THE BIRDS OF BLYTHSWOOD AND SOME NOTES ON BIRDS OF THE DISTRICT

Wintle, C. C. &; Taylor, P. B. 1993. Sequential polyandry, behaviour and moult in captive Striped Crakes Aenigmatolimnas marginalis. Ostrich 64:115-122.

Captive Striped Crakes showed sequential polyandry, the female laying for a second male when the clutch of her first mate was about to hatch. Where aviary space permitted each male set up a breeding territory and each female defended a larger area encompassing the territories of one or two males. Non-territorial subordinate males and females did not breed. The female initiated breeding by attracting the male and soliciting copulation, and the male incubated the eggs and cared for the young. Incubation took 17–18 days, the chicks left the nest at 4–5 days of age and were fully grown and capable of flight at 46–53 days. Breeding occurred from September to March and males normally reared two broods per season. Territoriality was evident only during the breeding season. Juvenile plumage was a duller version of the sexually dimorphic adult plumage; post-juvenile moult bean at 13–15 weeks and was complete at 21 weeks. Remex moult was simultaneous and a complete moult regular1 occurred twice a year in adults, in December and April (males) and September and March/April (females).     

鸟类生长发育研究方面的某些进展

本文将近20年来鸟类生长发育的研究状况分4个方面作了概述。首先介绍了雏鸟体重增长的几种模型;其次概括地分析了影响鸟类生长率的几种重要因素以及雏鸟身体结构中,不同部位的生长与发育的关系;最后讨论了控制生长发育的几种假设。     

MITOCHONDRIA IN CARDIAC MUSCLE CELLS OF THE CANARY AND SOME OTHER BIRDS

The fine structure of mitochondria from the ventricular myocardium of canaries, sparrows, zebra finches, quail, and geese has been studied. The first three of these birds have very fast heart rates, the quail being intermediate, and the goose has a relatively slow rate. The canary heart has a unique form of mitochondrion containing large, parallel arrays of zigzag or angled cristae. Other cristae, continuous with the zigzag ones and also occupying large parts of the mitochondrial volume, are named retiform because of the hexagonal network which they form, sometimes in a single plane and sometimes three dimensional. These two types of cristae appear to be interconnectible. It is possible that there is a direct functional significance in these peculiar forms, but, in any case, the relative constancy of dimensions in these arrays is probably related to specific properties of the molecules of which the cristal membrane is composed. It is also demonstrated that this membrane is composed in part of approximately 30-A particles which are believed to be protein molecules. This unusual mitochondrial morphology is not seen either in the other fast bird hearts or in the slower ones, so that there is neither a simple correlation with heart rate nor probably with the separate parts of the cardiac cycle. Although none of the other four hearts shows more than an occasional angled crista, there does seem to be a rather gross correlation between heart rate and mitochondrial size and complexity of crista structure, but no correlation with presence or absence of zigzag forms. The cristae of quail heart mitochondria are disposed in unusually large close-packed whorls.     

青海省海北地区高寒草甸雀形目鸟类的繁殖生产力

通过对高寒草甸１０种雀形目鸟类繁殖生产力研究表明,高寒草甸鸟类的繁殖生产与鸟类栖息地所处的地理环境、营巢类型和繁殖方式密切相关。其中繁殖季节长度和窝卵数是影响高寒草甸鸟类繁殖生产力的两个最重要的因子（Ｐ〈０．０５）。鸟类平均繁殖生产力为２．８０（只／对．年）。     

高寒草甸几种雀形目鸟类的标准代谢（SMR）

本文在-25℃至40℃的温度范围内,采用开放式呼吸仪测定了高寒草甸5种常见的雀形目留鸟的标准代谢率与环境温度的关系。其基础代谢率(BMR)在3.72—5.69毫升/克/小时范围内,中性温度区下限较低,一般在20℃左右。环境温度在下临界温度以下,代谢率随温度下降而升高的斜线陡峻,斜率一般为0.150—0.170之间。除树麻雀外,在40℃条件下均出现部分死亡。     

五种雀形目鸟类核型的比较研究

染色体核型的比较研究,对于了解物种的特性,探索物种的遗传、进化、系统发育及分类地位都有一定的意义。有关鸟类的核型研究,国外已有不少报道(Castrovicja,1969; Hammar,1966,1975; Ray-Chaudhuri et al.,1969;Shidds,1982;Ta—kagi,1972等)国内在这方面的工作开展较迟,已作过核型分析的鸟类为数不多,仅见王应祥等(1982)的报道。迄今,作过核型研究的鸟类已达500多种,其中雀形目有200种。本文比较分析了五种野生雀形目鸟类的核型,它们是黑头蜡嘴雀,斑鸫,黄腹山雀,红尾伯劳和灰背椋鸟。     

太湖流域涉禽资源及保护

本文报道了太湖流域常见的涉禽种类及资源情况,在分析其资源保护及利用现状的基础上,提出了资源保护及利用建议。     

四川辖曼自然保护区的鸟类资源调查

四川辖曼自然保护区是保护以黑颈鹤为主的珍禽和湿地生态系统的保护区,是黑颈鹤最集中的繁殖地。通过我们的调查和结合历史文献该区岛类区有81种。属国家及国际间保护的鸟类有49种,占60.5%,其中国家Ⅰ组保护岛类有7种,Ⅱ级有15种域鸟类较为丰富且数量较大。从区系上看,古北界成分占绝对优势的65种占80.2％,东洋界4种占4.9％,广布种11种占13.6%。该区鸟类区系是由更新世北方区动物九发展而来,从晚更新世经草原或森林－－草原鸟类发展到至今的高原湿地鸟类。     

COMPARATIVE EVIDENCE FOR THE EVOLUTION OF SPERM SWIMMING SPEED BY SPERM COMPETITION AND FEMALE SPERM STORAGE DURATION IN PASSERINE BIRDS

