<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>According to our surveys carried out in the Gödöllő Hills between 2009–2012, a relatively high proportion (39-57%) of the known 36-40 Bee-eater nesting sites can be found in natural habitats, on hillsides as opposed to nests excavated into man-made artificial walls. 51.8% of the nesting population breeds under such natural circumstances in loess and sandy hillsides, and the nests are excavated into the soil covered by vegetation. We have shown that 61.9% of the nests were built in loess, 28.4% in sandy and 9.7% in mixed type of substrate. Bee-eaters nesting on hillsides prefer the slopes between 11-30°. The slope of the hill is higher on loess grounds (average: 24.67°) as opposed to the sandy ones (average: 13.97°). The length of the nesting cavities differs significantly between the two substrate, those built in sandy areas being longer. The cavities in loess are deeper underground. The Bee-eaters nesting on hillsides prefer places with low vegetation cover</p></abstract>

According to our surveys carried out in the Gödöllő Hills between 2009–2012, a relatively high proportion (39-57%) of the known 36-40 Bee-eater nesting sites can be found in natural habitats, on hillsides as opposed to nests excavated into man-made artificial walls. 51.8% of the nesting population breeds under such natural circumstances in loess and sandy hillsides, and the nests are excavated into the soil covered by vegetation. We have shown that 61.9% of the nests were built in loess, 28.4% in sandy and 9.7% in mixed type of substrate. Bee-eaters nesting on hillsides prefer the slopes between 11-30°. The slope of the hill is higher on loess grounds (average: 24.67°) as opposed to the sandy ones (average: 13.97°). The length of the nesting cavities differs significantly between the two substrate, those built in sandy areas being longer. The cavities in loess are deeper underground. The Bee-eaters nesting on hillsides prefer places with low vegetation cover

Nestsite characteristics of the European Beeeater (Merops apiaster L.) in the Gödöllő Hills

Magyar Madártani és Természetvédelmi Egyesület 5. számú Gödöllői Helyi Csoport (The 5. Gödöllő Local Group of BirdLife Hungary), Valkó, Rózsa F. köz 6/a, 2114 Hungary

Ornis Hungarica

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

According to our surveys carried out in the Gödöllő Hills between 2009–2012, a relatively high proportion (39-57%) of the known 36-40 Bee-eater nesting sites...

Nestsite characteristics of the European Beeeater (Merops apiaster L.) in the Gödöllő Hills

Published Online: Jul 02, 2014

Page range: 23 - 32

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/orhu-2014-0002

Keywords
substrate, length of cavities, hillside, slope, vegetation cover

© 2014

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Nestsite characteristics of the European Beeeater (Merops apiaster L.) in the Gödöllő Hills

Published Online: Jul 02, 2014

Page range: 23 - 32

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/orhu-2014-0002

Keywordssubstrate, length of cavities, hillside, slope, vegetation cover

© 2014

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Keywords
substrate, length of cavities, hillside, slope, vegetation cover