička Kosa, a suburban area of Belgrade, Serbia. The study was conducted during the breeding season in 2023 and 2024. Of the 255 burrows examined in 2024, 123 (48.23%) had been used in a previous breeding year, 88 (34.51%) were completely or partially excavated prior to 2024 but not used in 2023 and 36 (14.12%) were newly excavated in 2024. These results demonstrate a substantial level of burrow reuse within the studied colony, suggesting that reusing existing burrows may allow birds to conserve the energy and time otherwise required for new excavation.

Key words

burrow re-occupation, cavity-nesting birds, colonial birds, European bee-eater

How to Cite
Novčić I., Radaković M. & Raković M. 2025. The High Level of Between-Year Burrow Reuse in a European Bee-Eater Merops apiaster Colony. Acta zoologica bulgarica 77 (3): 327-331.

References

  1. Aitken K. E. H., Wiebe K. L. & Martin K. 2002. Nest-site reuse patterns for a cavity-nesting bird community in interior British Columbia. The Auk 119 (2): 391-402.
  2. Barclay R. M. 1988. Variation in the costs, benefits, and frequency of nest reuse by Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica). The Auk 105 (1): 53-60.
  3. Bastian H-V. & Bastian A. 2024. European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster), version 3.0. In: Billerman S. M., Keeney B. K. (Ed.): Birds of the World. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca.
  4. Batisteli A. F., Sarmento, H. & Aurélio Pizo M. 2021. Nest reuse by Pale‐breasted Thrushes reduces the chance of cowbird parasitism and allows earlier initiation of breeding. Journal of Field Ornithology 92(2): 105-114.
  5. Bogojević R. 1968. Floristička i fitocenološka ispitivanja vegetacije na Višnjičkoj kosi kraj Beograda. Glasnik Botaničkog Zavoda i Bašte Univerziteta u Beogradu 3: 79-99.
  6. Brust V. Bastian, H. V. Bastian, A. & Schmoll T. 2015. Determinants of between‐year burrow re‐occupation in a colony of the European bee‐eater Merops apiaster. Ecology and Evolution 5 (15): 3223-3230.
  7. Casas-Crivillé A. & Valera, F. 2005. The European bee-eater (Merops apiaster) as an ecosystem engineer in arid environments. Journal of Arid Environments 60 (2): 227-238.
  8. Cramp S. 1985 The Birds of the Western Palearctic, Vol. 4. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
  9. Crawley M. J. 2013. The R book, ed. 2. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, West Sussex.
  10. Fry C. H. 1984. The bee-eaters. T & AD Poyser Ltd, London.
  11. Gyurácz J., Nagy K., Fuisz T., Karcza Z. & Szép T. 2013. European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster Linnaeus, 1758) in Hungary: a review. Ornis Hungarica 21 (2): 1-22.
  12. Hansell M. 2000. Bird nests and construction behaviour. Cambridge University Press.
  13. Heneberg P. 2009. Soil penetrability as a key factor affecting the nesting of burrowing birds. Ecological Research 24 (2): 453-459.
  14. Heneberg P. 2013. Decision making in burrowing birds: sediment properties in conflict with biological variables. Quaternary International 296: 227-230.
  15. Jiménez‐Franco M. V., Martínez J. E. & Calvo J. F. 2014. Patterns of nest reuse in forest raptors and their effects on reproductive output. Journal of Zoology 292 (1): 64-70.
  16. Novčić I., Radaković M., Stevović, T. & Raković, M. 2025. Characteristics of a mixed colony of bee-eaters, starlings and swifts within the protected habitat “Glinara”, Belgrade, Serbia. Bulletin of the Natural History Museum 17: 269-280.
  17. Official Gazette of the City of Belgrade. 2024. Odluka o proglašenju Zaštićenog staništa „Glinara”.
  18. Otterbeck A., Selås V. Tøttrup Nielsen J., Roualet É. & Lindén, A. 2019. The paradox of nest reuse: early breeding benefits reproduction, but nest reuse increases nest predation risk. Oecologia 190: 559-568.
  19. Pakkala T., Tiainen J. & Kouki J. 2017. The importance of nesting cavity and tree reuse in the three-toed woodpecker Picoides tridactylus in dynamic forest landscapes. Annales Zoologici Fennici 54 (1-4): 175-191.
  20. Purger J. J. 2001. Numbers and breeding distribution of the Bee-eater Merops apiaster in province Vojvodina (northern Serbia) between 1987 and 1990. Vogelwelt 122: 279-282.
  21. R Development Core Team. 2024. A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna.
  22. Raković M., Bjelica V. & Novčić I. 2024. The nest position and bank height of a bee-eater colony affect the likelihood of nest loss due to predation. Journal of Ornithology 165 (4): 1085-1089.
  23. Rudolf-Vesić Lj. 1955. Ispitivanje mineraloškog sastava lesa bliže okoline Beograda. Zbornik radova Geološkog instituta „Jovan Žujović“ 8: 232-239.
  24. Rupp J., Saumer F. & Finkbeiner W. 2011. Brutverbreitung und Bestandsentwicklung des Bienenfressers (Merops apiaster) am südlichen Oberrhein im Zeitraum 1990 bis 2009. Oberrhein 6: 31-42.
  25. Sinclair P. H., Mossop M. D. & Stotyn S. A. 2020. Nesting ecology and reuse of nest burrows by Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia) in southern Yukon. The Canadian Field-Naturalist 134(4): 329-341.
  26. Smalley I., O’Hara-Dhand K., McLaren S., Svircev Z. & Nugent H. 2013. Loess and bee-eaters I: ground properties affecting the nesting of European bee-eaters (Merops apiaster L. 1758) in loess deposits. Quaternary International 296: 220-226..
  27. Styrsky J. N. 2005. Influence of predation on nest-site reuse by an open-cup nesting neotropical passerine. The Condor 107 (1): 133-137.
  28. Vergara P., Gordo O. & Aguirre J. I. 2010. Nest size, nest building behaviour and breeding success in a species with nest reuse: the white stork Ciconia ciconia. Annales Zoologici Fennici 47 (3): 184-194.
  29. Wiebe K. L., Koenig W. D. & Martin K. 2007. Costs and benefits of nest reuse versus excavation in cavity-nesting birds. Annales Zoologici Fennici 44 (3): 209-217.