I think I've seen 3 broods around the same nest once.
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[UK] How many broods can coots have in one season? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter katastrofa
- Start date
Hi,
According to "Methodenstandards zur Erfassung der Brutvögel Deutschlands" by Südbeck et al., 1 - 2 broods are normal (in Germany).
However, I believe within a single brood, the young usually hatch several days apart, so that you can have big differences in size between the young from a single brood.
Older young sometimes help to feed their newly hatched siblings, but my girlfriend recently watched one older coot alternately feed a little one, and chase it away, then feed it again.
Apparently, it's difficult for coots to find enough food for all their young, so not having all of them hatch at the same time, making them forage on their own early, and having the older young help with feeding are all important survival strategies for them.
Regards,
Henning
According to "Methodenstandards zur Erfassung der Brutvögel Deutschlands" by Südbeck et al., 1 - 2 broods are normal (in Germany).
However, I believe within a single brood, the young usually hatch several days apart, so that you can have big differences in size between the young from a single brood.
Older young sometimes help to feed their newly hatched siblings, but my girlfriend recently watched one older coot alternately feed a little one, and chase it away, then feed it again.
Apparently, it's difficult for coots to find enough food for all their young, so not having all of them hatch at the same time, making them forage on their own early, and having the older young help with feeding are all important survival strategies for them.
Regards,
Henning
nartreb
Speak softly and carry a long lens
I was only able to look up nesting data for the American species, but it should be good enough for some rough guesswork:
incubation period: 23 to 25 days
brood size: 8 to 12
Assuming an average of one egg hatching per day, a brood takes 31 to 37 days to hatch. Chicks are not self-sufficient for maybe two weeks, but let's be optimistic and say the older chicks take over and the last chick only need its parents for ten days, so we're at 41-47 days. For three broods, the minimum would be 123 days, which is possible in a good year.
TIL: coots are (conspecific) brood parasites. I wonder how late in the season an egg can be added to the nest without being detected? I can imagine an unfortunate coot raising only one brood of her own, as a series of late introductions keeps her incubating other birds' eggs all season long.
incubation period: 23 to 25 days
brood size: 8 to 12
Assuming an average of one egg hatching per day, a brood takes 31 to 37 days to hatch. Chicks are not self-sufficient for maybe two weeks, but let's be optimistic and say the older chicks take over and the last chick only need its parents for ten days, so we're at 41-47 days. For three broods, the minimum would be 123 days, which is possible in a good year.
TIL: coots are (conspecific) brood parasites. I wonder how late in the season an egg can be added to the nest without being detected? I can imagine an unfortunate coot raising only one brood of her own, as a series of late introductions keeps her incubating other birds' eggs all season long.
Thanks, very helpful!
Nutcracker
Stop Brexit!
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