Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA). Av. S. Martín 4453, CABA, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Sandra M. Cappelletti
Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA). Av. Int. Cantilo, CABA, Buenos Aires, Argentina | Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), E.E.A. Delta del Paraná, CRBAN. Paraná de las Palmas y Canal L. Comas. Buenos Aires, Argentina | Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET)
Natalia G. Fracasi
Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), E.E.A. Delta del Paraná, CRBAN. Paraná de las Palmas y Canal L. Comas. Buenos Aires, Argentina
Pamela Graff
Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA). Av. S. Martín 4453, CABA, Buenos Aires, Argentina | Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) | Agencia de Extensión Rural Coronel Suárez, Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Cesáreo Naredo, INTA. Sauce Corto 589, Coronel Suárez, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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The Lower Paraná Delta landscape has been heavily modified by forestry and livestock production, resulting in the transformation of original environments and changes in resource availability for bird communities. Insectivorous cavity-nesting birds are potential providers of biological pest control in productive systems, which is why the use of nest boxes has been proposed as a sustainable forest management tool and as an opportunity to study the reproductive biology of poorly known species. In this study, we characterized nests built in nest boxes by the Narrow-billed Woodcreeper (Lepidocolaptes angustirostris), Swainson’s Flycatcher (Myiarchus swainsoni), Streaked Flycatcher (Myiodynastes maculatus), Greyish Baywing (Agelaioides badius), and Southern House Wren (Troglodytes musculus) in a forest landscape dominated by Salicaceae plantations in the Lower Paraná Delta, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Fifty nests from the 2020–2025 breeding seasons were analysed. Nests of the Swainson’s Flycatcher were characterized by a predominance of soft materials (moss, plant fibers, hair, and feathers) and artificial material. Nests of the Greyish Baywing were mainly composed of plant fibers, while Southern House Wren nests consisted primarily of branches. Nests of the Streaked Flycatcher and the Narrow-billed Woodcreeper were composed of a single material: petioles and bark, respectively. All the aforementioned species built nests with a defined cup and species-specific morphometric parameters, except for the Narrow-billed Woodcreeper, whose nests lacked a defined structure. This study provides the first characterization of nests built in nest boxes by these species in the Lower Paraná Delta, including previously unpublished information on their reproductive biology.
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