嫩江高峰林区白腰朱顶雀的环志回收

高峰鸟类保护环志站地处大、小兴安岭之间的嫩江河谷东岸,松嫩平原北麓。特殊的地理位置使这里成为候鸟经松嫩平原迁徙途中重要的停歇地和食物补给站。自1998年开展环志以来,截止2005年12月末,在该地区发现鸟类210种,隶属15目36科,环志鸟类163种163305只,其中,白腰朱顶雀(Carduelis flammea)环志26157只,是高峰鸟类保护环志站环志数量最多的种类。2003年2月10日挪威回收到由高峰鸟类保护环志站环志的一只白腰朱顶雀,成为中国开展鸟类环志20多年来,欧洲国家回收到的第一只中国环志鸟。之后,在俄罗斯、荷兰也相继回收到高峰环志的鸟类,使高峰鸟类保护环志工作再度引起鸟类学家的关注。     

北朱雀、燕雀和白腰朱顶雀的能量代谢特征和体温调节

本实验采用封闭式流体压力呼吸计 ,测定了环境温度在 5 - 34℃范围内北朱雀 (Carpodacusroseus)、燕雀 (Fringillamontifringilla)和白腰朱顶雀 (Acanthisflammea)的耗氧量、热传导、体温等指标 ,探讨了其代谢产热特征。结果表明 :在环境温度 (Ta)为 5 - 30℃的范围内 ,北朱雀的体温基本维持恒定 ,平均体温为4 0 4 6± 0 1 0℃ ,热中性区为 2 2 5 - 2 7 5℃ ,基础代谢率为 4 30± 0 0 8mlO2 /(g·h) ;环境温度在 5 - 2 0℃范围内 ,代谢率 (MR)与Ta 呈负相关 ,回归方程为MR [mlO2 /(g·h) ]=9 34- 0 2 1Ta (℃ ) ;在此范围内 ,北朱雀的热传导率最低且基本保持恒定 ,平均为 0 2 4± 0 0 0mlO2 /(g·h·℃ )。在环境温度为 5 - 34℃的范围内 ,燕雀的体温基本保持稳定 ,为 4 0 4 0± 0 1 1℃ ,热中性区为 2 5 - 30℃ ,基础代谢率为 4 1 9± 0 0 5mlO2 /(g·h) ;环境温度在 5 - 2 5℃范围内 ,MR与Ta 的回归方程为 :MR [mlO2 / (g·h) ]=1 1 6 4 - 0 2 9Ta (℃ ) ;在 5- 30℃内 ,燕雀的热传导最低 ,平均为 0 2 9± 0 0 1mlO2 / (g·h·℃ )。白腰朱顶雀的热中性区为 2 5 - 2 8℃ ,平均体温为 4 0 4 8± 0 1 1℃ (5 - 34℃ ) ,最低代谢率为 4 4 5± 0 1 4mlO2 / (g·h) ,最低热传导为 0 3     

青海海北高寒草甸黄嘴朱顶雀亲鸟递食率

中国科学院海北高寒草甸生态系统定位站的黄嘴朱顶雀（Acanthis flavirostris)雌雄亲鸟的育幼行为数据收集于1999－2001年的3个繁殖季节（5－8月）。观察使用了一个闭路电视系统,包括放在鸟巢附近5－10cm处的摄像头和35－40m外的监视器。数据分析表明：亲鸟的递食率无年间变化;雌、雄鸟递食率没有差异;总递食率不随雏鸟日龄和日间不同时段改变,但雌鸟在傍晚以前的递食率低于雄鸟并在傍晚高于雄鸟。在雏鸟6日龄前,雌鸟总递食率低于雄鸟,且二者逐步逼近,然后稳定在同一水平。此种性别差异与雌鸟在递食以外所承担的,为雏鸟保温、遮阳以及清除雏鸟粪便等事务有关。这些结果与单配制鸟类亲本投资理论一致。     

