The vegetation structure surrounding nest sites is a crucial component of habitat quality and may have large effects on avian breeding performance. Habitat quality reflects the extent to which the environmental characteristics of an area correspond to the preferred habitat characteristics of the species. The concentration of haemoglobin is considered a simple biochemical indicator of nestling body condition. We present results concerning the effects of variation in habitat characteristics on the concentration of haemoglobin in the blood of 14-day-old nestlings and breeding success of European Pied Flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) in a mature mixed deciduous forest in central Poland. The haemoglobin concentration of nestlings was higher when there were more native oaks and deciduous, native trees on the territory. Breeding success was reduced by the number of alien oak (the Red Oak, Quercus rubra) and other alien deciduous trees, but increased by the number of native oaks in the territory. This study was conducted on only one site so further research is needed to examine the broader applicability of our results. Our data support the idea that haemoglobin concentration may serve as a simple indicator of body condition in nestlings and is useful in field ecophysiology studies of European Pied Flycatchers.

中文翻译：

---

栖息地组成对欧洲花斑鹟（Ficedula hypoleuca）雏鸟身体状况和繁殖成功的影响

巢址周围的植被结构是栖息地质量的重要组成部分，可能对鸟类繁殖性能产生重大影响。栖息地质量反映了一个地区的环境特征与该物种的首选栖息地特征相对应的程度。血红蛋白的浓度被认为是雏鸟身体状况的简单生化指标。我们展示了栖息地特征的变化对 14 天龄雏鸟血液中血红蛋白浓度的影响以及欧洲花斑鹟（Ficedula hypoleuca）在波兰中部成熟的混合落叶林中繁殖成功的结果。当领土上有更多原生橡树和落叶原生树木时，雏鸟的血红蛋白浓度更高。外来橡树（红橡树、红橡木）和其他外来落叶树的数量减少了繁殖成功率，但该地区的本地橡树数量增加了。这项研究仅在一个地点进行，因此需要进一步研究以检验我们结果的更广泛适用性。我们的数据支持血红蛋白浓度可以作为雏鸟身体状况的一个简单指标的观点，并且在欧洲花斑鹟的野外生态生理学研究中很有用。