Table 2.

Breeding parameters of prolonged broods compared between successfully fledged and deserted broods. (Single- and four-chick broods pooled in both datasets; mean ±s.e. and p-values for Mann–Whitney tests are shown.)

breeding characteristic	fledged (n=21)	deserted (n=6)	p
hatching date centred within year	3.7±1.5	3.0±2.9	0.98
the age of the brood at the time of cross-fostering	3.2±0.2	2.6±0.5	0.11
the age of the recipient nest at the time of cross-fostering	7.9±0.2	7.8±0.4	0.54
the length of parental care for the nest	15.5±0.3	12.1±0.3	0.0004