A new method for catching cavity-nesting birds during egg laying and incubation

The physiological condition of female birds during the egg-laying and incubation periods is of considerable interest and yet is relatively understudied in wild birds, primarily due to the difficulty of catching birds during this period without causing nest desertion. We therefore developed a box-net to capture cavity-nesting birds using sections of a mist-net placed around a metal cubic frame. We captured female Great Tits (Parus major) as they...