Video Surveillance of Nesting Birds

Declining bird populations have prompted extensive research on nest failure and reduced reproductive success. Until recently, this research has been hampered by the difficulties inherent in observing nest activities. This book highlights the use of miniature video cameras and recording equipment yielding new important and unanticipated insights into breeding bird biology, including previously undocumented observations of hatching, incubation, fledging, diurnal and nocturnal activity patterns, predator identification, predator-prey interactions, and cause-specific rates of nest loss. This seminal contribution to bird reproductive biology uses tools capable of generating astonishing results with the potential for fresh insights into bird conservation, management, and theory.