Category: Passeriformes

TREE SWALLOWS (TACHYCINETA BICOLOR) NESTING ONWETLANDS IMPACTED BY OIL SANDS MINING ARE HIGHLYPARASITIZED BY THE BIRD BLOW FLY PROTOCALLIPHORA SPP.

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) Science Article 3 abstract Oil sands mining is steadily expanding in Alberta, Canada. Major companies areplanning reclamation strategies for mine tailings, in which wetlands will be used for thebioremediation of water and sediments contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons andnaphthenic acids during the extraction process. A series of experimental wetlands were built […]

Effects of mercury exposure on the reproductive success of treeswallows (Tachycineta bicolor)

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) Science Article 7 abstract An experimental tree swallow population wasestablished in the headwaters of the Shenandoah River,Virginia, USA to assess the accumulation and effects ofmercury contamination on birds that eat emergent aquaticinsects. One tributary, the South River, was contaminatedwith mercury before 1950. Reproductive success of swallowsnesting within 50 m of this […]

Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus and Woodlark Lullula arborea – recovering species in Britain?

Tree Pipit (Anthus trivialis) Science Article 2 abstract The Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus and Woodlark Lullula arborea are identified as species of conservation concern at both a UK and a European level on account of historical declines in their population sizes and ranges. The UK populations of both species have increased significantly in recent decades and […]

Fitness consequences of hybridization between house sparrows( Passer domesticus) and tree sparrows ( P. montanus)

Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) Science Article 2 abstract Gene transfer may occur following hybridization between closely related species if hybrids are viable and able to breed with individuals of one or both of the parental species. House (Passer domesticus) and tree sparrows (P. montanus) occasionally hybridize and produce viable o.spring. Previously, we concluded that male […]

Reproductive effort of colonialand solitary breeding tree sparrows Passer montanus L.

Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) Science Article 1 abstract A total of 250 nestboxes were arranged in five plots in a suburban area of Budapest, Hungary (19 deg 04’E, 47 deg 41’N). In each plot, 25 were placed at 50 m intervals to simulate solitary breeding and 25 3-5 m apart to simulate colonial breeding. Length […]

Population increase and aspects of colonization of the Tree Sparrow Passer montanus in the agricultural landscapes of southern Finland

Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) Science Article 5 abstract While many farmland bird species are declining in Western Europe, the Finnish Tree Sparrow Passer montanus population has increased significantly during recent decades. During 1984-2002, we studied the population changes, colonization characteristics and nest sites of theTree Sparrowin a large area of agricultural landscapewithin southern Finland. The […]

Tree Sparrow Passer montanus freezing in the presence of a Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus

Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) Science Article 3 abstract [..] A striking example of freezing behaviour in Tree Sparrows Passer montanus was observed at Tovetorp Zoological Research Station in south-eastern Sweden on 28 February 2002. I observed a Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus launching an attack, at 14.45 in the afternoon, towards a feeding station located underneath a […]

Habitat use by breeding Tree Sparrows Passer montanus

Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) Science Article 6 abstract Tree Sparrows Passer montanus showed a strong preference for nest-sites adjacent to wetland habitats, and avoidance of sites on intensively managed mixed farmland distant from Rutland Water. A variety of wetland edge habitats were frequently used by foraging adult birds when provisioning nestlings, and invertebrate prey of […]

Impaired hatching success and male-biased embryo mortality in Tree Sparrows

Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) Science Article 4 abstract During the past 30 years, many species of farmland birds have declined dramatically in numbers in Northern Europe, a trend coinciding with a tremendous intensification of agriculture, although the exact causes of these declines remain unclear. One of the worst affected species is the Tree Sparrow (Passer […]