Signals within animals' vocal communication are considered functional referential and context-specific. Even in the absence of the context, receivers are expected to acquire the information of calls and respond specifically. Whereas the framework was supported by plenty of evidence, its exhaustivity in describing all animal vocalisations has been questioned. Here, we investigated the vocal repertoire of a cooperatively breeding species, Azure-winged Magpie (
Personality widely exists in diverse animal taxa. Such inter-individual variance in behaviour is supposed to be influenced by social context. However, it remains unknown whether the experience of social life has any carryover effects on the subsequent expression of personality. Here, we examined exploratory behaviour in caged Java Sparrows (
Temperature and other environmental factors play an integral role in the metabolic adjustments of animals and drive a series of morphological, physiological, and behavioral adaptions essential to survival. However, it is not clear how the capacity of an organism for temperature acclimation translates into seasonal acclimatization to maintain survival. Basal metabolic rate (BMR), evaporative water loss (EWL), and energy budget were measured in the Chinese Hwamei (
The Hooded Crane (
The breeding traits of
Avian malaria and related haemosporidian parasites can negatively impact fitness in many songbirds. Research on the malaria infection and its physiological costs on their avian hosts is heavily skewed toward native passerines, with exotic species underrepresented. However, introduced species may carry on and spread new pathogens to native species, and play a role on parasite transmission cycle in invaded bird communities as pathogen reservoir. Here, we molecularly assess the prevalence and diversity of haemosporidian parasites in three introduced wetland passerines (the Red Avadavat
Binomial
Climate exerts a dominant control over the distribution of species. Generally, species migrate to higher elevations to track thermal niches, but variations in morphological traits can result in trait-specific responses to climate change. Here we attempted to explore how three sympatrically distributed raptor species (the Upland Buzzard
Adaptive mate choice has been accepted as the leading theory to explain the colorful plumage of birds. This theory hypothesizes that conspicuous colors act as signals to advertise the qualities of the owners. However, a dilemma arises in that conspicuous colors may not only attract mates, but also alert predators. The "private channels of communication" hypothesis proposes that some intraspecific signals may not be visible to heterospecific animals because of different visual systems. To better understand the evolution of plumage colors and sexual selection in birds, here we studied the chromatic difference and achromatic differences of melanin- and carotenoid-based plumage coloration in five minivet species (
Long-distance migratory birds often face major geographical barriers on their journey. While some species are able to cross them, others use longer routes to avoid such barriers. Little is known about the strategies of Siberian landbird migrants, which either cross or circumvent the deserts and mountain ranges of Central Asia en route to their non-breeding sites in Southeast Asia. Here we compare data on migration phenology and morphology from two bird ringing stations in eastern Russia, situated at similar latitudes but with a longitudinal difference of 1500 km, to hypothesise migration patterns. We found significant differences in timing between the two sites (birds migrated significantly earlier in spring and significantly later in autumn in the east), suggesting longitudinal migration as a result of migration detour. However, morphological differences show a less clear pattern. We argue that most Siberian landbirds might opt for a detour through the Russian Far East instead of a direct route in order to avoid unfavourable stop-over habitat in Central Asia. However, tracking studies will be necessary to prove this.
Niche partitioning is a widespread ecological strategy within trophic guilds, ensuring the coexistence of sympatric species by reducing interspecific competition. Stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen and isotopic niche metrics (width and overlap) are used as a proxy to investigate niche partitioning among species of a guild. In our study, we investigated if niche partitioning was an ecological mechanism contributing to the coexistence of granivorous birds from the same geographic region along time, employing an isotopic approach. We sampled and isotopically analyzed (
Urbanization is currently considered one of the most rapid types of global environmental change. Urban habitats are biotically and abiotically different from their rural areas, i.e., the ambient temperature, predator, and food availability. These novel challenges create new selection pressures, which allow one to investigate eco-evolutionary responses to contemporary environmental change. A total of 118 breeding nests were monitored for nest predation in both urban and rural areas from 2018 to 2020. We used environmental factors from urban and rural areas and behavioral data from 439 Chinese Blackbird (
Pallid Swifts (
According to one of the theses of optimal foraging theory, main prey species abundance in the hunting area is the main factor determining the diet and habitat choices of birds of prey. However other factors can also be important. The habitat structure influences the predators' diets as well. In this study we examined the influence of habitat structure on diet compositions of three species of birds: Long-eared Owl (
A determination of how the color of animal integument is produced is a starting point for investigations into the function and evolution of coloration. The mechanisms that give rise to the color of bare skin of New World vultures are largely unexplored. Here, we investigate the source of color production in the bare skin of Turkey Vultures (
Thermogenic features are often invoked to illustrate animal's colonization, distribution, and response to climate change. To understand why the White-browed Laughingthrush (
Until recently,
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Assigning hatchlings to eggs: Is relative mass assignment an accurate method?
J. Dylan Maddox doi:10.1186/s40657-017-0077-2
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Comparative phylogeography of two sister species of snowcock: impacts of species-specific altitude preference and life history
Bei An, Lixun Zhang, Yutao Wang, Sen Song doi:10.1186/s40657-019-0187-0
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Developing and validating a nestling photographic aging guide for cavity-nesting birds: an example with the European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster)
Joana S. Costa, Afonso D. Rocha, Ricardo A. Correia, José A. Alves doi:10.1186/s40657-020-0188-z
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Cyclical helping hands: seasonal tailwinds differentially affect migrating Oriental Storks (Ciconia boyciana) travel speed
Shujuan Fan, Qingshan Zhao, Hongbin Li, Baoguang Zhu, Shubin Dong, Yanbo Xie, Lei Cao, Anthony David Fox doi:10.1186/s40657-020-00196-8
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Effects of a regenerating matrix on the survival of birds in tropical forest fragments
Jared D. Wolfe, Philip C. Stouffer, Richard O. Bierregaard Jr., David A. Luther, Thomas E. Lovejoy doi:10.1186/s40657-020-00193-x
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Individual and demographic responses of a marsh bird assemblage to habitat loss and subsequent restoration
Rubén Moreno-Opo doi:10.1186/s40657-020-00190-0
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Comparing community birdwatching and professional bird monitoring with implications for avian diversity research: a case study of Suzhou, China
Yan Zhou, Anping Chen, Jenny Q. Ouyang, Yanlin Liu, Aiyu Zheng, Zaixi Yang, Yong Zhang, Bin Wang, Yifei Jia, Shengwu Jiao, Qing Zeng, Changhu Lu doi:10.1186/s40657-020-00205-w
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Nightlife in the city: drivers of the occurrence and vocal activity of a tropical owl
Oscar Humberto Marín-Gómez, Michelle García-Arroyo, Camilo E. Sánchez-Sarria, J. Roberto Sosa-López, Diego Santiago-Alarcon, Ian MacGregor-Fors doi:10.1186/s40657-020-00197-7