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Pattern of wing moult and its relationship to breeding in the Eurasian Stone-curlew Burhinus oedicnemus

Giunchi, Dimitri and Caccamo, Chiara and Pollonara, Enrica (2008) Pattern of wing moult and its relationship to breeding in the Eurasian Stone-curlew Burhinus oedicnemus. Ardea, 2008/9 (2). pp. 251-260. ISSN 0373-2266

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    Abstract

    SUMMARY: The timing, duration and pattern of the poorly documented wing moultin the Eurasian Stone-curlew Burhinus oedicnemus were described and related to the breeding cycle. Between 1998 and 2007, 141 birds were trapped in the Taro River Regional Park (Parma, Italy) both while incubating and during the post-breeding season. The timing of primary moult was estimated according to the method of Underhill & Zucchini (1988) and Underhill et al. (1990). Primary moult was very slow and overlapped most of the breeding season, beginning in early May and ending in October. Secondary moult was much more irregular and was not completed within a single moult cycle. Innermost and outermost secondaries were more likely to be shed than those at the centre of this tract. Juvenile secondaries were not shed during the first winter. The study provides the first detailed analysis of wing moult in the Eurasian Stone-curlew and suggests some useful ageing criteria based on the pattern of secondary moult. The extensive overlap between breeding and moulting is relatively uncommon compared to other waders. This could be interpreted as a way to maximize breeding success through renesting potential (up to 4 attempts), i.e. by spreading the cost of moult over a prolonged time period. A between-species comparison using independent contrasts was consistent with this hypothesis: species with a prolonged breeding season also showed considerable overlap in the timing of primary moult and breeding activities

    Item Type: Article
    Uncontrolled Keywords: Eurasian stone-curlew, Burhinus oedicnemus, wing moult, moult–breeding overlap, ageing criterias
    Subjects: Area05 - Scienze biologiche > BIO/05 - Zoologia
    Divisions: Dipartimenti (until 2012) > DIPARTIMENTO DI BIOLOGIA
    Depositing User: Dr Dimitri Giunchi
    Date Deposited: 23 Oct 2008
    Last Modified: 20 Dec 2010 11:54
    URI: http://eprints.adm.unipi.it/id/eprint/522

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