Entangled in fibers: a preliminary study of a great tit’s (Parus major) fatal encounter with anthropogenic nesting material
Animals often incorporate anthropogenic materials into their nests, a behavior that is increasingly common as human activities expand and alter natural habitats. Although such behavior in birds is well documented, studies frequently overlook visual documentation of the nests and the chemical charact...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
|
| Series: | The European Zoological Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/24750263.2025.2509622 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850132962027241472 |
|---|---|
| author | A. Winiewicz W. Mierzejewska M. Nartowicz A. Syguła A. Hryszko L. Kabacińska M. Karpiesiuk J. Kościelniak A. T. Dubis K. Deoniziak |
| author_facet | A. Winiewicz W. Mierzejewska M. Nartowicz A. Syguła A. Hryszko L. Kabacińska M. Karpiesiuk J. Kościelniak A. T. Dubis K. Deoniziak |
| author_sort | A. Winiewicz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Animals often incorporate anthropogenic materials into their nests, a behavior that is increasingly common as human activities expand and alter natural habitats. Although such behavior in birds is well documented, studies frequently overlook visual documentation of the nests and the chemical characterization of the anthropogenic materials used in their construction. This paper presents an observation of a single incubating female great tit (Parus major), a common urban dweller, that became fatally entangled in anthropogenic materials used for nest construction. We provide visual documentation of the nest, the bird carcass, and the observed anthropogenic waste, along with chemical characterization to identify its synthetic origin. During nest box maintenance in autumn 2023, anthropogenic materials were observed in 2 out of the 20 occupied nests. One nest was built with a mixture of natural and anthropogenic materials. A dead female bird was found on top, entangled by the leg in plastic fibers, along with six eggs. The fibers, observed in the nest cup surrounding the eggs, were red, purple, turquoise, and white, accounting for 2.68% of the total nest weight. Using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, we identified the fibers as polyester, polyamide, polypropylene, and nylon-polypropylene, which are common polymers in the textile industry. Our observations show how entanglement in anthropogenic materials used for nest construction can be detrimental to birds. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-fad907f6ed6e46da835a9d08b23febd1 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2475-0263 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The European Zoological Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-fad907f6ed6e46da835a9d08b23febd12025-08-20T02:32:05ZengTaylor & Francis GroupThe European Zoological Journal2475-02632025-12-0192166066810.1080/24750263.2025.2509622Entangled in fibers: a preliminary study of a great tit’s (Parus major) fatal encounter with anthropogenic nesting materialA. Winiewicz0W. Mierzejewska1M. Nartowicz2A. Syguła3A. Hryszko4L. Kabacińska5M. Karpiesiuk6J. Kościelniak7A. T. Dubis8K. Deoniziak9The Włodzimierz Chętnicki Biological Science Club, Faculty of Biology, University of Bialystok, Białystok, PolandThe Włodzimierz Chętnicki Biological Science Club, Faculty of Biology, University of Bialystok, Białystok, PolandThe Włodzimierz Chętnicki Biological Science Club, Faculty of Biology, University of Bialystok, Białystok, PolandThe Włodzimierz Chętnicki Biological Science Club, Faculty of Biology, University of Bialystok, Białystok, PolandThe Włodzimierz Chętnicki Biological Science Club, Faculty of Biology, University of Bialystok, Białystok, PolandThe Włodzimierz Chętnicki Biological Science Club, Faculty of Biology, University of Bialystok, Białystok, PolandThe Włodzimierz Chętnicki Biological Science Club, Faculty of Biology, University of Bialystok, Białystok, PolandThe Włodzimierz Chętnicki Biological Science Club, Faculty of Biology, University of Bialystok, Białystok, PolandFaculty of Chemistry, University of Bialystok, Białystok, PolandDivision of Biodiversity and Behavioural Ecology, Faculty of