Egg-Covering Behaviour by Great Crested Grebes Podiceps cristatus

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Abstract
Incubating great creasted grebes cover their eggs with nest material before leaving the nest due to disturbance. The aim of the present study was to investigate the frequency of this behaviour and to test experimentally its effectiveness in protecting the eggs from predators during the absence of the incubating grebe from the nest. Great crested grebes on Gerzensee, a small lake in Switzerland, covered their eggs with nest material in 88% of all observations. Experiments with small hen''s eggs placed in abandoned grehe nests showed that covering the eggs with nest material protects them effectively from the main predator, the coot Fulica atra.

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