Do Fleas,and/or Old Nest Material,Influence Nest-site preference in Hole-nesting Passerines?

This study examined nest-site choice in a migratory population of pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) and sympatric populations of three resident tit species (Parus major, P. caeruleus and P. palustris) in central Sweden. All four species are secondary-cavity nesters which naturally breed in pre-formed tree cavities but readily use artificial nest boxes. We asked whether flycatchers and tits discriminate between nest boxes that: 1. Are ‘empty’; 2. Contain old nests without ectoparasites (fleas Ceratophyllus sp.); or 3. Contain old nests with ectoparasites. We found that pied flycatchers preferred nest boxes containing old nests, regardless of whether these nests held parasites. In contrast, tits did not discriminate between the three types of boxes. Tits may pay a cost for their lack of choosiness: after the breeding season, tit nests contained more fleas than flycatcher nests. Nevertheless, parasites did not affect the choice of a nest site in any of the species studied. We suggest that the migratory flycatchers are in a hurry to start breeding upon arrival and use the presence of an old nest as a shortcut cue to assess nest-site quality. Also, they may save valuable time by copying the choice of previous breeders. Non-migratory tits may have more time to inspect nest sites, but do not seem to use the same cues in nest-site selection as the pied flycatcher.     

Experimental Study of Nest-site Selection in the Biscutate Swift (Streptoprocne biscutata, Aves: Apodidae) in Southern Brazil

Biscutate swift Streptoprocne biscutata nests are usually built on protected rocky cliff walls. Birds often renest at the same location. Remains of previous nests may offer information about potential nests and quality of nest-sites. Here, we experimentally study nest-site selection to test the hypothesis that information from previous nests is used in current nest-site selection. We placed old nest material at artificial nest-sites to test whether new nest-sites are chosen based on the presence of nesting material. We also tested whether the use of natural nest-sites is influenced by nesting material by creating two types of natural sites: previously used natural nest-sites with vestiges of old nests removed and never used natural nest-sites to which vestiges of old nests were added. In the first experiment, in 139 nest-use opportunities, 16 artificial nest-sites were used, all of which included vestiges. In the second experiment, in 91 nest-use opportunities, four nests were in previously unused but natural locations to which vestiges had been added, 22 nests were in previously used sites without vestiges, and the remaining 65 nests remained unused. Two processes are apparently in action: first, prior experience and memory; second, vestiges indicate where nesting has occurred, possibly useful for first breeding, or for imperfect memory. Previous nesting information may explain why swifts use nesting locations for many years and why new nesting colonies seldom form. This transmission of information suggests that swifts tend to be conservative and nest where previous nesting has occurred.     

新疆阜康地区家麻雀的巢址选择

2013年7月和2014年5~7月,在新疆阜康地区对家麻雀(Passer domesticus)的巢址选择进行调查,以分析影响家麻雀巢址选择的生态因子。在研究区内共找到75个家麻雀的自然巢,筑巢生境为农田和防护林带,均在白杨(Populus adenopoda)林和胡杨(P.euphratica)林中的树上筑巢。其中,繁殖成功巢40个,繁殖失败巢20个,15个巢未记录到繁殖结果。在研究区内的居民房屋、墙洞等没有发现家麻雀的巢。采用逻辑斯蒂回归和主成分分析方法对筑巢地海拔(m)、筑巢树种、筑巢树高(m)、巢距路距离(m)、巢距地面高度(m)、巢上方盖度(%)、筑巢树胸径(m)、最近邻巢的距离(m)这些家麻雀的主要巢址参数进行分析,结果表明,影响新疆阜康地区家麻雀巢址利用的主要因素为巢距地面高度(m)、巢上方盖度(%)和巢距路距离(m)。对家麻雀繁殖成功巢(n=40)和繁殖失败巢(n=20)的巢址参数进行比较,两者差异不显著,因而推测,在研究区域的尺度内,家麻雀的巢址选择并不是影响其繁殖成效的主要因素。     

Testing the importance of individual nest-site selection for a social and group-living vulture

