Behaviour of buff-throated partridges (Tetraophasis szechenyii) during incubation, with emphasis on cooperative breeding

Abstract

The buff-throated partridge ( Tetraophasis szechenyii ) was only recently identified as a cooperative breeder. Although helpers have been observed in foraging and communal night-roosting post hatching, including provisioning, brooding, vigilance, and territorial defense, little is known about behavior relevant to cooperative efforts during incubation. Based on observations on a cooperative breeding group comprising one mating pair and one male helper, in this paper we describe shared guarding obligations that the breeding male and the male helper both assumed of the incubating female and the nest during incubation. For another cooperative breeding group that contained one mating pair and one female helper, which was a daughter from the previous year, we report a likely event of egg movement or a new nesting attempt by the philopatric daughter in response to nest predation and the loss of her mother. The findings provide insights into understanding the fitness benefit of cooperative breeding in buff-throated partridges.