Nest box use by Troglodytes aedon in the semiarid region of San Luis Province, Argentina.

NUÑEZ, M. B.; CID, F. D.

San Luis

Congreso; XXXII Reunión Científica Anual de la Sociedad de Biología de Cuyo; 2014

Sociedad de Biología de Cuyo

The house wren (Troglodytes aedon, ?pititorra?) is the native passerine with greater latitudinal distribution in America. It is a small insectivorous bird (adult body mass: 9-12 grams) that nests in various types of cavities. In Argentina, there are few data about the natural history of this bird species. In the present work we present the preliminary results of a long-term study of the breeding biology of T. aedon in the semiarid Midwest of Argentina, with emphasis on behavior during nest building, incubation period, parental care, and chicks development. The study was carried out at 30 km west of San Luis city. This area is located in the Chaco Phytogeographical Province. To achieve our goal, twenty nest boxes were located in the study area, with a random arrangement, the distance between boxes varied from 10 to 15 mts. The overall nest-box occupancy rate was 55%, and only in 5 cases (25%) we observed nest, eggs and nestlings. The mean clutch size was 4 eggs per nest box (ranging from 5 to 2 eggs) and the mean hatching success was 90%. The nest-building and incubation periods averaged 7 and 6 days respectively. These results are similar to those found in other nest-box studies of T. aedon. Supported by UNSL PROICO 2‐0612 to FDC.