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Magpies Dominated Predation on Artificial Pheasant Nests in Polish Urban Sites, Red Foxes in Farmland

Wild Eurasian magpie in Wrocław, Poland
Research · Ecology

In Polish urban sites, Eurasian magpies (Pica pica) accounted for 72% of destroyed artificial nests representing common pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) nesting sites, while red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) accounted for 66% of the destruction in agricultural areas. The sharp contrast came from a field experiment comparing predator pressure across the two landscapes. The study was published on 22 July 2026 in Journal of Animal Science, Biology and Bioeconomy.

The researchers analysed 60 artificial nests during field experiments in 2024 and 2025. The nests were placed in habitats used by breeding pheasants, including urban thickets and allotment gardens, and field margins, fallow land and small wooded patches in agricultural landscapes. The experiment was designed to compare which predators attacked standardized nest sites under different landscape conditions.

Urban artificial nests suffered much more egg damage

The artificial nests were also damaged much more heavily in the urban sites overall: mean egg damage was 71%, compared with 25% in agricultural sites. Nests closer to individual buildings were more likely to be damaged, which was the clearest spatial pattern in the analysis. The predator records also differed sharply between the two settings: magpies dominated among destroyed urban nests, whereas red foxes dominated in farmland. But when predator species was considered together with the other landscape variables, the analysis could not clearly separate predator identity itself as an independent explanation for how much egg damage occurred. The authors therefore interpret the result more broadly: landscape structure and the degree of human transformation help shape both where artificial nests are vulnerable and which predators are most often recorded at them.

Artificial nests are a test of predator pressure, not pheasant breeding success

The experiment did not follow natural pheasant clutches. Its percentages describe predator pressure on artificial nests placed in pheasant-like nesting habitat, not the proportion of wild pheasant nests lost to magpies or foxes. The experiment therefore shows both that artificial nests suffered more egg damage in the urban sites and that the predators recorded at destroyed nests differed between landscapes. It does not estimate the natural nest-loss rate of wild pheasants.

Sources and image credit

  1. Nawłatyna, Jaworski & Czyżowski (2026), Journal of Animal Science, Biology and Bioeconomy — Role of corvids and foxes in predation on artificial nests of the common pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) in urban and agricultural environmentsPrimary peer-reviewed open-access study, published 22 July 2026. Analysed 60 artificial common pheasant nests in urban and agricultural habitats in Poland. Eurasian magpies accounted for 72% of destroyed nests in urban areas, while red foxes accounted for 66% in agricultural landscapes.
  2. Journal of Animal Science, Biology and Bioeconomy — article pagePublisher page confirming publication on 22 July 2026, study design and predator proportions.

Image: hedera.baltica / Wikimedia Commons — wild Eurasian magpie photographed in Wrocław, Poland, 19 October 2019. Geographically representative Polish image of one of the study’s two main predator species; not a bird from the experiment. · CC BY-SA 2.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/ · Source

About this content: This story was produced with AI assistance within an editorial workflow developed by Wildlife Vagabond. Editorial responsibility remains with Wildlife Vagabond.How AI is used

Ecology

SPECIES IN THIS STORY

Species in this story

Eurasian Magpie Pica pica Explore species Common Pheasant Phasianus colchicus Explore species Red Fox Vulpes vulpes Explore species

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