山东聊城雀形目鸟类及其生态分析

报道了山东省聊城境内雀形目鸟类的分布,共记录到14科59种,其中留鸟13种;其它繁殖鸟15种;冬候鸟9种;旅鸟22种,近10年来调查资料显示,该区鸟类的物种数及多数种类的数量在不同季节和不同年份呈不稳定分布;约60%的鸟类的数量趋于减少;少数种类基本稳定（三道眉草Wu等）或呈增长趋势（灰喜鹊等）,[蒙古]百灵,文须雀为山东省分布新纪录。     

橙头地鸫在山东省的新分布

<正>为支持《山东鸟类志》的编写工作,山东省观鸟爱好者李宗丰、成素博、孙桂玲提供了在山东省不同年份、不同地市拍到的橙头地鸫Zoothera citrina照片,经检索《山东省鸟类调查名录》(纪加义等,1988)、《中国鸟类野外手册》(约翰·马敬能等,2000)、《中国鸟类分类与分布名录(第二版)》(郑光美,2011)、《山东鸟类分布名录》(赛道建,2013)等文献资料,确认橙头地鸫在山东省未曾被报道,为山东省新分布种。     

云南大山包黑颈鹤自然保护区鸟类多样性及其与生境结构的关系

2015—2016年4个季节,采用样线法和样点法结合调查鸟类并基于遥感信息分析生境结构,研究了大山包自然保护区9个1 km~2样点鸟类多样性及其与生境的关系。结果表明:大山包共有鸟类16目41科127种,包含国家重点保护鸟类14种;雀形目、雁形目、鸻形目鸟类为主,共27科80种,数量最多的是斑头雁(Anser indicus)、小云雀(Alauda gulgula)、黑颈鹤(Grus nigricollis),共占总数量的50.09%;种类以留鸟(占49.61%)和鸣禽(51.97%)为主,数量以冬候鸟(58.13%)和水鸟(60.28%)为主;40.94%的种类和60.28%的数量均偏好水域湿地生境类型;Pearson相关系数表明,水域面积占比与冬季和春季鸟类数量显著相关(P0.05),森林-灌丛面积占比与夏季和秋季鸟类种类显著相关(P0.05);大山包是重要的鸟类栖息地和越冬地,其生境结构对鸟类种类和数量有巨大影响;营建水域、森林-灌丛、沼泽湿地等多种生境类型及其空间组合,是保护大山包鸟类多样性的重要途径。     

雷州半岛红树林湿地鸟类多样性

从2000年5月-2003年11月,调查了雷州半岛红树林湿地鸟类.共记录鸟类133种,水鸟和迁徙鸟分别占总记录鸟类数量的81.7%和70.4%.分别有9种、2种、16种和12种鸟被列为中国红皮书保护种、IUCN保护种、CITES保护种和中国国家Ⅱ级保护种;还有63种被列为中日候鸟协定保护种、32种被列为中澳候鸟协定保护种.不同调查地点,鸟类的种类和数量相差较大,高桥鸟类最丰富,记录到83种鸟;五里鸟类种类最少,仅记录到40种鸟,各地鸟类种的相似性很低.环颈鸻(Charadrius alexandrinus)、白腰杓鹬(Numenius arquata)和红嘴鸥(Larus ridibundus)在雷州半岛的种群数量达到国际重要湿地的标准.雷州半岛鸟类种的丰度和多度季节变化明显,冬季种类多、数量丰富,夏季种类少、数量贫乏.冬季和夏季总的鸟类数量(P=0.043)和水鸟数量(P=0.001)差异明显.保护整个沿海红树林湿地是保护雷州半岛红树林湿地鸟类多样性的关键.     

