Search results for "Passer"
showing 10 items of 122 documents
Condition-dependent effects of corticosterone on a carotenoid-based begging signal in house sparrows
2008
International audience; Begging is a complex display involving a variety of different visual and auditory signals. Parents are thought to use these signals to adjust their investment in food provisioning. The mechanisms that ensure the honesty of begging displays as indicators of need have been recently investigated. It has been shown that levels of corticosterone (Cort), the hormone released during the stress response, increase during food shortage and are associated with an increased begging rate. In a recent study in house sparrows, although exogenous Cort increased begging rate, parents did not accordingly adjust their provisioning rate. Here, we tested the hypothesis that Cort might af…
Habitat-related nest predation effect on the breeding success of the Eurasian treecreeper
2003
We studied the impact of habitat structure on the long-term breeding success of an old-growth forest passerine the Eurasian treecreeper (Certhia familiaris) assessed over a period of 7 years in the...
Pilot biodiversity assessment of the Hkakabo Razi passerine avifauna in northern Myanmar – implications for conservation from molecular genetics
2019
SummaryThe Hkakabo Razi region located in northern Myanmar is an Important Bird Area and part of the Eastern Himalayan Biodiversity Hotspot. Within the framework of the World Heritage Convention to enlist the site under criterion (ix) and (x), we conducted a biodiversity assessment for passerine birds using DNA barcoding and other molecular markers. Of the 441 bird species recorded, we chose 16 target species for a comparative phylogeographic study. Genetic analysis was performed for a larger number of species and helped identifying misidentified species. We found phylogeographic structure in all but one of the 16 study species. In 13 species, populations from northern Myanmar were genetica…
Mitochondrial heteroplasmy in an avian hybrid form (Passer italiae: Aves, Passeriformes)
2019
Mitochondrial heteroplasmy is the result from biparental transmission of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to the offspring. In such rare cases, maternal and paternal mtDNA is present in the same individual. Though recent studies suggested that mtDNA heteroplasmy might be more common than previously anticipated, that phenomenon is still poorly documented and was mostly detected in case studies on hybrid populations. The Italian sparrow, Passer italiae is a homoploid hybrid form that occurs all across the Italian Peninsula mostly under strict absence of either of its parent species, the house sparrow (P. domesticus) and the Spanish sparrow (P. hispaniolensis). In this study, we document a new case o…
North African hybrid sparrows (Passer domesticus, P. hispaniolensis) back from oblivion – ecological segregation and asymmetric mitochondrial introgr…
2016
A stabilized hybrid form of the house sparrow (Passer domesticus) and the Spanish sparrow (P. hispaniolensis) is known as Passer italiae from the Italian Peninsula and a few Mediterranean islands. The growing attention for the Italian hybrid sparrow and increasing knowledge on its biology and genetic constitution greatly contrast the complete lack of knowledge of the long-known phenotypical hybrid sparrow populations from North Africa. Our study provides new data on the breeding biology and variation of mitochondrial DNA in three Algerian populations of house sparrows, Spanish sparrows, and phenotypical hybrids. In two field seasons, the two species occupied different breeding habitats: Spa…
Improved sampling at the subspecies level solves a taxonomic dilemma – A case study of two enigmatic Chinese tit species (Aves, Passeriformes, Parida…
2017
Abstract A recent full species-level phylogeny of tits, titmice and chickadees (Paridae) has placed the Chinese endemic black-bibbed tit (Poecile hypermelaenus) as the sister to the Palearctic willow tit (P. montanus). Because this sister-group relationship is in striking disagreement with the traditional affiliation of P. hypermelaenus close to the marsh tit (P. palustris) we tested this phylogenetic hypothesis in a multi-locus analysis with an extended taxon sampling including sixteen subspecies of willow tits and marsh tits. As a taxonomic reference we included type specimens in our analysis. The molecular genetic study was complemented with an analysis of biometric data obtained from mu…
The phylogenetic relationships of Przevalski's FinchUrocynchramus pylzowi, the most ancient Tibetan endemic passerine known to date
2016
Competing systematic hypotheses have placed the Tibetan endemic Przevalski's Finch Urocynchramus pylzowi either with the Old World buntings (Emberizidae) or with the cardueline finches (Fringillidae, Carduelinae). Recent studies based on limited genetic evidence instead suggest an isolated position within Passeroidea and advocate a separate family, Urocynchramidae, as had been suggested much earlier on the grounds of morphology. We provide a time-calibrated multi-locus phylogeny for Passeroidea including Przevalski's Finch based on three mitochondrial markers and three nuclear introns that placed U. pylzowi in a clade together with Estrildidae, Viduidae and Ploceidae. A sister group relatio…
Patterns of morphological variation in two sexually dimorphic bird species with different tail shapes
2007
Many studies have focused on tail ornamentation in birds, but not all tail shapes have been studied in depth. Graduated and pin tails have received less attention than forked tails, despite being more likely, in terms of aerodynamic theory, to be honest signals. We report morphological variation in live specimens of two sexually dimorphic passerines from the same site with different tail shapes: graduated (Cape sugarbird Promerops cafer ) and pin (orangebreasted sunbird Antobaphes violacea ). Coefficients of variation (CVs) were calculated for all morphological traits, both non-ornamental (range 1.91–5.72) and ornamental (range 5.83–21.71). Males and females did not differ in CV for any non…
Interspecific variation in the relationship between clutch size, laying date and intensity of urbanization in four species of hole-nesting birds
2016
Marie Vaugoyeau [et al.]
Geographical variation in egg mass and egg content in a passerine bird
2011
Reproductive, phenotypic and life-history traits in many animal and plant taxa show geographic variation, indicating spatial variation in selection regimes. Maternal deposition to avian eggs, such as hormones, antibodies and antioxidants, critically affect development of the offspring, with long-lasting effects on the phenotype and fitness. Little is however known about large-scale geographical patterns of variation in maternal deposition to eggs. We studied geographical variation in egg components of a passerine bird, the pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca), by collecting samples from 16 populations and measuring egg and yolk mass, albumen lysozyme activity, yolk immunoglobulins, yolk and…