Nest-site selection by species is expected to be adaptive and lead to improved breeding productivity, but in some settings, there exist mismatches between preferred nesting habitat and breeding productivity. We tested the expectation that nest-site selection is adaptive in a sample of 63 nests of a long-lived social species that breeds and forages in groups: the critically endangered white-backed vulture (Gyps africanus). By studying breeding groups in the same area, we controlled for landscape-level effects on habitat selection and investigated how fine-scale nest-site characteristics affect breeding productivity. We developed models to assess how nine characteristics of nest sites selected by breeding vultures compared with 70 random trees and tested associations between these characteristics and breeding productivity. White-backed vultures selected nest sites in taller trees (>7 m), but neither tree height nor any other nest-site characteristics had a clear effect on breeding productivity. Vultures selected nest trees closer to each other than random trees, and the associations between nest density, nearest neighbour distance and breeding success were all positive. These positive associations and the absence of an observable effect between nest-site characteristics and breeding productivity suggest that for this semi-colonial breeder, the social imperative of proximity to conspecifics (i.e., nesting near other vultures and group foraging) may be more important than individual nest-site selection.     

Traditional versus non-traditional nest-site choice: alternative decision strategies for nest-site selection

In order to understand habitat selection, it is important to consider the way individual animals assess the suitability of a future reproductive site. One way of investigating mechanisms (such as those involved in nest site selection) is to examine breeding success and habitat characteristics in terms of animals returning to a place where they have already reproduced and using the same location over successive years or searching for new alternatives. This approach seems especially suitable for testing recent hypotheses suggesting that nest site selection is an integrative process that includes the use of social information (e.g. past breeding success of conspecifics). Determining the factors that elicit conservative or innovative behaviour regarding nest-site selection could be important for improving our understanding of habitat selection decisions in animals. More than half of the nests of the long-distance migratory lesser grey shrike Lanius minor, are built in the same or neighbouring trees. We found no evidence that habitat characteristics influence nest-site tradition. On the contrary, social information in terms of the presence of conspecifics and past reproductive success in terms of complete nest failures due to nest predation (but not detailed information such as variation in fledgling number) influenced nest-site tradition. Hence, social information and past reproductive success may play a role in nest-site choice in this species. Our results further demonstrate that previous experience with a nest site does not appear to be beneficial.     

新疆北部白冠攀雀的巢与巢址选择

2008年4—7月,在新疆北部对白冠攀雀巢址选择进行了研究。白冠攀雀的营巢习性特殊,巢呈囊袋状,结构甚为精致。对于白冠攀雀巢的研究,采用总面积调查法,进行地毯式的搜寻,并结合标图法对其进行标记,绘制分布图。研究结果共发现巢125个,营巢位于于临近湖泊、河流等水域附近的柳树、杨树、桦树等阔叶树上。营巢树种以柳树为主,占68.80%。巢的高度平均为(5.3±2.5)m,营巢于乔木的中下部（约1/3处）,约70%的巢离河边不足30 m。对于巢址选择的研究,将原始记录中与巢址选择有关的特征变量进行主成分分析,分析表明,影响白冠攀雀巢址选择的主要因素有4种,依次为：郁闭度因素（包括营巢树胸径、巢上郁闭度）、营巢树种因素(包括营巢树种、树高、巢位高度和乔木种类)、方位因素（包括距河边距离和巢向）、食物与巢材因素。     

The Conflict between Nest Guarding and Mate Guarding in Penduline Tits (Remiz pendulinus)

In penduline tits (Remiz pendulinus), polygynous males build several very elaborate nests successively during one breeding season to attract females. The time and effort invested in nest building is positively related to their mating success. Intraspecific competition for nest material resulting in nest material theft, delays males' nest building progress which in turn decreases their mating success. Therefore, a nest guarding strategy was predicted. In many bird species, males develop some kind of paternity strategy during the female fertile phase. However, as nest building and the female fertile phase frequently coincide, one would expect a trade-off between these strategies. In this study we determined in particular how nest guarding in males conflicts with their mate guarding behaviour in penduline tits. Our results show that nest building is costly in terms of a male's time budget. Thieves benefit by increasing their rate of acquiring nest material which reduces the effort invested in nest building. Nest guarding is an efficient strategy to avoid thieves, as indicated by the negative relation between the presence of the male near the nest and the frequency of nest material theft. Nest guarding is required for the whole building period but males, however, increased their mate guarding effort during the peak fertile phase to ensure their paternity. The data suggest that, for the trade-off “mate guarding versus nest guarding”, paternity insurance seems to be more important.     

