Egg Hatchability Increases With Colony Size in Cliff Swallows

The percentage of otherwise successful nests containing ≥ 1 unhatched egg in Cliff Swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) varied inversely with colony size in southwestern Nebraska. Colony-site characteristics other than colony size had no significant effect on egg hatchability. The incidence of unhatched eggs at a colony site did not vary significantly with year, mean date of first egg laying, mean incubation period, extent of ectoparasitism, or mean body mass of nestlings or adults. This suggests that increased hatching failure in smaller colonies was unrelated to ectoparasitism by fleas and cimicid bugs, foraging success, or egg inattendance. Furthermore, because reproductive interference and incidence of brood parasitism do not increase in smaller colonies, these variables seem unlikely to account for the relationship between egg hatchability and colony size. More frequent matings between genetically similar individuals and reduced opportunities for females to seek extrapair fertilizations with outbred males or as fertility insurance might explain reduced egg hatchability in small colonies. Increased hatching success in larger colonies may be a benefit of coloniality for Cliff Swallows.