6533b86efe1ef96bd12cc6a4

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Morphological and Biometric Features of Male BluethroatsLuscinia svecicain Central Iberia

Francisco-josé SantonjaFrancisco CamposTomás SantamaríaLuis Corrales

subject

Total Body LengthWingBiometricsPlumageEcologyLusciniaZoologyAnimal Science and ZoologyTotal bodyBiologySubspeciesbiology.organism_classificationEcology Evolution Behavior and Systematics

description

Summary. In order to test biometrics and plumage variability in bluethroats Luscinia svecica in central Iberia, 185 birds were captured in four areas (Sierra-Bejar, Sierra-Piedrahita, Sierra-Gredos and Sierra-Paramera). Older bluethroats were significantly larger than second calendar year birds in wing, tail, and total body lengths, but not in tarsus and bill lengths. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and a principal component analysis (PCA) were used. Total body length only varied significantly between sampling areas: the birds from Sierra-Bejar were larger than those from Sierra-Gredos and Sierra-Paramera, but were similar to those of Sierra-Piedrahita. Birds with a white spot, a chestnut spot or no spot were found. Therefore, the question arises whether there are three subspecies (L. s. cyanecula, L. s. svecica and L. s. azuricollis), or three forms of a single subspecies (L. s. azuricollis). The percentage of birds with and without a throat spot was similar in the four sampled areas, and th...

yearjournalcountryeditionlanguage
2011-12-01Ardeola
https://doi.org/10.13157/arla.58.2.2011.267