Incubation behaviour of the Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis) in an alpine ecosystem of Central Europe

Incubation behaviour of the Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis) was investigated in mountainous conditions in Central Europe (the Krkonose Mountains of the Czech Republic), in relation to the time of day and weather. Twenty-four-hour recordings of incubation behaviour were made with a time-lapse video recorder and mini-camera. The influences of year, nest, time of day, temperature, precipitation and previous bouts on session and recess duration were then analysed. The incubation behaviour of Meadow Pipits in general did not differ from the behaviour of other small female-only incubating passerines. Despite relatively cold climatic conditions in the study area, the mean length of sessions and recesses (19.69 and 5.53 min), as well as nest-attentiveness (77.19%), agreed with values which are most often found in other species. However, the Meadow Pipit incubation in the study area was, in terms of nest-attentiveness, more intensive than in other surveyed populations of this species. Incubation behaviour was strongly influenced by the time of day—incubating females increased nest-attentiveness during the morning and evening hours. After the time of day was filtered out, the influence of temperature was found only on sessions (not recesses). Sessions were the longest when the air temperature was approximately 12–16°C and shortened when the temperature was lower or higher. Precipitation forced female Meadow Pipits to take longer sessions and shorter recesses, which corresponds to their general tendency to give priority to the needs of the clutch ahead of their own temporary feeding needs.