Are nest sites actively chosen? Testing a common assumption for three non-resource limited birds

Many widely-accepted ecological concepts are simplified assumptions about complex situations that remain largely untested. One example is the assumption that nest-building species choose nest sites actively when they are not resource limited. This assumption has seen little direct empirical testing: most studies on nest-site selection simply assume that sites are chosen actively (and seek explanations for such behaviour) without considering that sites may be selected randomly. We used 15 years of data from a nestbox scheme in the UK to test the assumption of active nest-site choice in three cavity-nesting bird species that differ in breeding and migratory strategy: blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus), great tit (Parus major) and pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca). Nest-site selection was non-random (implying active nest-site choice) for blue and great tits, but not for pied flycatchers. We also considered the relative importance of year-specific and site-specific factors in determining occupation of nest sites. Site-specific factors were more important than year-specific factors for the tit species, while the reverse was true for pied flycatchers. Our results show that nest-site selection, in birds at least, is not always the result of active choice, such that choice should not be assumed automatically in studies of nesting behaviour. We use this example to highlight the need to test key ecological assumptions empirically, and the importance of doing so across taxa rather than for single “model” species.     

Interspecific aggression declines seasonally in breeding great tits Parus major

During the breeding season, great tits show aggression to protect their nest from intra‐ and interspecific intruders. Aggression is a labile trait that can be plastically expressed as a result of individual differences (e.g., personality), seasonal gradients in the costs and benefits of aggression, or other environmental components (e.g., number of competitors). Competitors may try to take over great tit nests, because the number of suitable nesting sites is limited, and great tits may guard high quality territories. Taking over a great tit nest may be especially fruitful in early phenological stages (egg laying) when great tits frequent their nests less often. However, great tits may compensate for this vulnerability by being more aggressive toward intruders during early nesting stages, a pattern that has already been established in an intraspecific context. Previous studies have shown that interspecific intruders were most likely to die from great tit aggression during great tit egg laying, suggesting great tits may also be more aggressive during this phase in an interspecific context. Here, I tested this hypothesis with simulated territorial intrusions in great tit territories using taxidermized blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus (hereafter called blue tit models). Great tit aggression (number of calls and approach distance toward blue tit model) was assayed during egg laying, incubation, and chick rearing in the breeding season of 2014. Although sample size was low due to a high fraction of non‐responders (n = 44 out of 89 assays across 26 out of 35 individuals), I found that great tits showed a seasonal decline in aggressiveness, which is congruent with intraspecific results on this study species. I discuss my findings in the context of differential adjustment to climate change between interspecific competitors.     

Predation risk effects on fitness related measures in a resident bird

Predation risk is thought to be highly variable in space and time. However, breeding avian predators may create locally fixed and spatially fairly predictable predation risk determined by the distance to their nest. From the prey perspective, this creates predation risk gradients that potentially have an effect on fitness and behavioural decisions of prey. We studied how breeding avian predators affect habitat selection (nest location) and the resulting fitness consequences in a northern population of resident willow tit ( Parus montanus ). Data included 429 willow tit nests over a four year period in a landscape containing a total of 33 avian predator nests. Willow tit nests were located randomly in the landscape and no predator avoidance in habitat selection or emptying of territories in proximity to predators was observed. Nestling size, however, was positively associated with distance from predator nests (n=252). Nestling mass and wing length were about 4.5% smaller close to predator nests compared to nestlings raised far from predator nests. Tarsus length also exhibited a positive relationship with increasing distance from predator nest but this was limited to habitats of young forests and pine bogs or dense mixed forests (4% increase). It is likely that habitat structural complexity influenced the perception of predation risk in different habitats. Our results indicate that willow tits do not provide reliable cues of predator free habitats for settling migrants. Nonetheless, breeding avian predators may create predictable predation risk in the landscape which is an important factor affecting reproductive success and potentially the demography of prey populations.     

Experimental manipulation of temperature reduce ectoparasites in nests of blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus

Several models predict changes in the distributions and incidences of diseases associated with climate change. However, studies that investigate how microclimatic changes may affect host–parasite relationships are scarce. Here, we experimentally increased the temperature in blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus nest boxes during their breeding season to determine its effects on the parasitic abundance (i.e. of nest‐dwelling ectoparasites, blood‐sucking flying insects and hemoparasites) in nests and the host condition of nestlings and adults. The temperature was increased using heat mats placed underneath the nest material, which resulted in an average temperature increase of 3ºC and a reduction in relative humidity of about six units. The abundance of mites Dermanyssus gallinoides and blowfly pupae Protocalliphora azurea was significantly reduced in heated nest boxes. Although not statistically significant, a lower prevalence of flea larvae Ceratophyllus gallinae was also found in heated nests. However, heat treatment did not affect hemoparasite infection of adult blue tits or the body condition of adult and nestling blue tits. In conclusion, heat treatment in blue tit nests reduced nest‐dwelling ectoparasites yet without any apparent benefit for the host.     

