Skip to main content
Dryad

Data from: Upcycling in the Hawaiian Islands: Native forest birds commonly engage in nest material kleptoparasitism

Rankin, Erin1; Knowlton, Jessie2; Flaspohler, David3; Rankin, David1

Published Dec 10, 2025 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.7pvmcvf53

Data files

Dec 10, 2025 version files 54.03 KB

Click names to download individual files

Abstract

Nest material theft (or nest material kleptoparasitism) occurs when birds steal nesting material from other nests. This behavior is likely much more common for songbirds than it has been reported in the literature. While the benefits to the thief of stealing nesting material are evident (may decrease time spent foraging for suitable nesting supplies), gaps in our knowledge exist as to when we should expect to observe the thieving behavior. Here are nest height data, species involved in nest material kleptoparasitism, and timing of the nest material theft. These behavioral observations occurred in 2012 as part of a larger bird survey at sites on the Island of Hawaii. In this study, we investigate the species involved (both thief and victim/donor), whether the donor nest was active/inactive, and the height of the nests involved for species of common Hawaiian forest birds. Our study suggests that nest material theft may be a small but often overlooked contributing factor to nest failure. Our data are consistent with the height overlap hypothesis, such that common native Hawaiian forest bird species took nesting material from nests located in the same canopy strata in which they would forage for arthropod prey.

We provide nest height, tree height, tree species ID, forest fragment size, species thieving material, and species whose nest material is being stolen.