Colony site choice of blue‐tailed bee‐eaters: influences of soil, vegetation, and water quality

All bee‐eaters (Family Meropidae) are cavity nesters, excavating terrestrial burrows in sites ranging from flat ground, to small mounds of soil, steep earthen banks seen in road clearings, eroded cliff faces, and river gorges. However, very little is known concerning the environmental factors that influence nest site selection in bee‐eaters. We addressed abiotic and biotic issues associated with colony site choice in blue‐tailed bee‐eaters (Merops philippinus) nesting on Kinmen Island, off mainland China, from 2000 to 2002. About 89% of the colonies were located on slopes with soils of sandy loam and the other 11% on sandy clay loam. No colony was found on clay loam, which covered 20% of the island. The sandy loam and sandy clay loam had lower soil pressure, density and moisture, which, presumably, were easier for bee‐eaters to excavate and provided better drainage and ventilation for nest cavities. Bee‐eaters avoided placing nest cavities in areas with dense vegetation and abandoned colony sites when they became overgrown. Vegetation would impede excavation and decrease the detectability of predators. Bee‐eaters may prefer colony sites near water bodies showing water chemistries indicative of more biological productivity, especially in relation to the diversity and abundance of their major prey, dragonflies.

• Publication year

  2006

• Venue

  Journal of Natural History

• Publication date

  2006-06-12

• Fields of study

  Biology, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1080/00222930600681043
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Competition and coexistence of the European Bee-eater Merops apiaster and the Blue-cheeked Bee-eater Merops persicus in Asia

  2008influential reference
• Soil composition affects the nesting behavior of blue-tailed bee-eaters (Merops philippinus) on Kinmen Island

  2006cited by this paper
• BREEDING BIOLOGY OF RAINBOW BEE-EATERS (MEROPS ORNATUS): A MIGRATORY, COLONIAL, COOPERATIVE BIRD

  2004cited by this paper
• SOIL PARTICLE COMPOSITION OF EURASIAN KINGFISHERS' (ALCEDO ATTHIS) NEST SITES

  2004cited by this paper
• Nesting of European bee-eaters (Merops apiaster) in Central Europe depends on the soil characteristics of nest sites

  2004cited by this paper
• Soil particle composition affects the physical characteristics of Sand Martin Riparia riparia holes

  2003cited by this paper
• SOCIAL AND BREEDING BIOLOGY OF BEE-EATERS IN THAILAND

  2002cited by this paper
• Habitat Selection Studies in Avian Ecology: A Critical Review

  2001cited by this paper
• Size of sand grains as a signicant factor aecting the nesting of bank swallows (Riparia riparia)

  2001cited by this paper
• CONSPECIFIC REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS AND BREEDING HABITAT SELECTION: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE STUDY OF COLONIALITY

  1998cited by this paper
• Heterospecific attraction and food resources in migrants' breeding patch selection in northern boreal forest

  1998cited by this paper
• Forest edges and habitat selection in birds : a functional approach

  1998cited by this paper
• The evolution of coloniality: the emergence of new perspectives.

  1997cited by this paper
• Factors Governing Habitat Selection by Prothonotary Warblers: Field Tests of the Fretwell‐Lucas Models

  1996cited by this paper
• The Habitat Concept in Ornithology

  1993influential reference
• THE HABITAT CONCEPT IN ORNITHOLOGY Theory and Applications

  1993cited by this paper
• Nest Predation and Nest SitesNew perspectives on old patterns

  1993cited by this paper
• Spatial and Temporal Scales in Habitat Selection

  1991cited by this paper
• Cooperative Breeding in Birds: White-fronted Bee-eaters: helping in a colonially nesting species

  1990cited by this paper
• Chapter 9 – IDEAL FREE COLONIALITY IN THE SWALLOWS

  1988cited by this paper
• Habitat selection by breeding belted kingfishers (Ceryle alcyon)

  1987cited by this paper
• Ecological Scale and Habitat Use

  1987cited by this paper
• THE COMPARISON OF USAGE AND AVAILABILITY MEASUREMENTS FOR EVALUATING RESOURCE PREFERENCE

  1980cited by this paper
• Physiological and Ecological Correlates of Tunnel Nesting in the European Bee-Eater, Merops apiaster

