The sex life of penduline tits

This is a video of a penduline tit.

‘Scarce breeding bird in the Netherlands with only few records a year’.

Abandoned Eggs Of The Penduline Tit Remiz Pendulinus

The eggs of the penduline tit Remiz pendulinus are frequently abandoned as both parents go in search of new sexual conquests, a study reported in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology has found.

Around one in three clutches of eggs are abandoned in this way, making it a puzzling example of childrearing where both parents improve their reproductive success by abandoning the nest.

Males and females can mate with up to seven different partners in any one breeding season and frequently vary their attitude to childcare between different clutches.

Over the course of a breeding season more than half of all clutches are cared for by the female, with up to a fifth cared for by the male. The rest, roughly a third, are abandoned by both.

In an intensive battle of the sexes, male penduline tits often flee the nest before egg-laying is complete, whilst females sometimes hide their eggs from the males so she can leave before he notices how a number of eggs have been laid.

When this happens, males left caring for the eggs frequently flee the nest. Penduline tits can be found throughout most of central and southern Europe. …

Responsibilities for childcare vary enormously throughout the bird kingdom. Commonly both parents care for the young even though the female takes the bulk of care. In a score of species, such as in phalaropes and lily-trotters, males do all of the childrearing.