Breeding of the Brood Parasitic Common Cuckoo (cuculus Canorus) in Reed Habitats in Nw Vojvodina, Serbia

We monitored the breeding success of the Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) in four reed habitats (e. g. clay pits, marsh and fishponds, small canals and large canals) in northwestern Vojvodina (Serbia) between 2009 and 2011 (three breeding seasons). A total of 596 Great Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) nests were found and monitored. The overall parasitism rate for the study area was 0.127, which was calculated from the number of parasitized nests (76) divided by the total number of Great Reed Warbler nests (596). The parasitism rate did not vary with the total number of Great Reed Warbler nests at a study site. The number of parasitized and successful parasitized nests showed significant negative relationship, which means more parasitized nests resulted with more brood lost. The parasitism rate varied significantly among habitats but not among years while the number of successfully parasitized nests differed among both habitats and years. Parasitized nests found in small and large canals showed the highest reproductive success of Cuckoos. Loss of parasitized nests through predation and bad weather circumstances was relatively high in this study compared to other areas.