POLYMORPHISM IN THE ARCTIC SKUA STERCORARIUS PARASITICUS IN ICELAND

A survey of the frequency of the dark and light colour forms of the Arctic Skuas breeding in Iceland provided evidence of a south-north cline, the light form being more frequent in the north than in the south. In one area there were significantly more dark birds in 1971 than 30 years earlier, but in two other areas there was no evidence of a change in frequency. In northeast Iceland, where the light form is common, there was a statistical tendency towards unlike matings. It is suggested that the adaptive significance of the forms is to be sought in terms of facilitating departures from random mating, the genetic consequences of which are understood in general terms, although the ecological significance remains obscure.     

PREDATION AND KLEPTOPARASITISM BY SKUAS IN A SHETLAND SEABIRD COLONY

Feeding methods and relations of Great Skuas and Arctic Skuas to prey were studied in a seabird colony at Hermaness, Shetland. Great Skuas obtained food by kleptoparasitism, predation and scavenging. They induced Gannets to regurgitate by interfering with their flight; grasping the Gannet by the wing or tail or pushing it down with the feet on its back. Gannets tried to escape by descending to the surface, and regurgitated during 12% of the chases, most frequently when pursued by several birds. Great Skuas caught Puffins by swooping at flocks in the colony. Puffins flying with fish to their young were also chased, releasing food on one fifth of the attacks, or escaping down to the sea and diving. Great Skuas also took Kittiwake nestlings by hovering and grasping the chick with the bill, killing and eating it on the surface. Adult Kittiwakes from nearby nests took to the air, mobbing the predator. More Kittiwakes were engaged in mobbing at unsuccessful than at successful predation attempts, indicating that colonial breeding may be of selective value under such predation. Two different estimates pointed to a Kittiwake nestling predation of 0–12 and 014 young per pair. Fledging success of Kittiwakes was estimated at 0–87-1-06 young per pair, considerably lower than at English colonies where predators are absent. In spite of the predation, the Kittiwake colony showed no signs of decrease. Agonistic behaviour and other evidence indicate that Great Skuas defend feeding territories at the seabird colony. Skuas, gulls and Fulmars competed for food at carcasses. Fulmars dominated and chased away skuas. Arctic Skuas deprived Puffins of food. They patrolled the cliff, intercepting Puffins arriving with fish, snatching it from their victim's bill, or inducing them to release fish. Puffins continuing their inward flight lost food more often (30%) than birds descending to the sea (15%)—sometimes diving below. This opportunity to escape may explain the lower success of skuas at Hermaness than at a Puffin colony farther inland from the shore (Grant 1971). Other factors being equal, proximity to the sea may thus reduce the risk of kleptoparasitism.     

THE KLEPTOPARASITIC BEHAVIOUR OF THE ARCTIC SKUA STERCORARIUS PARASITICUS WITH THREE SPECIES OF TERN

The behaviour of Arctic Skuas when stealing fish from three species of tern was studied at the estuary of the River Ythan, Aberdeenshire. The skuas' attacks were made by flying low over the water at high speed and by approaching the terns from behind and below. The adaptiveness of this flight path is discussed. The skuas attacked singly and in groups of up to five. Group attacks were more successful than single bird attacks, but the return per bird was greatest when the skuas attacked in pairs. The success of attacks also depended upon the species of tern being attacked. The duration of attacks varied with the number of skuas in the attack, the species of tern being attacked and the outcome of the attack. Attacks were directed more frequently against Sandwich Terns than against Common Terns, correlating with the success of the attacks against these two species.     

