Hatching asynchrony in Burrowing Owls is influenced by clutch size and hatching success but not by food.

In most animals, siblings from a given reproductive event emerge over a very short period of time. In contrast, many species of birds hatch their young asynchronously over a period of days or weeks, handicapping last-hatched chicks with an age and size disadvantage. Numerous studies have examined the adaptive significance of this atypical hatching pattern, but few have attempted to explain the considerable intrapopulation variation that exists in hatching asynchrony. I explored proximate determinants of hatching asynchrony by monitoring 112 Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) nests in the grasslands of southern Saskatchewan, Canada, over 4 years. Age disparities between first- and last-hatched siblings (i.e., hatching...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation, Journal Citation; Tags: Athene cunicularia - Egg laying - Food supplementa, Oecologia