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THE WILSON JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY . Vol 123. No. 4. December 2011 
China* on UJuTimi “ ^ ^ ^ U “ ichla < Phffl0 W »y Yi-Qiang Fu in Laojunshan Nature Reserve, Sichrn 
during 2009-2010 in Laojunshan Nature Reserve. 
do not know if the density is typical for this 
species in other parts of its range. 
The clutch size of the Eniei Shan Liocichla in 
our study area was similar to that of Red-faced 
Liocichla and Scarlet-faced Liocichla (Collar and 
Robson 2007). However, the clutch size of 
Steere's Liocichla is lower (average 2.5 eggs) 
(Luo 1987). There are other differences between 
Emei Shan Liocichla and Steere’s Liocichla 
Elf, L l 3 T DeSC " Pti0nS of nes,ling deve l° P mcm Of 
Erne, Shan Liocichla ,n Laojunshan Nature Reserve 
Sichuan, China in 2009 and 2010. 
Age 
Description 
Hatching 
Nestlings largely naked with pink skin and 
eight clusters of light gray viviparous 
feathers. 
Day 5 
Eyes open and the bottoms of feather- 
Day 10 
Fledging 
-sheaths light yellow, 
Red-yellow wing spcculums visible, 
heathers comparatively plump except 
rectrices with two clusters of light gray 
viviparous feathers on the head. 
including a longer incubation period (16 days) 
and a shorter nestling period (12 days) in Steere's 
Liocichla. and an avoidance of non-native conifer 
habitat by Emei Shan Liocichlas that does nol 
seem to occur for Steere’s Liocichlas (Luo 1987 
Ding et al. 1997). These differences may te 
related to different adaptive strategies of the two 
Liocichlas in responding to different environmen¬ 
tal factors, such as climate, predators, and 
intraspecific and interspecific competition. 
Nest predation is a common cause of nest 
failure for birds and can be the main reason tor 
egg and chick loss (Ricklefs 1969, Martin 1993. 
Thompson 2007). Nest predation was the priman 
reason for nest failure of Emei Shan Liocichlas re- 
remains of dead chicks or broken egg-shells wen? 
found in five nests. Potential nest predators incur 
study areas include small mammals (e.g.. Calloy 
ciurus erythraeus and Mustela sibirica), birds 
(e.g., Urocissa erythrorhyneha and Garrulus 
glandarius ), and snakes (e.g., Trimeresurus stfj- 
negeri and Elaphe taeniura). Birds have devel¬ 
oped many nesting behaviors to reduce the risk of 
nest predation. For example, some hide their nest> 
or build them in inaccessible sites (Collias and 
