fantail

Nest survival of birds in an urban environment in New Zealand

We compared nest survival of three urban bird species over two seasons in Dunedin City: silvereyes (Zosterops lateralis), a recent self-introduced native that is very abundant; blackbirds (Turdus merula), an abundant exotic species; and fantails (Rhipidura fuliginosa), a native species that occurs in relatively low numbers in some urban habitats. We also used artificial nests to compare nest predation rates between residential gardens and bush fragments isolated within a residential matrix.