Mortality of an adult Veery incurred during the defense of nestlings

Cost-benefit analyses of the adaptive significance of nest defense in birds are based on the assumption that parent birds attacking nest predators ris k serious injury or death. However, there are few published records of adul t birds dying during nest defense. I found an adult male Veery (Catharus fu scesens) dead in circumstances indicating that the bird died while defendin g his nest. This observation supports speculation that adult birds risk inj ury or death in the course of nest defense, and lends support to explanatio ns of variability in nest-defense behavior that are presented in terms of c ost-benefit analysis and the optimization of fitness.