Development of Temperature Control in Nestling House Wrens

Kendeigh, S. Charles; Baldwin, S. Prentiss

doi:10.1086/280204

Cited by 22 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Brooding to some extent continued in all the nests for over half the respective fledging periods, a proportion comparable with that recorded by Nice (1932) and by Hann (1937) for two warbler species, but appreciably less than that given for the House-Wren by Kendeigh and Baldwin (1928).…”

supporting

confidence: 80%

Numerical Data on African Birds' Behaviour at the Nest: Hirundo s. smithii Leach, the Wire‐tailed Swallow

Moreau

1939

Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London

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Summary. The data, from three nests at Amani, are derived from a total of 500 hours of observations made in spells of five hours and upwards. The effect of rain on the parent birds' activity is given in detail; rain much heavier than 1 mm. per hour reduced feeding heavily, except when termites were on the wing. Brooding of eggs and young was done only by the females; their mates helped to bring food, as a rule slightly less than half the total. Incubation period 14 days; fledging 18–21. The daily percentage of time the eggs were brooded varied from 43 to 66, with no tendency to rise at lower air‐temperatures or towards the end of the incubation periods. Frequency distribution curves are given of the duration of (a) individual spells on the eggs and (b) intervals when the eggs were left uncovered. About 70 per cent, of the spells “on” lasted 2–7 minutes and 70 per cent, of the intervals “off” 2–5 minutes. Few intervals uncovered exceeded 15 minutes and none 37. Corresponding data for the fledging period are tabulated. For the first three days the young in all the nests were brooded much as the eggs had been, but after that the amount of brooding varied greatly between the nests. After a slow rise, comparatively stable feeding rates were attained at each nest during the last week of fledging. Then the average number of feeds brought in 200 minutes varied between 75 and 97 for two young and between 49 and 65 for one. The latter, which received more meals, had the shorter fledging period. There was no well‐marked diurnal rhythm in the feeding activity except that it was usually least in the early morning. The frequency distribution of length of intervals between feeds, which naturally changed with the age of the young, is tabulated. Less than 1 per cent, of the intervals exceeded 30 minutes.

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confidence: 80%

Numerical Data on African Birds' Behaviour at the Nest: Hirundo s. smithii Leach, the Wire‐tailed Swallow

Moreau

1939

Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London

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“…The energy requirements of growing young are the sum of two components : maintenance and growth. For altricial species the first is approximately proportional to the weight of the nestling (Dawson & Evans 1957, Kendeigh & Baldwin 1928 and the second will be assumed to be proportional to the rate of growth. In fact, weight specific metabolic rates and the energy content of tissues change during development (Dawson & Evans 1957, Ricklefs 1967b) but this will not affect the basic argument.…”

Section: Energy Requirements Of Growing Birdsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of Growth in Birds

Ricklefs

1968

Ibis

679

251

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Summary Parameters used to characterize the course of growth are described, and calculated growth parameters are presented for 105 species of birds of many taxonomic groups from a wide range of geographical localities. Growth parameters are found to exhibit as much as 20% variation within a species with respect to geographic locality and time of the nesting season. There is also considerable local variation, irrespective of season and locality, which is related to nutrition and perhaps to an inherited variability. The application of curve‐fitting as a method of analysing intraspecific variation is discussed briefly, and the importance of comparative growth studies is emphasized. Growth patterns are correlated with other parameters of the life‐history to evaluate the extent of diversity in the course of growth. Low rates of growth and prolonged growth periods occur primarily in species large for their families and in oceanic species. In most others, high rates of growth are maintained for longer periods of time. The shape of the growth curve is not related to the mode of development (i.e. whether precocial or altricial). Overall relative, or weight‐specific growth rates, as measured by the constants of fitted growth equations, are most highly correlated with the adult body size of the species, changing as the ‐0–278 power of adult body weight. Smaller variations in the rate of growth appear to be correlated with differences in nesting success; open‐nesting passerines grow faster than hole‐nesting species of a similar size. Growth rate is further correlated with brood size. Oceanic species with single egg clutches and tropical land‐birds with small clutches have low growth rates. The asymptote of the growth curve of the young (in relation to the adult weight) is related to the foraging behaviour of the adults. Aerial feeders generally have high asymptotes while those of ground feeding species are usually below adult weight. These differences are related to the need in the former for well‐developed flight at the time of fledging. The diversity of growth patterns is related to evolutionary trends which are the result of (1) selective forces acting at stages of the life‐history cycle other than development, (2) factors which affect the survival of offspring during the growth period, and (3) adjustments made to balance the energy budget of the family group. The last trend is discussed in detail in relation to the correlations found in the analysis. Two hypotheses are presented. Firstly, in species which cannot gather enough food to support even one young at a normal growth rate, the pace of development is reduced to decrease the energetic requirements of the young. Secondly, in species with small clutches, where adjustments to feeding capacities are not readily made by changing brood size, growth rate may be adjusted to accomplish this. The lack of critical energetic data to test these hypotheses is emphasized as a major deficiency in our understanding of the breeding biology of birds.

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“…Our first work on this study of the physiology of the temperature of birds was done in 1926. Aside from a brief description of method (Baldwin and Kendeigh, 1927), and a short report describing the development of temperature control in nestling house wrens (Kendeigh and Baldwin, 1928), we have published nothing on bird temperature up to this time (1932). The present con-…”

Section: Standard Temperaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Physiology of the temperature of birds

Baldwin¹,

Kendeigh²

1932

Scientific Publications of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History

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Average temperature of female birds on the nest during incubation Fluctuation in body temperature from day to day . Daily rhythm in body temperature Experimental control and reversal of daily temperature rhythm Mechanism of Temperature Control BODY TEMPERATURE OF NESTLING BIRDS . Poikilothermic (Cold-blooded) Stage in the Development of Warm-blooded Animals Development of Temperature Control in Young Birds .

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Development of Temperature Control in Nestling House Wrens

Cited by 22 publications

References 4 publications

Numerical Data on African Birds' Behaviour at the Nest: Hirundo s. smithii Leach, the Wire‐tailed Swallow

Numerical Data on African Birds' Behaviour at the Nest: Hirundo s. smithii Leach, the Wire‐tailed Swallow

Patterns of Growth in Birds

Physiology of the temperature of birds

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