The Birds of the Western Palaearctic. Vol. IV. Terns to Woodpeckers

Southern, H. N.; Cramp, Stanley

doi:10.2307/4721

Cited by 2 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…thermoregulation and flight), while it is happening a temporary impairment in these functions occurs (Hedenström 2003, Jenni & Winkler 2020a). In this study, Little Swifts showed a prolonged, slow primary moult that takes place over 52.5 ± 6.6% of the entire annual cycle (range 36.9–71.1%), similar to that which occurs in other swift species (Ginn & Melville 1983, Cramp 1985, Quang et al . 2006).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

“…Some Common Swift Apus apus populations have shown an incomplete primary moult, and they probably skip the renewal of a few outer flight feathers once every 2 or 3 years (Ginn & Melville 1983). In this study, we found no evidence of moult suspension, although this pattern has been reported for Little Swifts during the early stages of moult (Cramp 1985). Defining moult as suspended in these species should be done carefully: due to the slow rate of primary moult, occasionally a short break occurs between the end of feather growth and the shedding of the next feather, a situation that may appear to be a suspended moult, especially when examining museum specimens rather than live birds.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 63%

“…In the studied population, some individuals were resident and others departed during the winter, probably migrating to unknown wintering sites. Adults of most swift species in the temperate zone perform a complete annual moult, which occurs after the breeding season or after the autumn migration (Ginn & Melville 1983, Cramp 1985, Pyle 1997, Boano et al . 2015).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similar to other aerial species whose foraging efficiency depends directly on their flight ability, such as swallows (Kiat et al . 2016), swifts also have a slow moult over an extended period (Ginn & Melville 1983, Cramp 1985).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The relationship of moult timing, duration and sequence to the aerial lifestyle of the Little Swift (Apus affinis)

Kiat

Bloch

2023

Ibis

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Feather moult is an important and energy‐demanding avian life‐history trait that is necessary to maintain the function of the plumage by replacing abraded feathers with new ones. However, during moult, aerodynamic capacity is temporarily impaired by the reduction and shape change of the flight surface. Therefore, among aerial birds, adaptations may evolve to reduce this impairment. Here, we studied the timing, duration and sequence of the annual complete moult of adult Little Swifts Apus affinis in northern Israel by examining the plumage of 55 individuals monthly in their colony. Primary moult occurs over 191.7 ± 24.0 days, representing 52.5 ± 6.6% of the annual cycle, and overlaps with the breeding season, a rare occurrence among small Palaearctic bird species. In addition, primary moult duration was significantly affected by its timing such that individuals that started to moult later had a shorter moult duration than those that started to moult earlier. This relationship is most likely to be a result of the time available for moult, which is limited by breeding and also by the cold season and the expected decline in food availability. Moult overlap with breeding or cold seasons may involve energetic and functional costs. Our results indicate two strategies that appear sequentially: (1) a slow and long moult that largely overlaps with breeding, and (2) a shorter moult that overlaps less with breeding (both strategies avoid moulting during the cold season). Most Little Swifts (85.7%) moulted their rectrices in a centripetal sequence starting with the outermost pair of rectrices inward. This moult was later in relation to wing feather renewal and had almost no overlap with primary moult. Finally, we tested a method for non‐invasively monitoring moult of small species by collecting and sampling shed feathers without the need to capture the birds themselves, as has been successfully used for larger bird species. This work demonstrates the importance of aerodynamic considerations in the evolution of life‐history traits. Moult‐related aerodynamic costs may be an important evolutionary factor shaping moult strategy, including timing, duration and sequence, mainly among species, like swifts, that are highly dependent on their aerodynamic ability.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 63%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The relationship of moult timing, duration and sequence to the aerial lifestyle of the Little Swift (Apus affinis)

Kiat

Bloch

2023

Ibis

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“…The manual covers all species of owls and falcons found in Europe, except for the Eurasian pygmy owl Glaucidium passerinum and the lanner falcon Falco biarmicus which were not available in the collections studied. G. passerinum is the smallest owl in Europe, even smaller than Otus scops (Cramp, 1985). F. biarmicus is the size of Falco peregrinus , occurs in southern Europe and Africa, and is a falconry bird (Cramp & Simmons, 1980).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Whose talon is this? A manual for the identification of ungual phalanges of European birds of prey: Falcons and owls

Wertz

Tomek

Bocheński

2022

Intl J of Osteoarchaeology

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This paper is the first of two scheduled publications for this project. It contains a dichotomous key to the identification of the ungual phalanges of European owls and falcons; the second part will contain accipitrids. The manual(s) will facilitate the work of zooarchaeologists and palaeontologists, especially since comparative specimens in osteological collections are often difficult to access and/or incomplete. This, in turn, will indirectly contribute to a more in‐depth interpretation of zooarcheological materials, because bird talons were used to produce symbolic objects and decorations in different archeological periods and in various geographical areas.

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The Birds of the Western Palaearctic. Vol. IV. Terns to Woodpeckers

Cited by 2 publications

References 0 publications

The relationship of moult timing, duration and sequence to the aerial lifestyle of the Little Swift (Apus affinis)

The relationship of moult timing, duration and sequence to the aerial lifestyle of the Little Swift (Apus affinis)

Whose talon is this? A manual for the identification of ungual phalanges of European birds of prey: Falcons and owls

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