白腰雪雀分类地位的商榷

自腰雪雀Onychostruthus taczanowskii(Przewalski)的分类地位比较混乱.在早期的分类系统中,它被归属于雪雀属Montifringilla下.后期由于生态习性与行为特征的不同,被划分至地雀属Pyrgilauda下;又有将它划分为独立属--高原雀属Onychostruthus的观点.本文结合身体量衡度数值特征、外部形态特征以及遗传差异上的研究,综合探讨白腰雪雀的分类地位.对量衡度特征的因子分析发现:白腰雪雀与地雀属种类在体长、体重、翅长、尾长、嘴长与跗蹠长上明显不同,其体形明显偏大.形态特征的聚类分析显示:白腰雪雀与地雀属种类的平均特征差异为0.3902～0.5122,而这些种类间平均特征差异为0.1281～0.2195.比较属间差异发现:石雀Petronia petronia与地雀属种类为0.4878～0.5385,树麻雀Passer montanus与地雀属种类为0.4872～0.5610.麻雀属与石雀属为0.3415,这些结果显示自腰雪雀与地雀属种类的差异已经达到石雀属、麻雀属与地雀属属间的差异.通过比较白腰雪雀与石雀的遗传差异(0.2578),地雀属种类与石雀的遗传差异(0.2386～0.3193),发现白腰雪雀与地雀属种类具有较大的遗传差异(0.2267～0.3143),几近于地雀属与石雀属间的差异.综合量衡度、形态以及遗传等特征的分析结果,作者认为白腰雪雀与地雀属种类有较大的差异,两者间的差异已经达到了它们与近缘属石雀属和麻雀属间的差异,以及近缘属之间的差异,因此,建议白腰雪雀应作为一个独立的属,高原雀属Onychostruthus.     

青藏高原白腰雪雀鸣声结构的复杂性

本文以SAS Lab鸟类声谱分析软件对采自青藏高原黑马河、玛多与花石峡、沱沱河的白腰雪雀不同地方种群的鸣叫与鸣唱的复杂性进行了分析 ,发现白腰雪雀的鸣叫相对变化率随着采样量的增加由 0 5 2 2迅速降低到 0 1 2 7和 0 1 1 9,表明其鸣叫声组成中音节类型较少。同时发现其声谱图结构比较简单 ,表现出高度的音节重复并多有谐波的现象。鸣唱结构相对复杂 ,不同鸣唱音节数随鸣唱曲目的增加 ,开始有明显的增加 ,当鸣唱曲目增加到一定值时 ,不同音节数的增加趋于平缓 ,几乎保持稳定 ;野外未发现任何相同的鸣唱型 ,但在不同鸣唱型之间具有不同程度的音节共享现象。依据雷富民等 (2 0 0 3)对鸟类鸣唱多样性和复杂性的评述 ,白腰雪雀鸣唱的结构模式符合“多音节序列不稳定变化型” ,其鸣唱曲目中音节的转换形式为“序列鸣唱”。然而 ,鸣唱模式中音节类型的有限性和鸣唱型的高度多样化表明 :白腰雪雀鸣唱的复杂性不仅体现在鸣唱型内较丰富的音节组成 ,而且更重要的还在于不同鸣唱型间具有多变的音节序列组合形式     

白腰雪雀体重、脂肪累积的阶段性变化

2004年在青海省河南县和兴海县于繁殖早期、育雏期、换羽期等不同阶段用粘网捕获白腰雪雀,称量体重,半定量法测定脂肪的含量,游标卡尺测量泄殖腔的高度,以考察白腰雪雀体重、脂肪的季节性变化.结果 表明:白腰雪雀体重在繁殖早期从2月到3月增加,育雏期下降,换羽期再次增加.脂肪含量在繁殖早期从2月到3月增加,育雏期的6月、7月...     

甘肃省鸟类新纪录——白腰文鸟

2009年3月10日和4月21日下午,分别在甘肃省文县城关镇(104°41′06″E,32°57′07″N,海拔960 m)的阳光小区和政府小区路边绿化树上发现两对筑巢小鸟,以佳能40D相机、50-200U加1.4倍增距镜头拍摄了照片。该鸟体型似麻雀,体长约11cm,上体栗褐     

西藏拉萨城区黄嘴朱顶雀的巢及巢址选择

2015年3—6月,在拉萨城区采用样方法和直接观察法对黄嘴朱顶雀Carduelis flavirostris的巢址选择进行了调查研究。共收集了32个巢,其中93.75%的巢筑在乔木上,雪松Cedrus deodara占65.63%,侧柏Platycladus orientalis占12.50%,青海云杉Picea crassifolia占12.50%,垂柳Salix babylonica占3.13%,6.25%的巢筑在灌木紫叶李Prunus cerasifera上。黄嘴朱顶雀的巢多筑于巢树主干与侧枝的交界处,且在巢树上的位置以向南为主,占40.6%,其次是向东,占28.1%。通过主成分分析,发现影响黄嘴朱顶雀巢址选择的主要环境因子包括巢树树种、巢树高度、巢树胸径、木本植物的覆盖度、巢离水源与公路的距离、巢离巢树主干的距离以及巢向。     

