The Red-breasted Flycatcher （Ficedula parva） and Taiga Flycatcher （F albicila） have long been considered having a conspecific status under the species Red-throated Flycatcher （Fparva）. Based on the studies on th...The Red-breasted Flycatcher （Ficedula parva） and Taiga Flycatcher （F albicila） have long been considered having a conspecific status under the species Red-throated Flycatcher （Fparva）. Based on the studies on the morphology, vocalizations and molecular biology, the two subspecies have recently been split into separate species that are allopatrically distributed in the Palearctic region. Before our report, there was no formal record of taxon parva in China. Between April and May of 2007, two birds of parva were recorded respectively at Potoi Island, Hong Kong SAR and Xiangyundao Tree Farm, Laoting, Hebei Province, the first known recording of this species in China. We also briefly discussed the general characteristics and field identification of Red-breasted Flycatchers in this article.展开更多
Background: Nest construction is a key element of avian reproductive behaviour and the result is often a complex structure that is used for incubation of eggs, which represents an extended phenotype. It is known that ...Background: Nest construction is a key element of avian reproductive behaviour and the result is often a complex structure that is used for incubation of eggs, which represents an extended phenotype. It is known that nest construction is a plastic behaviour but the extent to which plasticity is observed in a single species with a wide geographical distribution is largely unknown. This study sought to better understand variation in nest size and composition across a very wide geographical area. The hypothesis suggested that location would affect size but not composition of nests of the European Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca). Methods: Nests and reproductive data were collected from seventeen study sites, spread over 6° of latitude and 3.3° of longitude on the island of Great Britain. Dimensions of nests were measured before they were deconstructed to determine the masses and types materials used in the outer nest and the cup lining. Results: Geographical variation was observed in base thickness of nests but not many other dimensions. Nests varied in composition but were mainly made of leaf, moss, bark, grass, root and fern. Moss was used more to the north and east of the study area compared with more leaf mass towards the south and west. The species of leaf and bark used in the nests varied between geographical locations. Additionally, the use of leaves or bark from a particular tree species did not reflect the incidence of the tree species in the immediate territory. Conclusions: This study showed that nest composition was affected by geographical location over a wide area. Variation between nests at each location was high and so it was concluded that differences in nest composition reflect individual selection of materials but evidence is such that it remains unclear whether this is deliberate to fulfil a specific role in the nest, or simply opportunistic with birds simply picking up materials with the appropriate characteristics as they find them outside their nestbox.展开更多
Numerous hypotheses predict associations between phenotype-associated breeder traits and reproductive success.In secondary cavity-nesting passerine birds,which have been investigated most,up to more than 90parental ch...Numerous hypotheses predict associations between phenotype-associated breeder traits and reproductive success.In secondary cavity-nesting passerine birds,which have been investigated most,up to more than 90parental characteristics have been linked to at least one field measure of breeding performance.However,within study populations,different parental traits,such as clutch size,first-egg date,egg size,nest architecture,plumage colour,adult morphometry,or song performance,are often weakly correlated across female and/or male breeders.Furthermore,many of these studies have been conducted outside the theoretical framework of the'Individual Optimisation Hypothesis' of clutch size(IOH).IOH predicts that:(i) females with larger clutches will have larger broods at hatching and fledging compared to those with smaller clutches;and(ii) clutch size,which is adaptively adjusted to the parents' ability to rear nestlings,should always maximize the percentage of eggs producing fledglings so that variation in clutch size becomes disconnected from variation in breeding success.In this paper,we present the first detailed review of implications of IOH for parental characters other than clutch size.Our review covered 188 non-experimental studies and 1074 statistical results that examined how parental traits influence breeding success in Western Palearctic Great Tits(Parus major),Blue Tits(Cyanistes spp.),and flycatchers(Ficedula spp.).Clutch size explained one third of the variation in brood size at hatching and fledging within study populations.However,most parental characteristics associated weakly with the number of hatchlings or fledglings,likely because they did not correlate with clutch size.Overall,parental traits were poorly correlated with the proportion of hatchlings and fledglings per egg.We discuss why intraspecific variation in phenotype-associated breeder traits is often disconnected from interindividual differences in breeding success,and highlight the importance of underexplored research problems in avian breeding biology.展开更多