浙江德清野化放归朱鹮的繁殖行为

人类干扰影响着野生动物的栖息、生存、繁衍等各个环节。干扰强度不同,对野生动物的负面影响也不同。为了了解不同强度人类干扰对野生动物栖息的影响,2021年1月,在浙江百山祖国家级自然保护区,根据人为干扰综合强度预先设定点位,布设40台红外相机。40个点位被分为4种干扰区,干扰强度从低到高依次为基本无干扰区、干扰轻微区、干扰较轻区和干扰较重区,每区10个点位,监测365 d,共监测14 585相机日。研究表明：(1)拍摄到野生动物独立照片4 256张,其中兽类3 485张,鸟类771张。除啮齿类动物外,拍摄到31种动物,其中兽类14种、鸟类17种,另外有3张因照片不够清晰而未能识别鸟的种类。国家一级重点保护野生动物2种,国家二级重点保护野生动物9种。(2)基本无干扰区、干扰轻微区、干扰较轻区及干扰较重区所拍摄到的野生动物独立照片数量和种类分别为1 798张29种(兽类15种,鸟类14种)、1 308张23种(兽类15种,鸟类8种)、756张19种(兽类12种,鸟类7种)、394张18种(兽类13种,鸟类5种),各区之间的独立照片数量差异极显著(P < 0.01)。随着人类干扰强度的增加,拍摄到的独立照片数量逐渐减少,拍摄到的独立照片数量与人类干扰强度之间存在极显著的负线性关系(P < 0.01)。同时,随着人类干扰强度的增加,拍摄到的野生动物种类也逐渐减少,尤其是鸟类减少幅度更大。(3)国有林内23台相机拍摄到3 163张,计33种(兽类16种、鸟类17种);集体林内17台相机拍摄到1 093张,计22种(其中兽类13种、鸟类9种)。集体林内平均每台红外相机拍摄到的照片数量为国有林的46.75%,差异极显著(P < 0.01),这可能是由于早些年份的林木采伐使栖息地遭受不同程度的破坏,并导致生境片段化,进而影响野生动物栖息。因而,对于野生动物保护来说,栖息地保护是一项相当重要的工作。     

内蒙古草原繁殖鸟类群聚组成之比较

利用 5月份温带草原鸟类繁殖期 ,在荒漠草原、草原、湿地、沙地和山地等植被 ,选取 1 1个面积 1 0 0 hm2 ( 50 0 m×2 0 0 0 m)同样大小的样区 ,由 3人各隔 1 50 m作平行的穿越线调查 ,并记录所见鸟类的种类与数量。同时 ,也在每一样区任取面积 1 m2 之植被样方 ,记载样方内植物的种类、垂直高度、覆盖度和植物鲜重。调查结果显示草原繁殖鸟类的种类不多 ,在无树的荒漠草原植被是 4～ 6种 ,草原植被在 5～ 8种之间 ,湿地植被 1 5种 ;在有树的沙地植被是 9～ 1 2种 ,山地植被 6种。鸟种多样性和丰富度指数不大 ,由大而小依序是沙地植被、湿地植被、山地植被、草原植被、荒漠草原植被 ;密度也不高 ,由大而小依序是无树草原的湿地植被、草原植被、荒漠草原植被 ,而后是有树草原的沙地植被、山地植被。鸟类食性分布方面 ,荒漠草原和草原植被以食杂性鸟类为优势 ;湿地植被以食虫性鸟类为多 ;沙地植被以食杂与食肉性鸟类为胜 ;山地植被以食虫和食杂性鸟类较多 ,并增加一些食肉性鸟类。     

辽宁老铁山雀形目鸟类秋季迁徙初探

2000~2004年秋在辽宁旅顺老铁山自然保护区,通过鸟类环志和直接观察的方法,对该地区雀形目(Passeriformes)鸟类秋季迁徙规律进行了研究。5年共环志11 040只雀形目鸟类,发现8种保护区新记录种。结果表明,鸟类迁徙高峰大都集中在10月中下旬;气候条件与鸟类迁徙关系密切;不同年份优势种及种群数量均不同;鸟类的迁徙具有一定的顺序性和集群现象,但不同种类迁徙的种群大小又有差别;2004年雀形目鸟类的种类和数量都明显少于前4年,略有下降趋势。     

北京天坛公园鸟类群落的动态变化研究

近11年来在北京天坛公园进行鸟类调查,共记录鸟类166种,隶属14目47科。研究得出以下结论:(1)天坛公园鸟类群落多样性指数春、秋季高于夏、冬季;(2)公园鸟类群落相似度与植物种类关系密切,植物多样,鸟类丰富;(3)公园环境对鸟类的分布、群落组成及种群数量影响明显,受游人活动的影响,部分迁徙鸟分布范围缩小,种群数量减少;树木种类多样,受游人影响较小的区域则记录到了公园内近7成的鸟种。研究首次报道了11年来长耳鸮的种群变化情况。     