Effect of an ectoparasite on lay date, nest-site choice, desertion, and hatching success in the great tit (Pants major)

Ectoparasites are common in most bird species, but experimentalevidence of their effects on life-history traits is scarce.We investigated experimentally the effects of the hematophagoushen flea (Ceratophyllus gallinae) on timing of reproduction,nest-site choice, nest desertion, clutch size, and hatchingsuccess in the great tit (Parus major). When great tits wereoffered a choice on their territory between an infested anda parasite-free nest-box, they chose the one without parasites.When there was no choice, the great tits in a territory containingan infested nest-box delayed laying the clutch by 11 days ascompared with the birds that were offered a parasite-free nestingopportunity. The finding that there was no difference in phenotypictraits related to dominance between the birds nesting in infestedboxes and birds nesting in parasite-free boxes suggests thatthe delay is not imposed by social dominance. Nest desertionbetween laying and shortly after hatching was significandy higherin infested nests. There was no difference between infestedand parasite-free nests in clutch size, but hatching successand hence brood size at hatching were significantly smallerin infested nests. Nest-box studies of great tits have beenseminal in the development of evolutionary, ecological, andbehavioral theory, but recently a polemic has arisen in theliterature about the validity of the conclusions drawn fromnest-box studies where the naturally occurring, detrimentalectoparasites are eliminated by the routine removal of old nestsbetween breeding seasons. Our study suggests that this criticismis valid and that the evaluation of the effects of ectoparasitesmay improve our understanding of behavioral traits, life-historytraits, or population dynamics     

Philopatry, Dispersal Patterns and Nest-site Reuse in Lesser Grey Shrikes (Lanius minor)

To nest in the same breeding area, territory or even nest-site in successive years may provide a possibility to look at mechanisms involved in breeding habitat selection and could also be an important tool for conservation, management and restoration attempts. In this study we examine site fidelity towards the breeding area as well as the nesting site in a dense and stable population of the Lesser Grey Shrike Lanius minor, a long-distance migrant and highly endangered passerine species, at its present northern border of its breeding range. Overall we recovered 48 out of 146 (32.8%) adults between 1996 and 2000. Recovery rate is significantly higher for males (31 of 77, 40.25%) than for females (17 of 69, 24.6%). Recovery rate of nestlings is much lower since only 51 of 790 (6.5%) were recovered and there is no significant sex difference. Furthermore, our results from 1989 to 2000 revealed that more than 30% (97/319) of the nests were built in the same nest tree in successive years and more than half (183/319 = 57.4%) of the nests in the same or neighboring trees (up to 20 m), but very seldom by the same individuals. The fact that nest reuse in successive years is almost exclusively done by different individuals suggests habitat copying and public information of individual birds. Due to optimal ecological breeding conditions other parameters like inbreeding avoidance or increased genetic variability could be important factors in nest-site selection strategies and consequently result in a “disperse over stay strategy”.     

Influence of Natal Experience on Nest-Site Selection by Urban-Nesting Cooper's Hawks

Abstract: Exposure to environmental features early in life potentially can influence the kinds of places animals select to live later in life. We examined whether there is evidence that Cooper's hawks (Accipiter cooperii) hatched in an urban environment choose sites with features similar to their natal areas when they nest for the first time. The features we examined were the nest tree species and the level of development surrounding the nest tree. We banded nestling and fledgling Cooper's hawks in Tucson, Arizona, USA, from 1994 to 2004. We then monitored nests in Tucson to identify hawks that had been hatched in the city and eventually secured a breeding site. Percent cover of buildings around first breeding nests was not related to percent cover of buildings around natal nests for either sex. There was some evidence that being hatched in a particular tree species influenced choice of tree species at first breeding sites for males, but the influence was weak. In contrast, tree species in which first-time breeders built their nests, and the sites where the trees were located relative to development, were proportional to what was available in the Tucson metropolitan area. Our data suggest that natal experience played a limited role in nest-site selection by Cooper's hawks in Tucson for the features we examined. If learning occurred, it could have been for the general structure of natal sites. Thus, any small grove of large trees planted in Tucson could be used as a nest site by Cooper's hawks regardless of the level of development surrounding the nest.     

