Fu et al. • EM El SHAN LIOCICHLA BREEDING ECOLOGY 
751 
TABLE 1. Density of breeding male Emei Shan Liocichlas in Laojunshan Nature Reserve, Sichuan, China in 2009 and 
2010 by forest type (primary or secondary). Densities are mean ± SE singing males/km 2 . Densities in primary and 
secondary forests were compared with a /-test. 
Year Secondary forest Primary forest / P 
2009 1.55 ± 0.97 1.55 ± 0.67 0.000 1.00 
2010 2.04 ± 1.07 2.00 ± 0.89 0.033 0.97 
bamboo leaves, and aerial roots from the exterior 
to interior (Fig. 3). Mean concealments above, 
around, and below nests were 94.4 ± 1 .2% (n ~ 
34. range = 70 * 400 %), 92.3 ± 1 . 1 % (n = 34. 
range = 75-100%), and 62.6 ± 2.5% (n = 34. 
range = 30-90%), respectively. 
Egg Laying and Incubation. —There was a short 
lull of 1-3 days before the first egg was laid after 
nest-construction was completed. Females laid 
one egg per day in the morning. Eggs were oval- 
shaped and eggshell color was glaucous or bright 
blue, irregularly marked with dark red-brown 
lines and spots (Fig. 3). Egg measurements varied 
(Table 2) and mean ± SE clutch size was 2.9 ± 
0.2 eggs (/i = 10, range = 2-4 eggs). The egg- 
laying period was —2-3 days and incubation 
started after the last egg was laid. Both males and 
females were observed participating in incubation. 
The incubation period was —14 days and hatching 
success was 58.6% (n = 29). 
Nestling Development and Parental Care .— 
Nestling development was relatively last (Ta¬ 
ble 3) and both adults provisioned and brooded 
nestlings. The 28-hr observations for nest 03-2009 
at day 3 and day 5 after hatching revealed no 
significant difference in provisioning rates of 
nestlings between females and males (female: 
3.0 times/hr; male: 4.0 times/hr ) (x 2 = 0.143, 
P = 0.705). However, the number of times and 
duration of brooding nestlings by the female (n = 
38 times; duration = 406 min) were significantly 
higher than those by the male (n = 18 times; 
duration = 237 min) (times: x 2 = 7.143, P = 
0.008; duration: x 2 = 44.418, P < 0.001). The 
nestling period was —13-14 days. Fledging 
success was 70.8% (n = 24). and adults continued 
to provision young after fledging. 
Breeding Success and Influencing Factors.— 
Young in eight of 34 nests fledged successfully, 
20 nests failed, and the fate of the other six nests 
was uncertain; the reproductive success was 
28.6% (n = 28). The daily nest survival rate 
(DSR) for nests that contained at least one egg (n 
= 14) was 0.9565 ± 0.0161 (95% Cl: 0.9116- 
0.9792) and total nest success was 27.5%. Factors 
influencing nest success were predation (40%, n 
= 8), abandonment (35%, n - 7), and unknown 
(25%, n = 5). All nests abandoned were at the 
nest-building stage, and nest predation occurred in 
the egg-laying (12.5%, n — 1), incubation 
(37.5%, n = 3) and nestling (50.0%, n = 4) 
stages, respectively. 
DISCUSSION 
The Emei Shan Liocichla is highly localized 
within a small distribution (Li 1995, Dowell et al. 
1999, Collar and Robson 2007). It occurred at a 
low population density of 1.20-1.55 males/km 2 
TABLE 2. Nest and egg 
Reserve. Sichuan, China, in 
measurements of Emei Shan Liocichla in 
2009 and 2010. 
Laojunshan Nature Reserve and Wawushan Nature 
Measurement 
Mean * SE 
Range 
Nest size (cm) 
External diameter 
11.33 ± 0.12 
28 
10.0-12.6 
Internal diameter 
6.95 ± 0.07 
28 
6.3-7.8 
Depth 
5.96 ±0.12 
28 
5.0-7.1 
Height 
10.85 ± 0.14 
28 
9.8-12.5 
Egg size and mass 
Length (mm) 
24.92 ± 0.44 
11 
23.07-28.11 
Width (mm) 
17.44 ± 0.11 
11 
16.98-18.02 
Fresh mass (g) 
3.95 ± 0.06 
7 
3.75-4.21 