绿洲城市——奎屯市春夏季鸟类群落特征

2007年及2009年3～8月期间,对绿洲城市代表——奎屯市的8类生境(依据其城市功能划分)的鸟类进行了调查。共记录鸟类61种,隶属于9目23科30属。留居型中夏候鸟29种、冬候鸟7种、留鸟24种、旅鸟1种。区系组成:广布型27种、古北型17种、全北型5种、中亚型12种。8类生境的鸟类多样性指数(H’)由大到小依次是:公园>苗圃果园>市区间农田>学校校园>工厂区>交通用地>居民区>商业区。公园的鸟类多样性指数最高,达1.421 2;而商业区的鸟类多样性最低,仅有0.413 7;公园的鸟类均匀度指数最高0.859 7,商业区的鸟类均匀度指数最低,仅0.319 0。以上数据显示:鸟类在城市中的分布极不均匀;在绿洲城市中,区域内鸟类种类数量与其林木覆盖率呈正相关关系。     

南京禄口国际机场昆虫月际发生规律及其与鸟类关系

掌握机场鸟类发生与草坪昆虫种类及数量间的关系有助于从食物链角度控制机场鸟类数量,降低鸟击风险。2015年3—11月采用网捕法和陷阱法调查了南京禄口国际机场草坪地上和地表昆虫,通过机场鸟情日常巡视工作记录飞行区内的鸟类种类和数量,通过解剖捕获的机场鸟类标本的嗉囊和胃确定其食物种类。调查共采集和鉴定出昆虫纲13目99科123种,26221头,优势类群为半翅目、膜翅目、双翅目、革翅目和鞘翅目,优势科为网蝽、摇蚊、蚜科和长蝽。地上和地表昆虫群落的密度和物种丰富度的月际变化均为单峰模式,地上昆虫和地表昆虫的发生高峰分别在8月(10头·m~(-2)和59种)和9月(113头·杯~(-1)和36种)。日常巡视共记录鸟类9目21科41种,活动高峰期为7—10月。鸟类素囔和胃检结果表明,昆虫、豆科和禾本科种子是鸟类的主要食物来源。Pearson相关性分析表明,杂食性鸟类月际发生量与昆虫月际发生数量呈显著正相关(P0.05),并且也分别与直翅目、膜翅目、半翅目和鞘翅目昆虫的月际发生量呈显著正相关。广义线性回规模型结果表明,禄口机场3—11月的鸟类月际发生量可通过直翅目昆虫的月际发生数量进行预测。研究表明,禄口机场鸟类发生与草坪昆虫种类和数量密切相关,通过喷撒农药和定期割草等手段来降低禄口机场昆虫尤其是直翅目昆虫数量将有助于机场鸟击防范工作。     

Postbreeding elevational movements of western songbirds in Northern California and Southern Oregon

Migratory species employ a variety of strategies to meet energetic demands of postbreeding molt. As such, at least a few species of western Neotropical migrants are known to undergo short‐distance upslope movements to locations where adults molt body and flight feathers (altitudinal molt migration). Given inherent difficulties in measuring subtle movements of birds occurring in western mountains, we believe that altitudinal molt migration may be a common yet poorly documented phenomenon. To examine prevalence of altitudinal molt migration, we used 29 years of bird capture data in a series of linear mixed‐effect models for nine commonly captured species that breed in northern California and southern Oregon. Candidate models were formulated a priori to examine whether elevation and distance from the coast can be used to predict abundance of breeding and molting birds. Our results suggest that long‐distance migrants such as Orange‐crowned Warbler (Oreothlypis celata) moved higher in elevation and Audubon's Warbler (Setophaga coronata) moved farther inland to molt after breeding. Conversely, for resident and short‐distance migrants, we found evidence that birds either remained on the breeding grounds until they finished molting, such as Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) or made small downslope movements, such as American Robin (Turdus migratorius). We conclude that altitudinal molt migration may be a common, variable, and complex behavior among western songbird communities and is related to other aspects of a species’ natural history, such as migratory strategy.     

