Reproductive Strategies in Great Tits

Most female Great Tits lay one egg each day until the clutch is complete. However, some exceptions are found. “Pause day/s” most frequently occur after the 1st egg is laid. In general, egg-size increase with laying sequence, but there is year-to-year variation. The relationship between egg size and laying sequence is found more significantly in relatively larger clutches than in smaller ones. Great Tits tend to advance the hatching of their chicks by starting to incubate earlier in relation to clutch completion as the breeding season progresses. hatching asynchrony affects chick´s growth rate, but when the effect of laying date on hatching asynchrony is controlled, the effect of hatching asynchrony on growth rate is not found. These findings support the ´hurry-up´ hypothesis.