Natal Dispersal in the Nuthatch

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Abstract
Between 1970 and 1983, more than 1500 Nuthatch nestlings were banded in an area of about 400 kg2. By regular trapping sessions at feeding sites and checking of roosting and breeding birds, 55 of them were recaptured within the study area 3.6%). Dispersal distances varied between 36 m and 11 kg, with a median around 1 km. We found no difference in dispersal distance between males and females, nor between young from early and late broods. The absence of a sexual bias in dispersal is explained by the symmetry in territorial behaviour of the sexes. An analysis of movements after the first recapture showed no evidence for dispersal after the birds'' first summer.