AFRICAN MIGRANTS IN NIGERIA

Owing to the regular alternation of wet and dry seasons and to the relatively simple arrangement of vegetation zones, migration is a well-developed phenomenon in the northern tropics of Africa. Nigeria is well placed for its study. While a vast amount remains to be learned, a systematic treatment of the 672 Nigerian bird species shows that at least 126 of them are migrant. Species newly shown to be migratory include the sunbird Nectarinia pulchella, the bunting Fringillaria (Emberiza) tahapisi, and the sparrow Gymnoris (Petronia) dentata, and corroborative evidence is adduced for many more. New interpretations are placed on the movements of the bustard Neotis denhami, the Painted Snipe Rostratula benghalensis, and other species. Most families that are migrant in the temperate zone (e.g. storks, cuckoos, nightjars, hirundines) have several migrants among their tropical representatives, except flycatchers, thrushes, warblers and shrikes. Important tropical migrant families include the kingfishers and sunbirds. The following ecological correlates emerge: migration appears to be more important at lower than higher trophic levels in the ecosystem; only one primary lowland rain forest and one montane forest species migrate; 95% of African migrants in Nigeria inhabit the five savanna zones, where the 120 migrants comprise 28% of the avifauna; most savanna migrants cross one, two or three vegetation zone boundaries; few are restricted within a single zone or cross four boundaries; twice as many savanna species are eurytopic (habitat-tolerant) as stenotopic (habitat-tied), and twice the proportion of eurytopic as stenotopic species are migrant; the majority of migrants move so as to avoid the winter drought in northern Nigeria (insectivores being little affected) and also the heaviest summer rains in southern savannas; migration is initiated by climatic factors such as rains, dry desert winds, etc. Three to six Nigerian species cross the Equator, but the stork Anastomus lamelligerus is shown to breed in Nigeria and the Chad basin and may not be a trans-equatorial migrant. A quail, a crake, a coucal and five cuckoos have space-time distribution patterns (motograms) in Nigeria that suggest equatorial migration. Motograms figured for 60 species show great variation. Nearly all land-bird migrants move with the progression of the sun and the inter-tropical front, north in spring and south in autumn. The basic pattern is thus a summer wet-season range at higher latitude than the winter dry-season range, and specific patterns vary according to the absolute and relative latitudinal limits af each season, and to speed and dates of migration. Comparison of congeneric migrants having different breeding seasons or motogram patterns suggests that a specific migration pattern is fixed by ecological necessity, and reproduction occurs at that time in the year when the species is stationary longest. Breeding seasons may span migration periods, leading to two-stage early-rains migration in e.g. the kingfisher Halcyon leucocephala. Water-bird migrations are complicated by opportunist breeding and responses to floods and changing water levels in rivers. A few species move with the typical land-bird pattern; others concentrate at perennial marshes in arid northern savannas, and may disperse in all directions from the few west African breeding stations.     

THE INTERSTITIAL AND SPERMATOGENETIC TISSUE OF AUTUMN MIGRANTS IN SOUTHERN ENGLAND.

1. Of 17 adult males of nine species of southbound migrants that were accidentally killed at about the point of departure from Southern Britain in autumn, all possessed an interetitium in the process of post-nuptial rehabilitation (involving cholesterol production) even though they were flying away from the traditional breeding ground. Varying amounts of cholesterol-positive material still lingered in the tubules.
2. Of 11 juvenile males of seven species similarly collected only six individuals possessed an interatitium in which had already developed cholesterol. One adult Redwing showed pronounced signs of autumnal sexuality in the production of a few primary spermatocytes.
3. Cholesterol is almost certainly the precursor of the steroid hormones; and its early conversion into androgens in "stationary" species is probably responsible for the widespread autumnal sexual behaviour that occasionally culminates in "out-of-season" reproduction. Its presence in adult migrants probably explains the recrudescence in sexual behaviour that occurs in certain species just before their departure from the breeding grounds. In migrants, however, unlike "stationary" species, this capacity to display is extinguished by the more powerful (in them) inherent urge to migrate.
4. Southbound, as well as northbound, migrants possess subcutaneous and subperitoneal fat-deposits. The physiological basis for the production of this material is discussed briefly, and a possible additional function for such fat is mentioned.     

Multiple Weather Factors Affect Apparent Survival of European Passerine Birds

Weather affects the demography of animals and thus climate change will cause local changes in demographic rates. In birds numerous studies have correlated demographic factors with weather but few of those examined variation in the impacts of weather in different seasons and, in the case of migrants, in different regions. Using capture-recapture models we correlated weather with apparent survival of seven passerine bird species with different migration strategies to assess the importance of selected facets of weather throughout the year on apparent survival. Contrary to our expectations weather experienced during the breeding season did not affect apparent survival of the target species. However, measures for winter severity were associated with apparent survival of a resident species, two short-distance/partial migrants and a long-distance migrant. Apparent survival of two short distance migrants as well as two long-distance migrants was further correlated with conditions experienced during the non-breeding season in Spain. Conditions in Africa had statistically significant but relatively minor effects on the apparent survival of the two long-distance migrants but also of a presumably short-distance migrant and a short-distance/partial migrant. In general several weather effects independently explained similar amounts of variation in apparent survival for the majority of species and single factors explained only relatively low amounts of temporal variation of apparent survival. Although the directions of the effects on apparent survival mostly met our expectations and there are clear predictions for effects of future climate we caution against simple extrapolations of present conditions to predict future population dynamics. Not only did weather explains limited amounts of variation in apparent survival, but future demographics will likely be affected by changing interspecific interactions, opposing effects of weather in different seasons, and the potential for phenotypic and microevolutionary adaptations.     

