Average values of richness and nestedness microbiome.

Average ± Standard Error (SE) of richness of microbiome of nest material (NM), uropygial secretion (US), cloaca (C) and eggshell (ES) of hoopoes. We also show average values (± SE) of degree of nestedness (NODF index) between pairs of microbiomes, excluding those with nest material (see Material and Methods). All these values were estimated for all studied nests (N = 24), and separately for nests with control (N = 12) and experimental (N = 12) materials. Results from statistical comparisons between control and experimental nests are also shown.