The growth bars on tail feathers in the male Styan's Grasshopper Warbler may indicate quality

Takaki, Yoshihide; Eguchi, Katsumi; Nagata, Hisashi

doi:10.1111/j.0908-8857.2001.320405.x

Cited by 22 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 30 publications

(17 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The role of body condition remains to be elucidated, since these measures were not obtained upon arrival, and we do not know if winter territories complicate the picture (Kelsey 1989, for this phenomenon in a long‐distance migrant, the marsh warbler Acrocephalus palustris ). In another study where events in one breeding season foreshadow those yet to come, Takaki et al (2001) correlated growth bars on tail feathers with arrival and subsequent success in migrant male Styan's grasshopper warblers ( Locustella pleskei ) studied on breeding sites in Japan. Males with wider growth bars (indicative of good feeding conditions during the post‐breeding moult the year before) arrived earlier and raised more fledglings, and enjoyed enhanced survival from one year to the next.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Males with wider growth bars (indicative of good feeding conditions during the post‐breeding moult the year before) arrived earlier and raised more fledglings, and enjoyed enhanced survival from one year to the next. Takaki et al (2001) surmise that these individuals were able to maintain good body condition throughout the year, but whether female choice is date‐ or quality‐driven is as yet unknown. Noteworthy is their finding that females laying either very early or very late suffered increased mortality.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Pay‐offs and penalties of competing migratory schedules

Drent¹,

Both²,

Green³

et al. 2003

Oikos

227

216

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We relate variation in the timing of arrival by migrating birds breeding at northerly latitudes to individual differences in the prior accumulation of energy stores. Balancing starvation risks early in the season against the almost universal declining trend in reproductive prospects with advancing date is seen as an individual decision with fitness consequences. We review three studies implicating events at the staging sites or in winter in setting the individual migratory schedule. Climate change influences the timetable of a pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) population breeding in The Netherlands and wintering in West Africa, followed since 1960. Mean air temperature in the period mid April‐mid May (arrival and laying) increased and laying date advanced by 10 days. Still, in recent years most birds did not lay early enough to maximise fitness (determined by recruitment and parental survival) whereas many parents achieved this goal in 1980–1985. As the flycatchers have not started to arrive earlier, some ecological constraint further upstream is postulated (possibly the hurdle of the crossing of Sahara and Mediterranean). The ability to follow individual migrants provides a second avenue to assess the fitness implications of migratory schedules. Thus, brightly coloured male bar‐tailed godwits (Limosa lapponica) captured in the Dutch Wadden Sea (the intermediate staging site linking a West African wintering area with breeding sites in arctic Russia) and traced with miniature radio‐transmitters did not depart early. The ‘best’ males (with bright breeding plumage) were picked up by the listening stations in Sweden 650 km further along the migratory route ten days later than the paler individuals. If early arrival confers the competitive advantage of prior occupancy but increases mortality, the ‘best’ males may be able to afford arriving later and thus avoid some of the survival costs. Return rate of the ‘bright’ males to the staging site in later seasons was indeed higher than for the ‘pale’, early males. Intensive observation of pink‐footed geese (Anser brachyrhynchus) fitted with coded neck‐collars substantiate the tight relationship between energy stores (fat) accumulated up to final departure from the final staging site (Vesterålen, N. Norway) en route to the nesting grounds (Spitsbergen) and subsequent success. The breeding outcome of individual parents (accompanied by juveniles or not) could be related to observations of body condition before departure (visual ‘abdominal profile index’). Recently, perceived conflicts with agriculture have resulted in widespread harassment by humans. The geese have: drastically shortened their stay on the Vesterålen, fail to achieve the body condition usual a decade ago and reproductive output has fallen. Although the geese are currently pioneering new staging sites, an adequate alternative has not materialised, underlining the critical role of the final take‐off site.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pay‐offs and penalties of competing migratory schedules

Drent¹,

Both²,

Green³

et al. 2003

Oikos

227

216

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In migratory birds, body condition on the wintering grounds could have long‐term consequences for spring arrival time, reproductive success and annual survival (Takaki et al. 2001, Saino et al.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Winter body condition in relation to age, sex and plumage ornamentation in a migratory songbird

Hargitai

Hegyi

Török

2012

Ibis

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Winter body condition may play important roles in the life history of migratory birds, but it is difficult to estimate. We used the growth rate of winter‐grown tail feathers of Collared Flycatchers Ficedula albicollis as an indicator of winter body condition, comparing this trait between age classes and sexes and relating it to plumage ornamentation (forehead and wing patch sizes). Adults and males were in better nutritional condition during winter, as indicated by their faster tail feather growth rates, than were yearlings and females, respectively, which could indicate differences in individual quality and foraging ability with age, or age‐ and sex‐related winter habitat segregation. However, feather growth rate was related neither to the size of the winter‐grown forehead patch nor to the size of the summer‐grown wing patch, suggesting weak condition‐dependence for the winter‐grown ornament and complex life‐history consequences for the summer‐grown ornament.

show abstract

“…Ptilochronology has therefore become a popular method for assessing the nutritional state of birds in the wild (Grubb 2006). However, the efficacy of the method might differ, for example, between sexes (Grubb 1989 , Takaki et al. 2001 , Bostrom & Ritchison 2006) or age categories (Grubb et al.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%