Second known record of polygyny in Ortolan Bunting Emberiza hortulana

Abstract

During field work on foraging of the Ortolan Bunting Emberiza hortulana in a small and isolated population at Kvismaren in the county of Örebro in south Sweden, two females, nesting 1,250 m apart were observed to be mate-guarded by the same colour-ringed male. Although the male commuted between the nests, none of the females seemed to obtain any substantial help from him when feeding the young. Polygyni has been reported only once before in this species, namely seventy-five years ago, also in a small population in Sweden, when a male behaved in a similar manner to that that we observed at Kvismaren.