广西鸟类一新纪录——白眶鹟莺

2006年12月,在广西西南部靖西县底定自然保护区考察时,采到一号雀形目鸟类标本,经鉴定为白眶鹟莺(Seicercus affinis),是广西鸟类新纪录。从2005年1月-2007年5月,在多次鸟类考察过程中都观察到野外活动的白眶鹟莺。在底定,白眶鹟莺通常多在常绿阔叶林的林下灌丛和山间农耕地周边的灌丛中活动,其栖息地海拔高度大致在500-700m。全世界记录有2亚种,我国现已知仅有白眶鹟莺的一个亚种分布。该标本经鉴定为Seicercus affinis intermedius。文中还就白眶鹟莺在中国的分布情况作了讨论。标本现保存于广西大学动物科学技术学院动物标本室。     

广西鸟类一新纪录——白眶鹟莺(英文）

2006年12月,在广西西南部靖西县底定自然保护区考察时,采到一号雀形目鸟类标本,经鉴定为白眶鹟莺(Seicercus affinis),是广西鸟类新纪录。从2005年1月－2007年5月,在多次鸟类考察过程中都观察到野外活动的白眶鹟莺。在底定,白眶鹟莺通常多在常绿阔叶林的林下灌丛和山间农耕地周边的灌丛中活动,其栖息地海拔高度大致在500－700 m。全世界记录有2亚种,我国现已知仅有白眶鹟莺的一个亚种分布。该标本经鉴定为Seicercus affinis intermedius。文中还就白眶鹟莺在中国的分布情况作了讨论。标本现保存于广西大学动物科学技术学院动物标本室。     

Mate guarding in the Linnet Carduelis cannabina

Capsule?House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) populations in south Swedish farmland are not affected by supplemental winter feeding, irrespective of agricultural landscape type or presence of animal husbandry, although winter populations declined more in mixed farmland and when farms contained animal husbandry.

Aims?To investigate whether food limitation of House Sparrow population size during the winter varied spatially in relation to agricultural landscape intensification and farm management.

Methods?We experimentally increased the winter food supply for populations on farmsteads in replicated landscapes that differed in agricultural intensification (open plains versus mixed farming) and/or farm management (crop farming versus animal husbandry), and estimated possible differences in effects on winter population change.

Results?We found no effect of supplementary winter feeding on changes in House Sparrow population sizes over the winter, irrespective of agricultural landscape type or presence of animal husbandry at the farm. However, we found a significantly larger winter population decline in mixed farmland and when farms contained animal husbandry.

Conclusions?The results suggest that House Sparrow populations in south Swedish farmland are not primarily limited by winter food availability. Alternatively, supplemental winter feeding may augment interspecific competition or attracts predators, offsetting any positive effect on population change. However, the stronger population decline in landscapes in which more breeding resources may be available (animal husbandry farms, mixed farmland), suggests stronger intraspecific competition during the winter in line with the resource separation hypothesis.     

Nest predation and semicolonial breeding in Linnets Carduelis cannabina

Capsule Nest predation in Linnets in Denmark was caused mainly by Hooded Crows Corvus corone cornix and Magpies Pica pica with no experimental evidence of antipredator aggression.

Aims To investigate the influence of nest clumping on the risk of nest predation in Linnets, a species that often breeds semi-colonially.

Methods The predation rates on clumped and randomly distributed nests were compared by the use of artificial nest experiments. Additionally, the behaviour of Linnets towards a potential nest predator was studied by presenting a mounted Magpie near the nest of breeding Linnets.

Results The artificial nest experiments showed that semi-colonial breeding was not likely to increase the risk of nest predation, and an experiment with the mounted Magpie showed that Linnets did not exhibit anti-predator aggression.

Conclusion Semi-colonial breeding, resulting in increased local nest density, did not appear to influence the risk of nest predation in Linnets. We suggest that semi-colonial breeding in Linnets is a means of pooling information on food sources.     