The red-breasted flycatcher Ficedula parva is a small passerine bird that breeds in Eastern Europe and across central Asia and winters on the Indian subcontinent. Birds from the western extreme of the breeding range m...The red-breasted flycatcher Ficedula parva is a small passerine bird that breeds in Eastern Europe and across central Asia and winters on the Indian subcontinent. Birds from the western extreme of the breeding range migrating to and from the wintering grounds utilise a large longitudinal component en route that is not typical of the majority of European passerines. Therefore, it is one of the lesser-known species in Europe with respect to migration and biometrics. The aim of this study is to describe the numbers, phenology and biometry of the red-breasted flycatcher in relation to age, sex and migration season at a stopover site in northern Turkey. The number of individuals ringed in autumn was six times higher than in the spring passage. Furthermore, the period of the spring passage was shorter than in autumn, and in spring males migrate six days earlier than fe- males and juveniles; no such differences were found in antumn. Moreover, migrants carried more fuel reserves in spring than in autumn and no differences were recorded in the length of stopover duration. The study underlines the importance of further re- search into passerine migration across Turkey to better understand the whole migratory system of movements of the Palaearctic migratory passerine populations展开更多
Conserving species relies upon acquiring an understanding of their use of habitat,yet our understanding of the use of habitat by co-existing species of different guilds at microgeographic scales remains poor.In partic...Conserving species relies upon acquiring an understanding of their use of habitat,yet our understanding of the use of habitat by co-existing species of different guilds at microgeographic scales remains poor.In particular,the use of habitat by woodland species is of conservation concern because of widespread declines in woodland biodiversity.Woodland bird declines have been ascribed,in part,to high deer densities because their browsing reduces the availability of nesting sites and food.We quantify the microgeographic use of habitat by Roe Deer(Capreolus capreolus)and of Great Tits(Parus major),Blue Tits(Cyanistes caeruleus)and Pied Flycatchers(Ficedula hypoleuca)in a heterogenous woodland landscape.We examined the use of habitat at microgeographic scales by the deer and the three bird species in relation to whether the local habitat was flat or wet or had a path,fence or wall within a 25-m radius of 206 randomly selected locations.We first examined if the occupancy rates of nestboxes in those locations were correlated with the number of Roe Deer lays and second,examined if the use of habitat by the Roe Deer and the bird species were associated with each of the habitat features that we quantified.We begin by showing that the use of habitat by Roe Deer is incongruent with the use of habitat by Great Tits,Blue Tits and Pied Flycatchers during the breeding season.Also,whilst all three bird species showed no,or weak,habitat preferences,the Roe Deer preferred daytime lay sites that were in flat areas of wet woodland close to paths,whilst there were no significant effects of the presence of fences and walls.These findings show that the Roe Deer and the three bird species differ in the use of habitat within a heterogenous woodland landscape,meaning that their use of habitat did not overlap at microgeographic scales.Meanwhile,the deer showed preferences for flat areas of wet woodland,whilst none of the bird species exhibited such preferences,and we discuss the implications of our findings for the management of woodlands.展开更多
文摘The Red-breasted Flycatcher （Ficedula parva） and Taiga Flycatcher （F albicila） have long been considered having a conspecific status under the species Red-throated Flycatcher （Fparva）. Based on the studies on the morphology, vocalizations and molecular biology, the two subspecies have recently been split into separate species that are allopatrically distributed in the Palearctic region. Before our report, there was no formal record of taxon parva in China. Between April and May of 2007, two birds of parva were recorded respectively at Potoi Island, Hong Kong SAR and Xiangyundao Tree Farm, Laoting, Hebei Province, the first known recording of this species in China. We also briefly discussed the general characteristics and field identification of Red-breasted Flycatchers in this article.
文摘Background: Nest construction is a key element of avian reproductive behaviour and the result is often a complex structure that is used for incubation of eggs, which represents an extended phenotype. It is known that nest construction is a plastic behaviour but the extent to which plasticity is observed in a single species with a wide geographical distribution is largely unknown. This study sought to better understand variation in nest size and composition across a very wide geographical area. The hypothesis suggested that location would affect size but not composition of nests of the European Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca). Methods: Nests and reproductive data were collected from seventeen study sites, spread over 6° of latitude and 3.3° of longitude on the island of Great Britain. Dimensions of nests were measured before they were deconstructed to determine the masses and types materials used in the outer nest and the cup lining. Results: Geographical variation was observed in base thickness of nests but not many other dimensions. Nests varied in composition but were mainly made of leaf, moss, bark, grass, root and fern. Moss was used more to the north and east of the study area compared with more leaf mass towards the south and west. The species of leaf and bark used in the nests varied between geographical locations. Additionally, the use of leaves or bark from a particular tree species did not reflect the incidence of the tree species in the immediate territory. Conclusions: This study showed that nest composition was affected by geographical location over a wide area. Variation between nests at each location was high and so it was concluded that differences in nest composition reflect individual selection of materials but evidence is such that it remains unclear whether this is deliberate to fulfil a specific role in the nest, or simply opportunistic with birds simply picking up materials with the appropriate characteristics as they find them outside their nestbox.
