Ardea
Official journal of the Netherlands Ornithologists' Union

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Mertens J.A.L. (1980) The energy requirements for incubation in Great Tits and other bird species. ARDEA 68 (1-4): 185-192
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The energy expenditure of a female Great Tit was measured while she was roosting in an empty nest box, at night during the nest-building period, the egg-laying period, and the incubation period. Instead of estimating the energy expenditure by measuring the metabolic rate of the bird, we measured the heat loss through the nest box walls by means of 35 heat-flux disks mounted in the walls of the box. It was found that the heat loss increases considerably during the egg-laying period, which is in conflict with predictions based on recently published models of incubating birds. It is concluded that the energy requirements for incubation may impose restrictions on the onset of incubation.


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