Breeding ecology of the Little Bittern Ixobrychus minutus in northeast Algeria

Figures & data

Figure 1. Location map of Numidia, northeast Algeria.

Table 1. Recorded nests with first-egg date (FED) in Numidian wetlands, Algeria.

Wetland	Year	Nests	Vegetation	FED
Boussedra	2003	2	Typha angustifolia	May
	2005	12	Typha angustifolia	18 May
	2008	18	Typha angustifolia	10 May
Hadj Tahar	2002	2	Phragmites australis	Late May
Lac des Oiseaux	2003	3	Juncus acutus, Rubus ulmifolius	Late May
Sidi Achour	2003	3	Juncus acutus, Tamarix gallica	Late June
Tonga	2003	1	Salix atrocinerea, Typha angustifolia	Late May
	2005	1	Iris pseudocarus, Typha angustifolia	Late July
Fetzara	2005	9	Tamarix gallica, Phragmites australis	June

Table 2. Nest characteristics of the Little Bittern in Numidia, Algeria and across its geographical range.

	Present study, Algeria	Langley (1983), South Africa	Holmes & Hatchwell (1991), India	Martínez-Abraín (1994), Spain	Grattini (2003), Italy	Pardo-Cervera et al. (2010), Spain	Kayser (2010), France	Fazili et al. 2010, India
Nest characteristics
External diameter (cm)	20.5 ± 2.8 (n = 20)	28.3 (n = 20)		17.7 ± 2.2 (n = 42)		18.1 ± 2.1 (n = 20)
Nesting height (cm)	25.2 ± 10.2 (n = 19)	69.7 (n = 22)		50.5 ± 22.4 (n = 27)	40 (n = 22)	37.5 ± 14.3 (n = 20)
Vegetation height (cm)	244.3 ± 42.1 (n = 19)
Vegetation density (%)	78.7 ± 21.0 (n = 21)
Water depth (cm)	58.6 ± 15.1 (n = 21)	Range: 40–120		31.7 ± 11.9 (n = 43)		35.9 ± 14.9 (20)
Breeding parameters
Clutch size	5.2 ± 1.0	3.5	4.0 ± 0.4	5.5 ± 0.9	4.7	4.0 ± 0.9		5.6 ± 0.7
Range	4–7	3–4	3–5	3–7	NA	1–6		5–7
n	14	14	16	43	16	43		17
Hatching rate (%)	85.7	62.3	70–71	92.8	84	46		68.8
Diet
Fish	66.7%	71.9%	77.8%	78.8%		38.7%	29.4%
Amphibians	20.0%	12.3%	7.4%	12.1%		7.1%	43.9%
Insects	13.4%	Present	13.6%	9.1%		27.7%	22.5%
Crustacea						23.9%
Leeches							1.4%
Spiders							1.4%
Lizards		1.8%					0.5%
Birds							0.9%
Other		14.0%	1.0%			2.6%
No. prey	15	57	81				214

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