Nest construction behaviour, including the repair and re-use of a depredated nest, in the Variegated Fairy-wren (Malurus lamberti)

This is a Preprint and has not been peer reviewed. This is version 1 of this Preprint. You must log in to post a comment. There are no comments or no comments have been made public for this article. This is a Preprint and has not been peer reviewed. This is version 1 of this Preprint. Add a Comment You must log in to post a comment. Comments There are no comments or no comments have been made public for this article. Documenting the diversity of nest construction behaviours is essential for understanding a species’ life-history. The Variegated Fairy-wren Malurus lamberti is a socially complex species whose nest building habits remain poorly described. Here, we report three nest construction behaviors that were observed during the 2024 breeding season at our study site in south-east Queensland, which have not been reported in Variegated Fairy-wren. In one instance, a female began constructing two nests simultaneously to then only finish one. Another involved the building of a nest before abandoning it to build another with no apparent signs of predation or reason for failure at the initial nest. Finally, a female was observed repairing then laying eggs in a nest that was previously damaged following depredation. These observations provide insight into the flexibility of nest building behaviors in this species. https://doi.org/10.32942/X2365H Life Sciences Behaviour, ecology, Ornithology Published: 2025-12-17 14:46 Last Updated: 2025-12-17 14:46 CC BY Attribution 4.0 International Conflict of interest statement: None Language: English