Distraction displays in meadow pipit (Anthus pratensis) females in Centraland Northern Europe

Distraction displays to a human were studied in the Meadow Pipit (Anthus pr atensis) females in Central (Jeseniky Mountains-Czech Republic; 50 degreesN 17 degreesE) and Northern European mountains (Tydal area-Central Norway; 6 3 degreesN 12 degreesE) between 1995 and 1998. Three risk-dependent variabl es were scored and we found that flushing and settling distances of pipit f emales decreased with increasing intensity of display both in the Central a nd the Northern Europe locations. Parental risk taking did not markedly dif fer between studied populations, although, in particular, larger brood size and reduced opportunity to re-nest should contribute to a higher intensity of nest defence in the Northern than in the Central European mountains. Mo reover, the level of risk taken was not significantly dependent on the air temperature, age of brood and brood size in both study areas, when compared separately. These results do not support the findings of most previous stu dies on nest defence in birds. Possible causes of our contradictory results are discussed with respect to the reproductive value and the feedback hypo theses.