Speciational evolution of coloration in the genus Carduelis

Sexual selection has been hypothesized to promote speciation, but evidence relating sexual selection to differences in speciation rates among taxa is equivocal. We note that evolutionary changes in ornaments are the link connecting sexual selection to speciation, and that ornament evolution is influenced by many factors so that its relationship with the strength of sexual selection may not be linear. We test if the evolution of ornamental coloration in Carduelis finches is related with speciation and if more ornamented lineages speciate more. We found that coloration evolves with a speciational pattern, but we found no evidence that the evolutionary changes associated with speciation are predominantly gains in ornamentation. The speciational pattern was found for both carotenoid- and melanin-based coloration, suggesting that traits putatively under stronger sexual selection by female choice (carotenoid coloration) are not the sole ones facilitating reproductive isolation. We conclude that in the genus Carduelis the evolutionary lability of ornaments influences speciation more than the strength of sexual selection, and we suggest that ornament lability should be considered as a possible causal factor in studies comparing cladogenesis among taxa.     

Geography of fluctuating asymmetry in the greenfinch, Carduelis chloris

Levels of fluctuating asymmetry (FA) in 12 bilateral skeletal traits were estimated from 12 populations of greenfinches (Carduelis chloris) collected along a north‐south gradient across Europe. Average FA of measured traits was positively correlated with latitude indicating that the younger and genetically less diverse northern European populations are developmentally less stable than the older and genetically more diverse southern populations. Levels of FA differed significantly between different traits being lowest for functionally important traits (limb and wing bones) and highest for functionally less important traits such as foramina (apertures through bones)– a pattern that was highly concordant across different populations. Males tended to exhibit higher levels of FA than females, a finding consistent with the suggestions that males are more prone to developmental perturbations than females. Age differences in levels of FA were relatively clear, but inconsistent across traits with different degree of functionality. Individual heterozygosity – as enumerated from variation in allozyme loci – was unrelated to individual FA. No evidence for existence of individual asymmetry parameter (IAP) was found although traits related to locomotion indicated some degree of integration, which was expressed by correlations in the signed asymmetry. Nevertheless, an individual's overall asymmetry was poorly predicted by asymmetry of individual characters. Evidence for existence of population asymmetry parameter (PAP) was clear since all traits exhibited a similar degree of association with latitude. That the latitudinal cline of increasing FA towards north coincided with decreasing levels of genetic variability across the cline could be indicative of break down of developmental stability in the recently established and genetically impoverished populations. To what extent a reduced heterozygosity, the break up of co‐adapted gene complexes and/or environmental differences contributed to this process cannot be distinguished from our data.     

Rare extra-pair fertilizations in the semi-colonially breeding linnet Carduelis cannabina

Microsatellite analysis was used to analyse the level of extra-pair paternity (EPP) in the semi-colonially breeding linnet Carduelis cannabina in Denmark. During the breeding seasons of 1998 and 1999 EPP accounted for only 3.8% of young (4/106, 95% CL=1–13%). These extra-pair young were found in 9.1% of the broods (2/22, 95% CL=1–29%). We hypothesize that this low level of EPP is due to an efficient use of both mate guarding and frequent copulations as paternity guards. However, experimental tests with temporary detainment of males would be needed to establish whether there is a causal relationship between the low EPP level and the double paternity guard.     

Timing and fidelity of breeding for Siskins Carduelis spinus in Scottish conifer plantations

The timing of breeding for Siskins in plantations in south-west Scotland was determined by reference to the incubation patch in trapped females. Breeding began earlier in years with good cone crops. Over a six-year period, individual birds returned to breed in the same area for several successive seasons. The proportion of first-time breeders in spring was apparently lower following a good cone year.     

Seed preference and energy intake of Goldfinches Carduelis carduelis in the breeding season

The food of a population of Europeans Goldfinches breeding in Orchards was studied. More than 5% of the total foodstuff consumed was met by the seeds of seven food plants. Water, lipid, carbohydrate and protein content was determined from 20 different plants which Goldfinches used during the breeding season in order to calculate energy content. The energy of fresh seeds varied from 1.88 kJ/g in Tussilago farfara to 12.14 kJ/g in Dactylis glomerata. The dependence of the rate of energy intake (profitability) on the pecking rate and the size (weight) of the seeds was calculated. The profitability of various seeds is in agreement with the relative number of birds using them. Calculation of the feeding time that a Goldfinch needs during daylight hours, if it feeds only on a particular plant, indicates that there are several foods that cannot fill the energy demands of the bird during the breeding season. These are eaten only if others with a high energy content are not available. Thus food selection in Goldfinches depends, apart from availability, on seed profitability. The oxygen consumption of a male Goldfinch was significantly higher when the animal was feeding on seed heads of Tussilago farfara and Taraxacum officinale than when it fed on loose dry seeds, and so, different feeding techniques have to be taken into account in calculating net energy gain.