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THE WILSON JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY • Vol. 123, No. 1, March 2011 
common in low-lying violet-purple rhododendron 
scrub and scrub hollyleaf-like oak habitat, as few 
tall trees are available in these habitat types. Tree 
nests were not as successful as expected in our 
study, probably due to small sample sizes. 
Re-nesting attempts and changes in nest 
locations or habitats between nesting attempts 
following nest failure have been documented for 
several species of Galliformes including Willow 
Ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus) (Parker 1981), Wild 
Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) (Badyaev et al. 
1996), Black Grouse (Lyrurus tetrix) (Marjakan- 
gas et al. 1997), and Chukar (Alectoris chukar ) 
(Lindbloom et al. 2003). Re-nesting in Galli¬ 
formes was initially thought to be rare (Patterson 
1952), but research has shown that re-nesting rates 
can exceed 40% for some species (e.g., Petersen 
1980, Bergerud 1988). Changes in nest locations 
following nest predation might be a response to 
avoid revisiting by the predator (O’Reilly and 
Hannon 1989, Marjakangas et al. 1997). We 
suspect that unpredictable and severe weather 
conditions in our study may also be involved. 
Further systematic nest studies with large sample 
sizes are needed to identify the relationship 
between the probability of changing to a different 
nest location or nest type and causes of previous 
nest failure. The benefits of switching nest 
location and nest type for Szechenyi’s Monal- 
Partridge remain unknown as our sample sizes 
were too small and all re-nesting attempts also 
tailed. What is apparent from our observations 
however is the importance of preserving a mosaic 
ot treeline habitats that include ground vegetation, 
and fir/oak woodland habitat to maintain suitable 
nesting habitats for the Szechenyi’s Monal- 
Partridge in the Pamuling Mountains. 
AC KNO WLEDGMENTS 
We received support from the Forestry Bureau of 
ajiang County and the Pamuling Monastery throughout 
the study period. Ying Wang provided radio transmitters 
and color nng* P. J. Que and P. F. Yu helped collect data in 
he field, and D. Q. Li, B. B. Du, and Rui Guo assisted with 
laboratory work. Emily King and J. j. Liang corrected the 
English writing. Stephen Browne, C. E. Braun, and two 
anonymous reviewers greatly improved the manuscript. We 
thank all of these organizations and persons. 
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