The nest-site characteristics of the forest population of common blackbird (Turdus merula) in Eskişehir, Turkey

Nest-site characteristics and nest-site selection in a forest population of common blackbird was investigated in an area of 200 ha in Eskişehir’s Meşelik black pine forest during the spring of 2013. Within this framework, 36 nests were found in total: 31 of them were new and the rest (N = 5) were old. The nest-site characteristic parameters were measured in centimeters and nest tree species were recorded. According to the results, it was concluded that all of the nests were made on the stem of the nest tree at the widest part of the tree. Common blackbirds in the study area chose juniper to nest in most frequently, with 66.7% of the total. The density of the blackbird territory in the area was found to be 1.27 ha/nest. The mean ± SD distance between the nests was measured as 30.52 ± 7.5 m. In light of these findings, when the study results were analyzed, it was stipulated that common blackbirds in the investigation area have similar nest-site characteristics.