In the starling nest box with the web camera a case of nest parasitism took place a couple of days ago, when strange female starlings attempted to lay their eggs in the nest. The eggs laid by them were however thrown out by the pair that regarded the nest box as their own.

Comments by Markus Mägi, bird ecxology researcher at the University of Tartu, can be read here: Video story: Nest parasitism in starling nest box 

Yesterday, on April 28th, similar events occurred again – during little more than an hour two strange female starlings again laid eggs in the nest, and now too both eggs were thrown out of the nest by the owners of the nest box: the first by the male and the second by the female.

Videos recorded by Olle Koert, Teetormaja, www.tt.ee.

A female arrives in the nest box and lays an egg. The male starling arrives at once and quickly throws the egg out:

Another strange female starling comes to the nest box and some ten seconds later she has laid an egg:

A female starling comes to the nest box, picks the egg apart and throws it out of the nest:

The last egg was thrown out by the female starling who evidently regards the nest box as her own. The ”mistress” of the nest box can be recognized by her blackish beak, the females that have visited to lay eggs have more yellow beaks.

The events in the nest box by direct stream are transmitted by Teetormaja, see also in addition in the LK forum: LINK

Margus Ots
info/at/linnuvaatleja.ee