REPRODUCTIVE COST,AGE-SPECIFIC SURVIVAL AND A COMPARISON OF THE REPRODUCTIVE STRATEGY IN TWO EUROPEAN TITS (GENUS PARUS)

Theoretical analyses of optimal reproductive rates usually assume a trade-off between offspring production and parental survival. This study verified a survival cost for willow tit males; nonbreeding males survived better than males attending a brood. Theory also predicts a smaller clutch size in birds that are less successful in transforming reproductive investments into mature offspring. As predicted, we found that crested tits, suffering a higher nest predation rate, laid smaller clutches than willow tits. The generally lower survival rate of willow tit adults may largely be attributed to their higher reproductive commitment (larger willow tit clutch size), because no significant interspecific survival difference remained between nonbreeding males. Finally, in willow tits we found a positive correlation between average clutch size and juvenile survival rate (density-dependent) the ensuing year, suggesting that willow tits may adjust clutch size in response to changing survival prospects for their young by using the breeding density as a cue.     

Blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) respond to an experimental change in the aromatic plant odour composition of their nest

Although the use of olfaction by birds is now widely recognised, the olfactory abilities of passerine birds remain poorly explored, for historical reasons. Several studies however suggest that passerines can perceive volatile compounds in several biologically relevant contexts. In Corsica, recent findings suggest that cavity-nesting blue tits may use volatile compounds in the context of nest building and maintenance. Although they build their nests mainly from moss, female blue tits also frequently incorporate fragments of several species of aromatic plants in the nest cup. In field experiments, breeding female blue tits altered their nest maintenance behaviour in response to experimental addition of aromatic plants in their nest. In aviary experiments, captive male blue tits could be trained to detect lavender odour from a distance. Here I report results from a field study aimed to test whether adult blue tits altered their chick-feeding behaviour after an experimental change in nest odour composition. I experimentally added fragments of aromatic plant species that differed from those brought in the nests before the start of the experiment in a set of experimental nests and added moss, the basic nest material, in a set of control nests. Both male and female blue tits hesitated significantly longer entering the nest cavity after addition of new aromatic plant fragments, as compared to moss addition. This response was especially observed during the first visit following the experimental change in nest plant composition. Nest composition treatment had no effect on the time spent in the nest. This study demonstrates that free-ranging blue tits detect changes in nest odour from outside the nest cavity.     

Breeding site fidelity in penduline tit Remiz pendulinus in Southern Hungary

Birds move between breeding locations to gain a better territory, avoid competition or reduce the deleterious effect of inbreeding. We investigated breeding site fidelity in a small European passerine, the penduline tit (Remiz pendulinus). This species has an exceptionally diverse breeding system, in which both males and females may have up to 5–7 mates in a single breeding season, and the eggs are incubated by a single parent: either the male or the female. We investigated the movements of males and females within three breeding seasons in Southern Hungary (2002–2004). Males moved for shorter distances between breeding sites (116 m, 63–333 m; median, lower quartile–upper quartile) than females (942 m, 415–2,382 m). Movements of males and females were consistent between years, and they were repeatable between subsequent nests of males, but not of females. Taken together, our results suggest that adult male penduline tits are more site-faithful than adult females. We suggest that this difference has an implication on their breeding ecology since male parental behaviour (desert/care) is expected to be influenced by local mating opportunities, whilst female parental behaviour is likely to depend on the mating opportunities in a large area around their breeding site.     

