Studies modelling heat transfer of bird plumage design suggest that insulative properties can be attributed to the density and structure of the downy layer, whereas waterproofing is the result of the outer layer, comprised of contour feathers. In this study, we test how habitat and thermal condition affect feather mass and density of body feathers (contour, semiplume and downy feathers) measured on the ventral and dorsal sides of the body, using a phylogenetic comparative analysis of 152 bird species. Our results demonstrate that feather mass and the density of downy feathers are higher in species that inhabit colder environments, whereas total feather density is higher of species breeding under intermediate temperatures compared to the ones breeding under more extreme conditions. The density of contour feathers, depending on the body region, is either quadratically related or negatively correlated with minimum winter temperature. The density of contour and downy feathers, measured on both sides of the body, is higher in aquatic than in terrestrial birds. However, among the former, diving behaviour does not select for further increases in body feather mass or density. The results of this study provides key insights into how the plumage of birds is adapted to different environments and lifestyles and provides a basis for understanding the diverse range and the evolution of variation in these characteristics. A http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2435.13019/suppinfo is available for this article.

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The common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) is an obligate brood parasite that mimics the eggs of its hosts. The host-specific egg pattern is thought to be inherited matrilinearly, creating female-only host-specific races. Males are thought not to be adapted to their host and they maintain the species by mating arbitrarily with respect to host specialization of females. However, recent results suggest that male cuckoos may also show host-specific adaptations and these may require assortative mating with respect to host. The calls males produce on the breeding grounds could provide a potential mechanism for assortative mating. We tested whether male cuckoo calls differ more between nearby populations that parasitize different hosts than between distant populations that parasitize the same host. We recorded the calls of geographically distant pairs of populations in Hungary, with each pair consisting of a forest population and a nearby reed bed population. Each habitat is characterized by one main host species for the common cuckoo. Our results show that calls of distant cuckoo populations from the same habitat type are more similar to each other than they are to those of nearby populations from a different habitat. These results suggest that cuckoo calls differ sufficiently to allow recognition of habitat-specific individuals.

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István Fuisz 2013. A successful habitat reconstruction effort, the short history of the European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster) colony at Albertirsa (Hungary). -Ornis Hungarica 21(2): 47-51. AbstractIn the Golyófogó Valley near Albertirsa natural erosion created near vertical walls in the loess deposited in the last glacial period, offering natural nesting sites for the European Bee-eater. Later the deeply cut coach roads, the pits of loess extraction and the construction works of the motorway nearby created further man-made banks. Hence by the 1970-ies a well-established colony bred here, but by the beginning of the 21 st century, disturbance and the demise of vertical banks led to a serious reduction in the number of breeding pairs. The purchase of 5-hectare loess grassland plot and the adjacent loess bank, and later its reconstruction led to an unprecedented growth in the number of Bee-eaters. From 2010 the number of breeding pairs exceeded 200 every year. Not only the Bee-eater colony, but also the natural vegetation and the botanical values of the area are managed to maintain the population of rare and protected element of the local flora and fauna.Összefoglalás Az albertirsai Golyófogó-völgyben a jégkorszakban felhalmozódott löszbe vájt eróziós völgy falai régóta természetes fészkelési lehetőséget biztosítanak a gyurgyalagnak. A falu határában a vályogkészítéshez használt lösz kitermelése után maradt gödrök falai, a bevágódott mélyutak, majd később az autóút építkezés révén további ember alkotta fészkelőhelyek jöttek létre. Ennek köszönhetően az 1970-es évekre a partfalban költő kolónia létszáma megnőtt, de a 21. század elejére a zavarásnak, illetve a falak leomlásának köszönhetően a gyurgyalagok száma alaposan megcsappant. A Golyófogó-völgyben egy öthektáros löszgyep és a hozzátartozó partfal megvásárlása, majd 2009-es rekonstrukciója után a költő párok száma 2010-től 200 pár fölé emelkedett. A gyurgyalag kolónia mellett a terület botanikai értékeinek és természetes növénytársulásainak megőrzésére is törekednek a természetvédők, hogy ezzel biztosítsák a helyi állat-és növényvilág ritka és értékes elemeinek megőrzését.