Nest material of the common dormouse [Muscardinus avellanarius L.] used in nestboxes, Podilla [West Ukraine]

The common dormouse Muscardinus avellanarius L. is a regular inhabitant of the nestboxes placed in the region of Podilla (48°20’N 26°30’E), West Ukraine. One hundred and forty seven nestboxes were controlled during 2004. The dormouse occupied 31% of the nestboxes available in oak-hornbeam forest. It is a significant competitor of birds, which frequently occupies the nests of the collared flycatcher Ficedula albicollis Temminck, great tit Parus major L. and blue tit Parus caeruleus L. At the end of the year 41 nests of M. avellanarius from the nestboxes were studied and the nest material was analysed quantitatively. We found four basic types of dormouse nests: foliar, mixed, layered and grassy. Mixed nests (54%) were the most frequent. Dormice preferred to build mixed nests on the flycatcher nests, and foliar nests on the tit nests. Leaves of trees constituted the greatest part of the nest material (62%). Leaves of hornbeam were the commonest fraction of the nest material, but those of linden, oak and maples were also present in smaller quantities. Simultaneously an experiment on the use of an artificial material for nest building by forest inhabitants was carried out in the nature reserve. Dormice also used an artificial material; namely a coloured thread and some tow were found in six nests on the study area. M. avellanarius showed high plasticity and used the most widespread and accessible nest materials available in the particular habitat.