文摘Numerous hypotheses predict associations between phenotype-associated breeder traits and reproductive success.In secondary cavity-nesting passerine birds,which have been investigated most,up to more than 90parental characteristics have been linked to at least one field measure of breeding performance.However,within study populations,different parental traits,such as clutch size,first-egg date,egg size,nest architecture,plumage colour,adult morphometry,or song performance,are often weakly correlated across female and/or male breeders.Furthermore,many of these studies have been conducted outside the theoretical framework of the'Individual Optimisation Hypothesis' of clutch size(IOH).IOH predicts that:(i) females with larger clutches will have larger broods at hatching and fledging compared to those with smaller clutches;and(ii) clutch size,which is adaptively adjusted to the parents' ability to rear nestlings,should always maximize the percentage of eggs producing fledglings so that variation in clutch size becomes disconnected from variation in breeding success.In this paper,we present the first detailed review of implications of IOH for parental characters other than clutch size.Our review covered 188 non-experimental studies and 1074 statistical results that examined how parental traits influence breeding success in Western Palearctic Great Tits(Parus major),Blue Tits(Cyanistes spp.),and flycatchers(Ficedula spp.).Clutch size explained one third of the variation in brood size at hatching and fledging within study populations.However,most parental characteristics associated weakly with the number of hatchlings or fledglings,likely because they did not correlate with clutch size.Overall,parental traits were poorly correlated with the proportion of hatchlings and fledglings per egg.We discuss why intraspecific variation in phenotype-associated breeder traits is often disconnected from interindividual differences in breeding success,and highlight the importance of underexplored research problems in avian breeding biology.
文摘The red-breasted flycatcher Ficedula parva is a small passerine bird that breeds in Eastern Europe and across central Asia and winters on the Indian subcontinent. Birds from the western extreme of the breeding range migrating to and from the wintering grounds utilise a large longitudinal component en route that is not typical of the majority of European passerines. Therefore, it is one of the lesser-known species in Europe with respect to migration and biometrics. The aim of this study is to describe the numbers, phenology and biometry of the red-breasted flycatcher in relation to age, sex and migration season at a stopover site in northern Turkey. The number of individuals ringed in autumn was six times higher than in the spring passage. Furthermore, the period of the spring passage was shorter than in autumn, and in spring males migrate six days earlier than fe- males and juveniles; no such differences were found in antumn. Moreover, migrants carried more fuel reserves in spring than in autumn and no differences were recorded in the length of stopover duration. The study underlines the importance of further re- search into passerine migration across Turkey to better understand the whole migratory system of movements of the Palaearctic migratory passerine populations
文摘Conserving species relies upon acquiring an understanding of their use of habitat,yet our understanding of the use of habitat by co-existing species of different guilds at microgeographic scales remains poor.In particular,the use of habitat by woodland species is of conservation concern because of widespread declines in woodland biodiversity.Woodland bird declines have been ascribed,in part,to high deer densities because their browsing reduces the availability of nesting sites and food.We quantify the microgeographic use of habitat by Roe Deer(Capreolus capreolus)and of Great Tits(Parus major),Blue Tits(Cyanistes caeruleus)and Pied Flycatchers(Ficedula hypoleuca)in a heterogenous woodland landscape.We examined the use of habitat at microgeographic scales by the deer and the three bird species in relation to whether the local habitat was flat or wet or had a path,fence or wall within a 25-m radius of 206 randomly selected locations.We first examined if the occupancy rates of nestboxes in those locations were correlated with the number of Roe Deer lays and second,examined if the use of habitat by the Roe Deer and the bird species were associated with each of the habitat features that we quantified.We begin by showing that the use of habitat by Roe Deer is incongruent with the use of habitat by Great Tits,Blue Tits and Pied Flycatchers during the breeding season.Also,whilst all three bird species showed no,or weak,habitat preferences,the Roe Deer preferred daytime lay sites that were in flat areas of wet woodland close to paths,whilst there were no significant effects of the presence of fences and walls.These findings show that the Roe Deer and the three bird species differ in the use of habitat within a heterogenous woodland landscape,meaning that their use of habitat did not overlap at microgeographic scales.Meanwhile,the deer showed preferences for flat areas of wet woodland,whilst none of the bird species exhibited such preferences,and we discuss the implications of our findings for the management of woodlands.