  1978influential reference
• On territorial behavior and other factors influencing habitat distribution in birds

  1969cited by this paper
• Community Selection by Birds on the Helderberg Plateau of New York

  1945cited by this paper
• Field Tests of Theories Concerning Distributional Control

  1917cited by this paper

• Nest Depth and Height Are Associated with Breeding Outcomes in the Small Bee-Eater (Merops orientalis): A Preliminary Field Study from Pakistan

  2026cites this paper
• Spatial Variation in Nest‐Site Selection and Population Dynamic of Blue‐Throated Bee‐Eater in a Human‐Altered Landscape: Implications for Conservation

  2025cites this paper
• Breeding ecology of the blue-throated bee-eater (Merops viridis Linnaeus, 1758) in central China: implications for conservation

  2025cites this paper
• Abundance, Distribution and Nesting Sites of Some Merops Bee-Eaters Across Altitudinal Gradient in Plateau State, Nigeria

  2025cites this paper
• Illegal and Exploitative Sand-Digging Activities Could Be Managed to Create Suitable Nesting Habitats for Blue-Tailed Bee-Eaters (Merops philippinus)

  2023cites this paper
• Sand-Related Factors Influencing Nest Burrowing Potential of the Sand Martins

  2023cites this paper
• Out of the tropics: Macroevolutionary size trends in an old insect order are shaped by temperature and predators

  2022cites this paper
• Predicting the probability of avian reproductive success and its components at a nesting site

  2022cites this paper
• Soil attributes drive nest-site selection by the campo miner Geositta poeciloptera

  2018cites this paper
• The importance of scale-dependent ravine characteristics on breeding-site selection by the Burrowing Parrot, Cyanoliseus patagonus

  2017cites this paper
• Any role for the dissemination of Nosema spores by the blue-tailed bee-eater Merops philippinus?

  2017cites this paper
• Habitat Preference and Management of a Chinese Pond Turtle Population Protected by the Demilitarized Kinmen Islands

  2015cites this paper
• Big boys get big girls: Factors influencing pupping site and territory location in Australian fur seals

  2014cites this paper
• Return of the pythons: first formal records, with a special note on recovery of the Burmese python in the demilitarized Kinmen islands

  2013cites this paper
• Nest-seeking rock ants (Temnothorax albipennis) trade off sediment packing density and structural integrity for ease of cavity excavation

  2013cites this paper
• Ants use pheromone markings in emigrations to move closer to food-rich areas

  2012cites this paper
• Nesting habitat segregation between closely related terricolous sphecid species (Hymenoptera:Spheciformes): key role of soil physical characteristics

  2012cites this paper
• Observations on nesting ecology of White-breasted Kingfisher Halcyon smyrnensis (Aves: Coraciiformes) in Cauvery Delta, Southern India

  2010cites this paper
• Breeding biology of the Small Bee-eater Merops orientalis (Latham, 1801) in Nagapattinam District, Tamil Nadu, India

  2010influential citation
• Improving Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) management for Bush Stone-curlew (Burhinus grallarius) conservation in south-eastern Australia

  2010cites this paper
• STUDIES ON COMMUNITY STRUCTURE AND IMPACT OF ARTIFICIAL PROVISIONS ON BREEDING BIOLOGY Of BIRDS IN AGROECOSYSTEM SURROUNDED BY RESIDENTIAL AREAS

  2010cites this paper
• Soil penetrability as a key factor affecting the nesting of burrowing birds

  2009cites this paper
• Observations on Nest-sites, Eggs and Nestling Growth Patterns of the Small Bee-eater Merops orientalis L. in India

  2009cites this paper
• A survey of reptiles and amphibians on Kinmen Island, Taiwan

  2009cites this paper
• Nest site restoration increases the breeding density of blue-tailed bee-eaters

  2009cites this paper
• Sand martin (Riparia riparia) in the Czech Republic at the turn of the millenium

  2007cites this paper
• Soil composition affects the nesting behavior of blue-tailed bee-eaters (Merops philippinus) on Kinmen Island

  2006cites this paper