A comparison of the incidence of dome nests in Australia and southern Africa, under similar mediterranean and adjacent arid climates

Dome nests (https://www.lls.nsw.gov.au/regions/murray/articles,-plans-and-publications/nrm-news-november-2020/birds-and-their-nests) are those combining the following characteristics:

• essentially spherical (with a restricted aperture for entrance/exit) as opposed to cup- or bowl-shaped,
• woven out of plant fibre (and spiderweb in some cases), as opposed to being made from mud, and
• located externally, as opposed to within cavities (hollows/holes in wood or the ground).

The concealment and enclosure of eggs and the incubating adult confer obvious adaptive advantages relative to predation.

Australia and southern Africa have similar climates and substrates, but differ greatly in their regimes of predation. The former landmass is relatively poor in predators, whereas the latter landmass is rich in predators.

An intercontinental comparison can be based on those regions with similar mediterranean-type and adjacent climates (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_climate and https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-642-65520-3_8#:~:text=The%20mediterranean%2Dtype%20climate%20of,the%20western%20half%20of%20Victoria. and https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/01811789.1984.10826662).

In this Post, I exclude migratory birds that breed in the Northern Hemisphere, wintering in the Southern Hemisphere.

The following spp. of birds build dome nests in the relevant regions.

AUSTRALIA

Estrildidae:

Stagonopleura all three spp. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stagonopleura)

Acanthizidae:

Acanthiza apicalis https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/72439-Acanthiza-apicalis
Acanthiza chrysorrhoa https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/13469-Acanthiza-chrysorrhoa
Acanthiza inornata https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/13466-Acanthiza-inornata
Acanthiza iredalei https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/13472-Acanthiza-iredalei
Acanthiza lineata https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/13467-Acanthiza-lineata
Acanthiza nana https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/13470-Acanthiza-nana
Acanthiza pusilla https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/13468-Acanthiza-pusilla
Acanthiza reguloides https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/13471-Acanthiza-reguloides
Acanthiza robustirostris https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/13475-Acanthiza-robustirostris
Acanthiza uropygialis https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/13464-Acanthiza-uropygialis

Aphelocephala leucopsis https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/13522-Aphelocephala-leucopsis

Calamanthus campestris https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/979632-Calamanthus-campestris
Calamanthus fuliginosus https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/13527-Calamanthus-fuliginosus
Calamanthus montanellus https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/548191-Calamanthus-montanellus

Gerygone fusca https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/13491-Gerygone-fusca
Gerygone olivacea https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/13490-Gerygone-olivacea

Hylacola cauta https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/72928-Hylacola-cauta
Hylacola pyrrhopygia https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/72929-Hylacola-pyrrhopygia

Pyrrholaemus brunneus https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/13477-Pyrrholaemus-brunneus

Sericornis maculatus https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1444429-Sericornis-maculatus

Smicrornis brevirostris https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/13540-Smicrornis-brevirostris

Maluridae:

Amytornis textilis https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/509110-Amytornis-textilis

Malurus assimilis https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/827392-Malurus-assimilis
Malurus cyaneus https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/12065-Malurus-cyaneus
Malurus elegans https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/12063-Malurus-elegans
Malurus leucopterus https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/12093-Malurus-leucopterus
Malurus pulcherrimus https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/12072-Malurus-pulcherrimus
Malurus splendens https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/12083-Malurus-splendens

Stipiturus malachurus https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/12133-Stipiturus-malachurus
Stipiturus mallee https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/12072-Malurus-pulcherrimus

Cisticolidae (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cisticolidae):

Cisticola exilis (South Australia only) https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/7657-Cisticola-exilis

Acrocephalidae:

Acrocephalus australis https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/116794-Acrocephalus-australis

SOUTHERN AFRICA

Ploceidae:

Euplectes capensis https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/13964-Euplectes-capensis
Euplectes orix https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/13962-Euplectes-orix

Ploceus capensis https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/13801-Ploceus-capensis
Ploceus velatus https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/13804-Ploceus-velatus

Quelea quelea https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/14005-Quelea-quelea

Estrildidae:

Amadina erythrocephala https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/14095-Amadina-erythrocephala

Coccopygia melanotis https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/979663-Coccopygia-melanotis

Estrilda astrild https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/13770-Estrilda-astrild

Ortygospiza atricollis https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/204557-Ortygospiza-atricollis

Spermestes cucullata https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/367700-Spermestes-cucullata

Nectariniidae:

Anthobaphes violacea https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/145130-Anthobaphes-violacea

Chalcomitra amethystina https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/145142-Chalcomitra-amethystina

Cinnyris afer https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/145163-Cinnyris-afer

Cinnyris chalybeus https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/145157-Cinnyris-chalybeus
Cinnyris fuscus https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/145189-Cinnyris-fuscus

Nectarinia famosa https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/13300-Nectarinia-famosa

Cisticolidae:

Apalis thoracica https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/7742-Apalis-thoracica

Cisticola fulvicapilla https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/72731-Cisticola-fulvicapilla
Cisticola juncidis https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/7697-Cisticola-juncidis
Cisticola subruficapilla https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/72733-Cisticola-subruficapilla
Cisticola textrix https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/7700-Cisticola-textrix
Cisticola tinniens https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/7660-Cisticola-tinniens

Eremomela icteropygialis https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/204508-Eremomela-icteropygialis
Eremomela gregalis https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/15460-Eremomela-gregalis

Euryptila subcinnamomea https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/7782-Euryptila-subcinnamomea

Malcorus pectoralis https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/7703-Malcorus-pectoralis

Phragmacia substriata https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/73280-Phragmacia-substriata

Prinia maculosa https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/7730-Prinia-maculosa

Acrocephalidae:

Acrocephalus gracilirostris https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/116798-Acrocephalus-gracilirostris
Acrocephalus scirpaceus (check residency) https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/204455-Acrocephalus-scirpaceus

Macrosphenidae:

Sylvietta rufescens https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/15254-Sylvietta-rufescens

Paridae:

Melaniparus afer (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/144845-Melaniparus-afer)

Remizidae:

Anthoscopus minutus (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/13671-Anthoscopus-minutus)

Publicado el 14 de septiembre de 2024 por milewski