Common Swift (Apus apus) Science Article 2 abstract Radar observations on bird movements over The Netherlands in June andJuly revealed spectacular nocturnal Swift concentrations over the IJsselmeerand to a lesser extent above other waterbodies in and around TheNetherlands at some kilometres from coastlines. The Swifts performcharacteristic dusk and dawn ascends up to altitudes over 1800 […]
Distribution and behaviour of Common Scoter Melanitta nigra relative to prey resources and environmental parameters
Common Scoter (Melanitta nigra) Science Article 1 abstract Offshore wind farms are proposed around the coast of the UK and elsewhere in Europe. These sites tend to be located in shallow coastal waters that often coincide with areas used by over-wintering Common Scoter Melanitta nigra. A large-scale study was undertaken to ascertain the relationship of […]
Parental foraging strategies and feeding of nestlings in Common Redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus
Common Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) Science Article 1 abstract Spatial foraging activity and feeding of broods was studied in nine pairs of CommonRedstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) breeding in nest boxes in pine forest. The effect ofnestling age on feeding rate was not significant. The number of feedings per chick wassimilar in small andmediumsize broods but decreased in […]
The evolutionary history of Eurasian redstarts, Phoenicurus
Common Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) Science Article 2 abstract The bird genus Phoenicurus comprises 10 to 11 species that occur from Europe through Asia. To resolve theirphylogenetic relationships, their phylogeography and the tempo of their evolution, the mitochondrial cytochrome-b gene wassequenced for 16 taxa. The Bayesian maximum likelihood tree and neighbor-joining dendrogram computed from the resultingdata […]
NOTES ON THE STRUCTURE OF THE UPPER EYELID OF POTOOS ( NYCTIBZUS )
Common Potoo (Nyctibius griseus) Science Article 1 abstract The Potoos (Nyctibius) have been studied by various authors, among them Goeldy ( 1896), Haverschmidt (1948, 1958), Borrero (1970), and Skutch (1970). The information presented in this study is based on both day and night observations of two captive and five free-ranging N. griseus (Common Potoo), one […]
Rules of song development and their use in vocal interactions by birds with large repertoires
Common Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos) Science Article 2 abstract Songbirds are well known for settling their disputes by vocal signals, and their singing plays a dominant role.Most studies on this issue have concentrated on bird species that develop and use small vocal repertoires. In this article we will go farther and focus on examples of how […]
Partial moult involving all the greater coverts in first-year Nightingales, Luscinia megarhynchos megarhynchos, in Italy
Common Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos) Science Article 1 abstract The European populations of the Nightingale Luscinia megarhynchos megarhynchos perform a moult strategy which involves a complete post-breeding moult in adults and a partial post-juvenile moult in first-years; both moults take place on the breeding grounds prior to autumn migration (Cramp 1988, Svensson 1992, Jenni & Winkler […]
The study of bird migration across the WesternSahara; a contribution with sound luring
Common Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos) Science Article 3 abstract During spring and autumn migration 2003, the Swiss Ornithological Institute set up a concerted project in Mauritania to study bird migration across the Sahara. I participated with a side project using artificial induction of landfall with sound luring in an attempt to overcome the potential problem of […]
Causes and consequences of song amplitude adjustmentin a territorial bird: a case study in nightingales
Common Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos) Science Article 4 abstract Vocal amplitude, one of the crucial factors for the exchange of acoustic signals, has been neglected instudies of animal communication, but recent studies on song variation in Common Nightingales Lusciniamegarhynchos have revealed new insights into its importance in the singing behavior of territorial birds. Innightingales song amplitude […]
Seasonal variation in dawn song characteristicsin the common nightingale
Common Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos) Science Article 5 abstract Many male temperate zone passerines show a marked peak of singing activity before sunrise. The two mainfunctions of this so-called dawn chorus are mate attraction and territory defence. We examined how seasonalpatterns of different dawn song characteristics were related to mating status and to the breeding cycleof […]