微山湖鸟类多样性特征及其影响因子

2010年10月至2011年9月期间,使用样线法对微山湖鸟类多样性进行研究.共发现鸟类132种,隶属13目39科,其中留鸟39种,夏候鸟33种,冬候鸟14种,旅鸟46种,分别占全部种类的29.6％、25.0％、10.6％和34.85％;国家二级保护鸟类有12种,省级重点保护鸟类16种,另外50种和16种鸟类分别列入中日、中澳候鸟保护协定.灰鹤、乌雕、沙鵖和白顶鵖4种鸟类在南四湖首次记录.根据微山湖的地理和植被状况,将研究区域划分为水域、次生林、农田和居民区4生境,不同生境中鸟类群落的Shannon-Wiener指数高低为沼泽水域＞次生林＞农田＞居民区,Pielou指数高低为沼泽水域＞农田＞次生林＞居民区.次生林和农田鸟类群落的相似性指数最高,沼泽水域与居民区的相似性最低.春季末期鸟类多样性指数和均匀性指数最高,秋季末期最低.冬季鸟类种类最多、密度最大,春初鸟类种类最少、密度最小.距居民区的距离、距公路的距离、植被盖度、人工池塘数目、水面积比例和深水面积比例等对鸟类多样性影响显著.     

Migratory New World Blackbirds (Icterids) Are More Neophobic than Closely Related Resident Icterids

Environments undergo short-term and long-term changes due to natural or human-induced events. Animals differ in their ability to cope with such changes which can be related to their ecology. Changes in the environment often elicit avoidance reactions (neophobia) which protect animals from dangerous situations but can also inhibit exploration and familiarization with novel situations and thus, learning about new resources. Studies investigating the relationship between a species’ ecology and its neophobia have so far been restricted to comparing only a few species and mainly in captivity. The current study investigated neophobia reactions to experimentally-induced changes in the natural environment of six closely-related blackbird species (Icteridae), including two species represented by two distinct populations. For analyses, neophobic reactions (difference in number of birds feeding and time spent feeding with and without novel objects) were related to several measures of ecological plasticity and the migratory strategy (resident or migratory) of the population. Phylogenetic relationships were incorporated into the analysis. The degree of neophobia was related to migratory strategy with migrants expressing much higher neophobia (fewer birds feeding and for a shorter time with objects present) than residents. Furthermore, neophobia showed a relationship to diet breadth with fewer individuals of diet generalists than specialists returning when objects were present supporting the dangerous niche hypothesis. Residents may have evolved lower neophobia as costs of missing out on opportunities may be higher for residents than migrants as the former are restricted to a smaller area. Lower neophobia allows them approaching changes in the environment (e.g. novel objects) quickly, thereby securing access to resources. Additionally, residents have a greater familiarity with similar situations in the area than migrants and the latter may, therefore, initially stay behind resident species.     

Temporal changes in abundance–occupancy relationships over 40 years

1. Abundance–occupancy (A–O) relationships are widely documented for many organismal groups and regions, and have been used to gain an understanding of regional population and community trends. Monitoring changes in abundance and occupancy over time may be what is required to document changes in conservation status and needs for some species, communities, or areas.
2. We hypothesize that if there is a higher proportion of declining species in one group of species compared with another (e.g., migratory species vs. permanent residents), then a consequence of that difference will be vastly different abundance–occupancy relationships. If this difference persists through time, then the resulting A–O relationships between the groups will continue to diverge.
3. For neotropical migrants, short‐distance migrants, and permanent resident birds of North America, we assess the numbers of declining species over 1969–2009. We further test for differences in the A–O relationship across these three groups, and in rates of change in abundance and occupancy separately.
4. We find significant differences in numbers of declining species across the migratory groups, a significant decline in the A–O relationship for permanent residents, a significant increase for Neotropical migrants, and a nonsignificant decline for short‐distance migrants over the 40 years. Further, abundances are not changing at different rates but occupancies are consistently greater over time for neotropical migrants versus permanent residents, likely driving the changes in A–O relationships observed.
5. In these analyses, we documented changing A–O trends for different groups of species, over a relatively long time period for ecological studies, one of only a few studies to examine A–O relationships over time. Further, we have shown that a temporally unvarying abundance–occupancy relationship is not universal, and we posit that variability in A–O relationships is due to human impacts on habitats, coupled with variation in species' abilities to respond to human impacts.

