Breeding Biology and Brood Reduction of Herons and Ibis in a Northern Brazilian Mangrove Swamp: Eggs Do Not Starve

Few studies on pelecaniform breeding have been conducted in tropical regions. Most species in the Order Pelecaniformes (Family Ardeidae and Threskiornithidae) are facultative brood reduction strategists, laying extra-eggs that might not fledge. In obligate brood reduction in birds, extra-eggs are insurance-eggs, but in facultative brood reduction birds, extra-eggs have historically been interpreted as additional offspring in unpredictable...