Category Archive: Muscicapidae

May 21 2013

The Thousand-noted Nightingale and the King with three sons

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A king wanted to build a church. A Hermit told him he would need the Thousand-noted Nightingale to sing at his church or the church would never be completed. The King had three sons they said: “We will go and bring it for you”. Then the three sons mounted their steeds and set forth. After …

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Dec 31 2011

Slow pace of life in tropical sedentary birds:a common-garden experiment on four stonechatpopulations from different latitudes

Siberian Stonechat (Saxicola maura) Science Article 2 abstract It has been hypothesized that organisms living at different latitudes or in different environments adjust their metabolic activity to the prevailing conditions. However, do differences in energy turnover simply represent a phenotypic adaptation to the local environment, or are they genetically based? Martin Wikelski, Proc. R. Soc. …

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Dec 31 2011

Gonadal status upon spring arrival in long-distance and short-distancemigrating stonechats ( Saxicola torquata)

Siberian Stonechat (Saxicola maura) Science Article 1 abstract Long-distance migration is often associated with relatively short breeding seasons and a start of reproductive activities shortly after arrival. The full activation of the reproductive system from the regressed state takes, however, several weeks and must, therefore, be initiated in the winter quarters or during spring migration. …

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Dec 27 2011

Magnetic cues and time of season affect fueldeposition in migratory thrush nightingales(Luscinia luscinia)

Thrush Nightingale (Luscinia luscinia) Science Article 2 abstract Bird migration requires high energy expenditure, and long-distance migrants accumulate fat for use asfuel during stopovers throughout their journey. Recent studies have shown that long-distance migratorybirds, besides accumulating fat for use as fuel, also show adaptive phenotypic flexibility in several organsduring migration. The migratory routes of many …

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Dec 27 2011

Wingbeat frequency and the body drag anomaly: wind-tunnel observations on a thrush nightingale (Luscinia luscinia) and a teal (Anas crecca)

Thrush Nightingale (Luscinia luscinia) Science Article 1 abstract A teal (Anas crecca) and a thrush nightingale (Luscinia luscinia) were trained to fly in the Lund wind tunnel for periods of up to 3 and 16 h respectively. Both birds flew in steady flapping flight, with such regularity that their wingbeat frequencies could be determined by …

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Dec 27 2011

Daylength determines departure date of the Spotted Flycatcher Muscicapa striata from its winter quarters.

Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata) Science Article 1 abstract The annual arrival and departure dates of the Spotted Flycatcher Muscicapa striata at Bloemfontein in the Orange Free State, South Africa, were noted for a continuous period of 36 years (1950-1986). According to a stepwise regression analysis, daylength is by far the most important environmental factor influencing …

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Dec 27 2011

Breeding success of Spotted Flycatchers Muscicapa striata in southern England – is woodland a good habitat for this species?

Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata) Science Article 2 abstract The UK population of the Spotted Flycatcher Muscicapa striata has declined markedly in the last 30 years but there have been few recent studies of the species. This study examined the relationship between nest success and the predominant habitat type around Spotted Flycatcher nests in two contrasting …

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Dec 27 2011

Functional significance of nest size variation in the Rufous Bush Robin Cercotrichas galactotes.

Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin (Erythropygia galactotes) Science Article 1 abstract Avian nest building behaviour has generally been viewed as a result of natural selection, and several functional hypotheses have been suggested to explain variance in nest size. These include responses to predation and parasitism risk, and aspects of nest stability, clutch size, insulation and sexual display. …

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Dec 27 2011

The influence of male age and phenology on reproductive success of the red-breasted flycatcher (Ficedula parva)

Red-breasted Flycatcher (Ficedula parva) Science Article 1 abstract I studied arrival time, breeding phenology, and breeding success in relation to the age class (second year and older) of male red-breasted flycatchers for six breeding seasons (2000-2005) in the prim val Bialowieza Forest, eastern Poland. Older males, i.e. older than two years (ASY), arrived on average …

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Dec 27 2011

First evidence of phenological change in a transcontinental migrant overwintering in the Indian sub-continent: the Red-breasted Flycatcher Ficedula parva

Red-breasted Flycatcher (Ficedula parva) Science Article 3 abstract We analysed data on the Red-breasted Flycatcher Ficedula parva collected in old- growth, oak-hornbeam stands in the primeval Forest, Poland during 1973- 2002. In this period, the Red-breasted Flycatcher’s return to its breeding sites became sig nificantly earlier whilst population size did not change significantly. We show …

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