     

PALAEARCTIC MIGRANTS IN NIGERIA

An account is given of the topography, climate and vegetation belts of Nigeria to illuminate the ecology of the Palaearctic migrants to the country. The faunistic relationship of the resident and migrant avifauna is considered and it is shown that approximately one species in six is migrant. It is shown that the more arid vegetation belts support the largest numbers of migrant species, the forest belt supporting only very few species. Some species appear to overfly the most northern areas. Rather few observations of visual migration are available but those known are recorded. A summary of ringing recoveries affecting Nigeria is given and it is shown that there is clear evidence of species returning to the same wintering grounds each year. The status of 135 migrant species is briefly treated and other species are mentioned where negative information is valuable. Calandrella rufescens, Cyanosylvia svecica, and Emberiza hortulana, notmentioned by Bannerman (1930-53) are included and Cettia cetti is recorded from West Africa for the first time. Several species have had their range extended to include Nigeria. A comparison of breeding areas with the Mediterranean/Sahara crossing zones and Nigerian occurrences shows that most terrestrial species in Nigeria move fairly closely to the lines of longitude. Many aquatics, mostly herons and ducks, breed much to the east of the longitude of Nigeria. It is suggested that the unexpected number of Palaearctic migrants which winter in the arid north of Nigeria indicates that food is less scarce than the appearance of the country in the late dry season indicates. There is a great need for an ornithological and ecological research station in Nigeria in an area such as southwest Lake Chad.     

Perspectives on Palaearctic and Nearctic bird migration; comparisons and overview of life-history and ecology of migrant passerines

In this paper we compare ecological attributes of tropical migrant passerines from the Nearctic and western Palaearctic, focusing particularly on habitat association patterns during both breeding and wintering seasons. Three regions were compared: Europe, western and eastern North America. Breeding bird census data from 32 studies (each including at least four stages of forest succession) were used to assess the association patterns of breeding habitats among tropical migrants. For each species we calculated an index of habitat diversity and habitat preference.
Tropical migrants preferred earlier successional stages than other birds in Europe. The opposite was true in eastern North America. In eastern North America, tropical migrants tended to be associated with a smaller range of serai stages than other passerine species. In their winter quarters, Palaearctic migrants live primarily in open habitats, such as savannas, whereas eastern Nearctic migrants make more frequent use of evergreen forests. Migrants from western North America show the greatest match between breeding and wintering habitats.
We relate the results to the taxonomy and probable history of contemporary avifaunas and vegetation formations of the Old and New World. Taxonomically, tropical migrants from different parts of the Holarctic are less closely related to each other than residents and short-distance migrants. Tropical and temperate avifaunas are more closely related to each other in the New World than in the Old World. Conservation implications of the between-continent differences are briefly discussed.     

Reproductive isolation caused by visual predation on migrants between divergent environments

In theory, natural selection can drive adaptation within species while simultaneously promoting the formation of new species by causing the evolution of reproductive isolation. Cryptic coloration is widespread in nature and is generally considered to be a clear visual example of adaptation. I provide evidence that population divergence in cryptic coloration can also cause reproductive isolation. First, a manipulative field experiment using walking-stick insects demonstrates that the relative survival of different colour-pattern morphs depends on the host-plant species on which they are resting, but only in the presence of avian predation. Second, natural populations adapted to different host plants have diverged in colour-pattern-morph frequencies such that between-host migrants are more likely to be the locally less-cryptic morph than are residents. Collectively, these data indicate that high rates of visual predation on less-cryptic migrants are likely to reduce encounters, and thus interbreeding, between host-associated populations. Comparison with previous estimates of sexual isolation reveals that the contribution of selection against between-host migrants to total premating isolation is as strong as, or stronger than, that of sexual isolation. These findings highlight the potential role of natural selection against migrants between divergent environments in the formation of new species.