震旦鸦雀在镶嵌型芦苇收割生境中的巢址选择

大规模的芦苇收割会对在该生境中繁殖的鸟类产生严重影响。为降低芦苇收割对鸟类繁殖的负面影响,许多地区的湿地管理者逐渐采用了镶嵌型的芦苇收割方式。但是,这种新的芦苇管理方式对鸟类繁殖期生境选择的作用机理尚不清楚。震旦鸦雀是一种主要分布在我国东部、完全依赖芦苇生境而生存的珍稀鸟类,已被IUCN定为全球性近危物种。大规模的芦苇收割导致其适宜生境丧失,被认为是该物种面临的一个主要威胁。选择山东黄河三角洲国家级自然保护区为研究地区,采用AIC信息准则法,从巢址微生境、巢域斑块和全模型3个水平上对可能影响震旦鸦雀巢址选择的生境因子进行了逻辑斯蒂回归分析,并重点探讨芦苇镶嵌收割对其巢址选择的影响以及不同水平的相互效应。结果发现,震旦鸦雀的巢址选择受巢址微生境和巢域斑块尺度双重水平的影响,但巢址微生境因子的影响要大于巢域斑块因子。在巢址微生境水平上,影响震旦鸦雀巢址选择的因素有:1.5—2.5 m旧芦苇的密度、2.5 m以上新芦苇的密度、香蒲密度和巢的可见度;在巢域斑块水平上,影响因素包括芦苇生境类型、旧芦苇斑块面积的比例和植被盖度;在综合模型中,影响因素有1.5—2.5 m旧芦苇的密度、2.5 m以上新芦苇的密度、香蒲密度、巢的可见度和植被盖度。综上,震旦鸦雀倾向于在植被盖度较高、具有一定比例(18.3%)旧芦苇面积、1.5—2.5 m旧芦苇密度较高、可见度较低的生境斑块中筑巢。研究中,78.7%(n=141)的震旦鸦雀将巢筑在新旧芦苇混合的微生境中,其中36.9%的巢址附近旧芦苇的比例在一半以上;53.2%(n=111)的巢筑于新、旧两种芦苇茎秆之上,22.3%的巢的支撑芦苇中旧芦苇所占比例在一半以上。研究结果表明,旧芦苇在震旦鸦雀巢址选择和筑巢过程中发挥了重要作用。由于大范围的芦苇收割在微生境水平上可降低1.5—2.5 m旧芦苇的密度,在巢域斑块尺度上可降低旧芦苇斑块面积的比例,因此建议,在震旦鸦雀的繁殖地,未来的芦苇收割应采用镶嵌收割的形式,并至少应保留面积在20%以上的结构较好的旧芦苇斑块,以供震旦鸦雀选择巢址和繁衍后代。     

Birds prefer to breed in sites with low radioactivity in Chernobyl

Low-level radioactive contamination may affect choice of breeding site and life-history decisions if (i) radioactivity directly affects body condition or (ii) it affects resource abundance that then secondarily influences reproductive decisions. We tested the effects of radioactive contamination on nest-site choice and reproduction in a community of hole nesting birds by putting up nest boxes in areas differing in levels of background radiation. Great tit Parus major and pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca significantly avoided nest boxes in heavily contaminated areas, with a stronger effect in flycatchers than in tits. These preferences could not be attributed to variation in habitat quality or resource abundance, as determined by analyses of habitat use and the relationship between radiation and life-history characters. Likewise, none of these effects could be attributed to individuals of a specific age breeding in the most contaminated areas. Laying date and clutch size were not significantly related to dose rate in either species. Hatching success was depressed by elevated radioactive contamination, interacting with habitat in the great tit and with laying date in the pied flycatcher. Interspecific differences in effects of radiation on nest-site choice suggest that species respond in a species-specific manner to radiation, perhaps related to differences in migratory habits. We suggest that individual body condition rather than secondary effects of radiation on resource abundance account for the effects on nest box use and hatching success.     

Parent birds assess nest predation risk: influence of cavity condition and avian nest predator activity

Skutch hypothesized that nest predators visually assess parental activities to locate a prey nest, whereas parents modify fitness‐related traits to reduce the probability of nest predation. We examined how cavity condition and parental activity interact with avian nest predators to shape the nest success of two coexisting parid species, marsh tits Poecile palustris and oriental tits Parus minor, breeding in nest‐boxes during the incubation period. Nest‐boxes were manipulated to create a prolonged risk of nest predation (entrance diameter 2.6 cm control vs 5.5 cm treatment) soon after clutch completion. To measure changes in parental behavior, we also simultaneously simulated a pulsed risk of nest predation, using sound playbacks of a coexisting control bird and an avian nest predator. We found that the parent tits merely responded the pulsed risk, presumably due to an environment with high avian nest predator encounters, compared to the prolonged risk. Instead, both species spent more time on vigilance at the nest, only under prolonged risk conditions. The activity of corvids near the nest‐box was higher in the marsh tit than that in oriental tits. This activity was also higher in the treatment nest box than that in the control nest‐box. Nest predation during the incubation period was higher in marsh tits than in oriental tits, presumably due to higher and more plastic vigilance in oriental tits, compared to marsh tits. Our results highlight that the differences in cavity condition and parental activities at the nests of two coexisting non‐excavators may contribute to differential nest predation by attracting avian nest predators.