Biology, University of Bialystok, Białystok, PolandAnimals often incorporate anthropogenic materials into their nests, a behavior that is increasingly common as human activities expand and alter natural habitats. Although such behavior in birds is well documented, studies frequently overlook visual documentation of the nests and the chemical characterization of the anthropogenic materials used in their construction. This paper presents an observation of a single incubating female great tit (Parus major), a common urban dweller, that became fatally entangled in anthropogenic materials used for nest construction. We provide visual documentation of the nest, the bird carcass, and the observed anthropogenic waste, along with chemical characterization to identify its synthetic origin. During nest box maintenance in autumn 2023, anthropogenic materials were observed in 2 out of the 20 occupied nests. One nest was built with a mixture of natural and anthropogenic materials. A dead female bird was found on top, entangled by the leg in plastic fibers, along with six eggs. The fibers, observed in the nest cup surrounding the eggs, were red, purple, turquoise, and white, accounting for 2.68% of the total nest weight. Using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, we identified the fibers as polyester, polyamide, polypropylene, and nylon-polypropylene, which are common polymers in the textile industry. Our observations show how entanglement in anthropogenic materials used for nest construction can be detrimental to birds.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/24750263.2025.2509622Macroplasticsentanglementnestplastic pollutionPasseriformes |
| spellingShingle | A. Winiewicz W. Mierzejewska M. Nartowicz A. Syguła A. Hryszko L. Kabacińska M. Karpiesiuk J. Kościelniak A. T. Dubis K. Deoniziak Entangled in fibers: a preliminary study of a great tit’s (Parus major) fatal encounter with anthropogenic nesting material The European Zoological Journal Macroplastics entanglement nest plastic pollution Passeriformes |
| title | Entangled in fibers: a preliminary study of a great tit’s (Parus major) fatal encounter with anthropogenic nesting material |
| title_full | Entangled in fibers: a preliminary study of a great tit’s (Parus major) fatal encounter with anthropogenic nesting material |
| title_fullStr | Entangled in fibers: a preliminary study of a great tit’s (Parus major) fatal encounter with anthropogenic nesting material |
| title_full_unstemmed | Entangled in fibers: a preliminary study of a great tit’s (Parus major) fatal encounter with anthropogenic nesting material |
| title_short | Entangled in fibers: a preliminary study of a great tit’s (Parus major) fatal encounter with anthropogenic nesting material |
| title_sort | entangled in fibers a preliminary study of a great tit s parus major fatal encounter with anthropogenic nesting material |
| topic | Macroplastics entanglement nest plastic pollution Passeriformes |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/24750263.2025.2509622 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT awiniewicz entangledinfibersapreliminarystudyofagreattitsparusmajorfatalencounterwithanthropogenicnestingmaterial AT wmierzejewska entangledinfibersapreliminarystudyofagreattitsparusmajorfatalencounterwithanthropogenicnestingmaterial AT mnartowicz entangledinfibersapreliminarystudyofagreattitsparusmajorfatalencounterwithanthropogenicnestingmaterial AT asyguła entangledinfibersapreliminarystudyofagreattitsparusmajorfatalencounterwithanthropogenicnestingmaterial AT ahryszko entangledinfibersapreliminarystudyofagreattitsparusmajorfatalencounterwithanthropogenicnestingmaterial AT lkabacinska entangledinfibersapreliminarystudyofagreattitsparusmajorfatalencounterwithanthropogenicnestingmaterial AT mkarpiesiuk entangledinfibersapreliminarystudyofagreattitsparusmajorfatalencounterwithanthropogenicnestingmaterial AT jkoscielniak entangledinfibersapreliminarystudyofagreattitsparusmajorfatalencounterwithanthropogenicnestingmaterial AT atdubis entangledinfibersapreliminarystudyofagreattitsparusmajorfatalencounterwithanthropogenicnestingmaterial AT kdeoniziak entangledinfibersapreliminarystudyofagreattitsparusmajorfatalencounterwithanthropogenicnestingmaterial |