The moult of the Fan-tailed Warbler

Post-juvenile moult in Graceful PriniaPrinia gracilis

“…A few individuals of many species may moult S 6 before S 5 (Jenni & Winkler 1994). A very similar pattern was reported by Gauci & Sultana (1981) for the Zitting Cisticola, with a sequence of S 1 -S 2 -S 6 -S 3 -S 5 -S 4 . Descendant and ascendant is a common sequence for the secondary moult in non-passerines, especially in species with many secondaries, such as gulls and kingfishers (Baker 1993); the adaptive role of this sequence strategy for the Graceful Prinia is not clear.…”

“…In only a few species do the juveniles perform a complete postjuvenile moult as a regular strategy; in other species this is a rare strategy, commonest in southern populations (Gargallo & Clarabuch 1995) for example in the Sardinian Warbler Sylvia melanocephala (Shirihai et al 2001) and the Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis (Jenni & Winkler 1994). Birds that perform this moult strategy renew all plumage one to three months after fledging, in the summer or autumn, and in the breeding area or nearby (Gauci & Sultana 1979, Ginn & Melville 1983, Jenni & Winkler 1994. Furthermore, differences in hatching dates lead to differences in the time available for post-juvenile partial moult and thus can create intraspecific variability in moult patterns.…”

The effects of methods on estimates of primary moult duration in the RedshankTringa totanus

“…Both Icelandic and British Redshanks moult in Britain (Cramp and Simmons 1983) and perhaps at different times (Furness and Baillie 1981). There would be a similar effect if there was a sexrelated difference in the timing of the moult, as found for the Fan-tailed Warbler Cisticola juncidis (Gauci and Sultana 1981). Ginn (1975) and Pimm (1976) suggested that one should regress date against moult score (Method C) using, apparently inappropriately, date as the dependent variable.…”

A comparative study of post‐juvenile moult in four species ofSylviawarbler

“…For example, first-year House Sparrows Passer domesticus (Harper 1984), Fan-tailed Warblers Cisticola jundidis (Gauci & Sultana 1981), and Cuckoos Cuculus cuculus (Wyllie 1981), which renew some or all of their primary wing feathers during post-juvenile moult.…”