Sperm swimming speed is an important determinant of male fertility and sperm competitiveness. Despite its fundamental biological importance, the underlying evolutionary processes affecting this male reproductive trait are poorly understood. Using a comparative approach in a phylogenetic framework, we tested the predictions that sperm swim faster with (1) increased risk of sperm competition, (2) shorter duration of female sperm storage, and (3) increased sperm length. We recorded sperm swimming speed in 42 North American and European free-living passerine bird species, representing 35 genera and 16 families. We found that sperm swimming speed was positively related to the frequency of extrapair paternity (a proxy for the risk of sperm competition) and negatively associated with clutch size (a proxy for the duration of female sperm storage). Sperm swimming speed was unrelated to sperm length, although sperm length also increased with the frequency of extrapair paternity. These results suggest that sperm swimming speed and sperm length are not closely associated traits and evolve independently in response to sperm competition in passerine birds. Our findings emphasize the significance of both sperm competition and female sperm storage duration as evolutionary forces driving sperm swimming speed.     

SOME NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF THE KAOKOVELD

Whitfield, A. K. &; Blaber, S. J. M. 1978. Feeding ecology of piscivorous birds at Lake St Lucia, Part 1: Diving birds. Ostrich 49:185-198.

The diets of three species of diving piscivorous birds at Lake St Lucia, Natal, South Africa during 1975 and 1976 are described and related to availability and abundance of different prey species. Mugilidae and Clarias gariepinus were the chief prey of the Fish Eagle Haliaeetus vocifer, while Johnius belengcrii and Sarotherodon mossambicus were, respectively, the main food items of Caspian Terns Hydroprogne tschegruva, and Pied Kingfishers Ceryle rudis. The methods of prey capture used by the three species of birds are described.

Predation on particular species of fish was related primarily to their swimming depth, abundance, size and distribution in littoral areas. Fishing habits, densities and foraging periodicity of the birds are discussed with regard to physical parameters such as thermals, wind speeds and water turbidity. The timing of breeding seasons at Lake St Lucia is related to fish densities, lake levels, turbidity of the water and air temperatures.     

THE FAT CONDITION OF SOME ISLAND BIRDS

Several resident passerine species of birds on the Tres Marias islands, Mexico, are in a fatter condition than their mainland counterparts just prior to, and at the beginning of, the breeding season. At least two non-passerine species on the islands are also fat at this time of the year. The significance of the fat reserves of the island birds is discussed, and it is concluded that the fat may serve the functions of energy-storage and possibly water-storage, to be used later at the climatically most unfavourable time of the year.     

FEMALE PROMISCUITY IS POSITIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH NEUTRAL AND SELECTED GENETIC DIVERSITY IN PASSERINE BIRDS

Passerine birds show large interspecific variation in extrapair paternity rates. There is accumulating evidence that such promiscuous behavior is driven by indirect, genetic benefits to females. Sexual selection theory distinguishes between two types of genetic benefits, additive and nonadditive effects, mediated by preferences for good and compatible genes, respectively. Good genes preferences should imply directional selection and mating skew among males, and thus reduced genetic diversity in the population. In contrast, compatible genes preferences should give balancing selection that retains genetic diversity. Here, we test how well these predictions fit with patterns of variation in genetic diversity and promiscuity levels among passerine birds. We found that more promiscuous species had higher nucleotide diversity at autosomal introns, but not at Z‐chromosome introns. We also found that major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class IIB alleles had higher sequence diversity, and therefore should recognize a broader spectrum of pathogens, in more promiscuous species. Our results suggest that female promiscuity targets a multitude of autosomal genes for their nonadditive, compatibility benefits. Also, as immunity genes seem to be of particular importance, we hypothesize that interspecific variation in female promiscuity among passerine birds has arisen in response to the strength of pathogen‐mediated selection.     

FOOD PREFERENCE AND THE EXTENT OF OVERLAP IN SOME INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE TYRANNIDAE

Analysis of published records of the food of flycatchers (Tyrannidae), swallows (Hirundinidae) and vireos (Vireonidae) of North America, and terns (Laridae) of the Pacific Ocean showed that size, rather than taxonomic, differences in food appear to be the most important ones for these birds. Although the distribution of insect sizes in nature approaches a two-parameter log-normal distribution, the distributions of the sizes of food items taken by birds show no significant differences from log-normal. Birds of a given feeding type (e.g. flycatchers) show a strong correlation of average prey size with bird body weight, and a significantly less strong correlation with bill characteristics, indicating that body size is a better predictor of prey size than any single bill character. The slopes and/or intercepts of regressions of food size against body weight are different for birds of different foraging type. Values of overlap in food preference are proportional to the similarity of the two species compared, expressed as the ratio of their weights. Because insect taxa differ in size and because the amount of overlap in taxonomic composition of foods is therefore very roughly proportional to the amount of overlap in size, taxonomic differences in food may merely reflect differences in size preferences. Values for overlap in food are greater than for most cases involving spatial niche parameters, indicating space is more easily divided than food, a conclusion supported by the relative rarity of large flycatchers.     

雀形目高级阶元分类与起源研究概况

对雀肜目鸟类高级阶元的分类和系统发育的研究进行了简要概述.经典分类与应用分子生物学方法建立的分类系统在高级阶元(总科)有较大差异,但科级的分类基本一致.在雀形目鸟类起源研究方面,古生物学研究结果认为其起源于劳亚古陆;而分子生物学的证据则认为其起源于冈瓦纳古陆.由于化石的证据与"分子钟"的推测年代相差较大,因此对雀形目鸟类的起源还存在争议,但是目前的研究更倾向于"冈瓦纳起源"假说.