洞庭湖区东方田鼠洞群成员分析

通过对洞庭湖区不同栖息地东方田鼠洞群结构分析,结合洞庭湖区的特定生态条件,对东方田鼠在不同繁殖期的栖息习性及其适应意义进行了分析和讨论。洞庭湖区东方田鼠的最适栖息地是洲滩,但洞庭湖湖水季节性涨落,迫使东方田鼠在洲滩与垸内农田间迁移。当东方田鼠栖息在洲滩时（10－5月）,即繁殖盛期,雌雄分居,雌性单独抚养后代。当迁入垸内农田后（6－9月）,东方田鼠营混居生活。洲滩为其理想栖息地,单个雌鼠可以正常抚养后代,分居则有利于最大限度地提高其适合度。迁入垸内后混居可减少对空间资源的需求。从野外和室内观察情况分析,东方田鼠在繁殖盛期的婚配制度以一雄一雌的可能性很小。     

三宝鸟繁殖期领域性的初步研究

鸟类领域性是鸟类生态学研究中一个引人入胜而又争议颇多的课题(Nice,1941;Hinde,1956)由于对鸟类的领域性与生态因素、种群密度之间关系的深入讨论(Davies,1978;Brown,1969;Wesolowski,1981),使得这一课题已成为鸟类种群生态学研究的重要内容之一。了解各种鸟类的领域性表现和特点,无论在理论上和实践上都是有一定的意义的。 我国鸟类生态学研究工作主要集中在鸟类繁殖习性和区系分布等方面,个体行为生态学     

PREY TAKEN BY TAWNY OWLS DURING THE BREEDING SEASON

The diet of Tawny Owls during the breeding seasons 1949-52 in Wytham Woods, near Oxford, was determined (a) from analysis of pellets collected, (b) from observation at night, by the use of a red floodlight, of prey brought to the nest and (c) from records of prey left in the nest made during daily visits to weigh the young.
Analysis of pellets showed an increase in the proportion of moles and beetles (mainly cockchafen) in the diet after the first week of May (the time when, on average, the young owls are about half grown) and a decrease in the proportion of mice and voles.
These changes were confirmed in a more emphatic way from observations of food being brought to the nest and from records of prey left in the nest.
This greater emphasis suggests that tho food brought to the young may differ from that which the adults eat themselves.
The fact that no moles were observed being brought to nests at night, wherean many were recorded as surplus prey in the nest, showed that diurnal hunting is regular during the breeding reaaon.
A true assessment of prey taken by Tawny Owls during the breeding season should be based both on analyeis of pellets cast by the adults and on records of food brought to the nest throughout 24 hours. Such records could best be obtained with an automatic camera and flash and a design of nest-box which is described.     

PHOTORESPONSES OF THE WOODPIGEON COLUMBA PALUMBUS IN RELATION TO THE BREEDING SEASON

• 1 The gametogenetic response following photo-stimulation was tested in Woodpigeons under controlled laboratory and aviary conditions. Subjects were wild-caught adult or first-winter birds or were hand-reared from wild-taken nestlings. The natural seasonal gonad cycle is described and experiments were related to this cycle.
• 2 Gonad recrudescence could be initiated in adults with regressed organs by exposure to summer photoperiods, while the normal vernal recrudescence could be prevented if birds were artificially kept on short (winter) daylengths. Thus Woodpigeons could be stimulated towards reproductive condition at seasons when the gonads of wild-living birds remained inactive, viz. late September to mid-February.
• 3 Juvenile males were unresponsive to extra photo-stimulation until they were about six months old. This meant that some spermatogonial division could be procured in a few individuals in late February, but juveniles were not very noticeably affected by an extended photoperiod until mid-late March. This is the time when juveniles first begin gametogenetic development in the wild, though spermatogenesis normally accelerates in April after which time the rate of gonad development is constant. First-winter females were judged to resemble males in their photoperiodic responses but the sample examined was small.
• 4 The results confirm that the natural gonad cycle in the Woodpigeon is controlled (via gonadotrophic hormones) by seasonal changes in daylength. More important is the finding that the species appears to possess no post-nuptial refractory period. Thus, at the end of the breeding season in September birds kept on summer daylengths were maintained in full reproductive condition until December. The testes of controls placed on winter daylengths regressed within one month, but they were immediately responsive to a summer daylength which stimulated spermatogenesis within a month.
• 5 The discussion argues that the avian refractory period is not a necessary period for gonad rehabihtation and reorganization and that it has not evolved as a fixed period serving to time the breeding season; views which until now have been current. Instead, it functions only as a safety mechanism, preventing unseasonal reproduction in those species for which natural selection favours seasonal breeding. In such species the evolution of sensitivity to a particular daylength could result in breeding taking place at the wrong time, for example spring responding species might also respond in the autumn. Because natural selection permits Woodpigeons to remain in breeding condition from March until September, without disadvantage, a direct response to natural daylength can regulate the cycle, and there is no need for a period of pituitary refractoriness. It is not known if some pigeons have lost the refractory period or whether they never possessed one.

