Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) Science Article 10 abstract European starlings are well known for their rich and varied social life. Recent studies reveal a social organizationbased on same-sex preferences, spatial proximity and vocal sharing in captive groups. Much less is known about socialcognition and the possible role of social experience on the development of cognitive abilities. […]
Category: Eurasia
The potential of particular starlings (Sturnidae) as indicators of habitat change
Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) Science Article 11 abstract The starlings (Sturnidae) represent a highly successful and adaptable passerine family. Several sturnids, predominantly open country species, have been introduced into new geographic areas through human agency, and some have become pests in the new range. In this context, we investigated habitat use in a typical open habitat […]
Range expansion of the European Starling Sturnus vulgaris in Argentina
Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) Science Article 18 abstract The European or Common Starling Sturnusvulgaris is considered one of the worst invasivebird species, with successful widespreadintroductions around the world (Feare, 1984).Most releases were made in the nineteenth andearly twentieth centuries and the species hasnow become one of the commonest birds inNew Zealand, south-eastern Australia, SouthernAfrica, as well […]
Studies of song behavior in European starlings: interrelationshipsamong testosterone, neuroanatomy and immune function
Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) Science Article 7 abstract Female starlings pair preferentially with males that produce song organized into long bouts. Females exhibitimmediate early gene responses in the auditory forebrain that are biased towards longer bout songs. In male starlings, lengthof song bout correlates with variation in the volume of two key brain areas controlling song […]
Conspecific nest parasitism in the European Starling
Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) Science Article 13 abstract From 1983 to 1988 we monitored 260 European Starling Sturnus vulgaris nests in three nestbox colonies around Antwerp (Belgium), for evidence for conspecific nest parasitism. Altogether 15% of 174 first clutches and 2% of 86 intermediate clutches were parasitized. The yearly proportion of first clutches with parasitic eggs […]
Slow pace of life in tropical sedentary birds:a common-garden experiment on four stonechatpopulations from different latitudes
Siberian Stonechat (Saxicola maura) Science Article 2 abstract It has been hypothesized that organisms living at different latitudes or in different environments adjust their metabolic activity to the prevailing conditions. However, do differences in energy turnover simply represent a phenotypic adaptation to the local environment, or are they genetically based? Martin Wikelski, Proc. R. Soc. […]
Gonadal status upon spring arrival in long-distance and short-distancemigrating stonechats ( Saxicola torquata)
Siberian Stonechat (Saxicola maura) Science Article 1 abstract Long-distance migration is often associated with relatively short breeding seasons and a start of reproductive activities shortly after arrival. The full activation of the reproductive system from the regressed state takes, however, several weeks and must, therefore, be initiated in the winter quarters or during spring migration. […]
No evidence of genetic differentiation betweenlesser redpolls Carduelis flammea cabaret andcommon redpolls Carduelis f. flammea
Redpoll (Carduelis flammea) Science Article 1 abstract The remarkable variation in plumage and morphological characters in the redpoll complexCarduelis flammea-hornemanni has puzzled taxonomists for several decades. In contrast,molecular studies have not revealed any genetic differentiation among the phenotypic redpollforms. This could either be a result of high present-day gene flow or morphological differentiationfollowing a rapid […]
A pair of the Redpoll Carduelis flammea with two clutches in Finnmark, North Norway
Redpoll (Carduelis flammea) Science Article 2 abstract On 21 July 1999 I found, together with Per J. Tommeraas, a nest of the Redpoll Carduelis flammea with four eggs 4 m high up in a birch at Virdnejavvri in the Alta-Kautokeino water system in Finnmark, North Norway, north of the Arctic Polar Circle. The nest was […]
Ecological aspects of migration, and pre-migratory fat deposition in the lesser redpoll, Carduelis flammea cabaret
Redpoll (Carduelis flammea) Science Article 3 abstract This paper is a sequel to an earlier paper on the Lesser Redpoll (Evans 1966a), in which I discussed the timing of its annual (post-nuptial) molt in relation to the timing of breeding and autumn migration and described variations in the total weights of birds during late summer […]