Planet of Birds

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) Science Article 2 abstract The fact that avian eggs contain antibody of maternal origin is well documented, but only recently has this phenomenon been considered in an ecological context. We used tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) to examine the possibility of transgenerational immunity and its effect on nestling growth and immune development. […]

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) Science Article 17 abstract We reduced or increased tree swallow, Tachycineta bicolor (Vieillot, 1808), clutch sizes by three eggs (50% of modal clutch size) to test experimentally for relationships between stress and parasite loads. In the first year of the study (1996), we enumerated two measures of stress (granulocyte to non-granulocyte […]

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) Science Article 1 abstract Females, and not males, have delayed plumage maturation. The hypothesis that plumage differences are the result of differences in competitive abilities among individualsis tested by comparing brown and blue Tree Swallow females in terms of foraging abilities, as determined by the growth of nestlings under their care […]

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) Science Article 10 abstract Investment in one life-history stage can have delayed effects on subsequent life-history stages within a single reproductive bout. We experimentally heated tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) nests during incubation to test for effects on parental and nestling conditions. Females incubating in heated boxes maintained higher body condition and […]

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) Science Article 5 abstract Endocrine disruptors have well-known effects on vertebrate population sex ratios, buta variety of chemicals can also affect sex ratios of invertebrates. We tested whether sex ratios of

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) Science Article 9 abstract Swallows are parasitized rarely by Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater). I added cowbird eggs to 15 Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) nests. One egg disappeared and seven failed to hatch whereas 63 of 66 host eggs hatched. The seven cowbird hatchlings died in 3-12 (mean = 6.3) d, whereas […]

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) Science Article 6 abstract We studied the reproductive biology of a box-nesting population of Tree SwallowsTachycineta bicolor in southeastern Wisconsin, USA. We were interested particularlyin the relationship between laying order and hatching order and the extent to whicheach was a predictor of nestling body mass. We found that laying order was […]