Sibling Aggression, Feeding Rates, and Hatch Rank of Nestling Red-shouldered Hawks (Buteo lineatus)

In many raptor species, hatching asynchrony results in a size hierarchy among nestlings, which may facilitate brood reduction by means of sibling aggression-induced mortality, especially in times of low food resources. However, few researchers have investigated the relationships among hatching asynchrony, sibling aggression, and nestling feeding rates in raptors. We studied the influence of hatch rank, brood size, and brood age on aggression and feeding rates among Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) nestlings in suburban southwestern Ohio. Despite relatively modest hatching asynchrony, nestling hatch rank (along with brood size and brood age) was an important predictor of the amount of aggression exhibited by individual nestlings. The oldest nestlings exhibited more aggressive behavior than younger nestlings, although they did not consume significantly more food. Aggression rates were higher in broods of three than broods of two nestlings, and aggression decreased from week 2 to week 3, post-hatching. However, hatch rank was not an important determinant of nestling food consumption, and food consumption rates were unrelated to sibling aggression rates. Identifiable prey delivered to nestling Red-shouldered Hawks was diverse and consisted of 28.3% birds, 25.7% mammals, 23.4% amphibians, 16.4% reptiles, and 6.2% invertebrates (by biomass). The relatively high percentage of birds in the diet may reflect food availability in the suburban habitat surrounding the nests. Sibling aggression did not result in direct siblicide in our study, but four nestlings apparently starved. Overall, the oldest Red-shouldered Hawk nestlings in our study established their dominance early but this was not associated with a detectable advantage in terms of food consumption.