     

THE BEHAVIOUR AND BREEDING BIOLOGY OF THE ICELAND WREN.

The behaviour and early breeding biology of the Iceland Wren are described from observations made in the field during June 1949, data obtained by previous observers are discussed, and comparisons are made between the characteristics of the Iceland Wren and related subspecies.     

黄斑苇■繁殖期种群分布型的研究

黄斑苇鹊是夏候鸟,每年5—8月在上海奉贤县沿海新海塘繁殖。本文对其繁殖期种群分布型等进行研究,并用Poisson法测定。研究表明该种鸟巢的空间分布属于集群型。集群分布之巢占64.04％;每群6.08±1.76只,结构较为松散。其巢的空间生态位是芦苇层次中的中层。文中还讨论了生态位层次之间的关系以及生态位分离、种群密度和种群数量变动等问题。     

THE BREEDING SEASON OF BIRDS IN THE LOWLAND RAINFOREST AND IN THE MONTANE FOREST OF WEST CAMEROON

An analysis is made of over a thousand precise bird breeding records for a forest area in West Cameroon. In the lowland forest there is no universal breeding season although most families have a preferred nesting season. On the other hand. in the montane forest breeding is seasonal and takes place in the drier months. These conclusions are supported by field observations and by the examination of over 5000 birds for gonad state, plumage wear and moult.
The remarkable difference in seasonality between the lowland and montane avifaunas is discussed with reference to climate, particularly to the mist which envelops the montane forest in the rainy season.     

白头鹎繁殖期鸣声行为的研究

利用计算机鸣声分析技术对白头鹎繁殖期的求偶炫耀鸣唱、晨鸣、遇险告警惊叫等鸣声的特征进行分析，以探讨鸣声特征与行为的关系。白头鹎繁殖前期待有的求偶炫耀鸣唱婉转多变，频率一般变化在１．９－３．５ｋＨｚ之间，另一类出现在繁殖前、中期的炫耀鸣唱急促而响亮，音节变化快且频率高（变化范围约３．４－４．４ｋＨｚ）；最鸣和繁殖期特有的其它鸣声，音节清晰，响度较大，能量主要集中在２－３ｋＨｚ之间，可能具有宣告领域的     

ANNUAL CHANGES OF LEARNED BEHAVIOUR—VARIATION OF SONG PATTERN IN FREE-LIVING CHAFFINCHES,FRINGILLA COELEBS,DURING THE BREEDING SEASON

ABSTRACT

Seasonal changes of parameters of full song were studied in a free-living population of chaffinches Fringilla coelebs during one entire reproductive period. Approximately 7000 strophes sung by 14 male chaffinches were recorded and analysed by sonography and a particular oscillographic method. While the general pattern of song strophes, i.e. characteristics of elements, number and arrangement of phrases, and final flourish, remained constant throughout the reproductive period, full song varied with respect to the repetition rate of strophes, number of strophe types used, intensity of singing, duration of strophes, and percentage of incomplete strophes sung. These changes are discussed as results of learning processes, social interactions in the population, and endogenous mechanisms activating memorized information.