Primary wing-moult in relation to body-mass, wing-length and latitude in four insectivorous passerines from southern Africa
Bo T. Bonnevie A C and Adrian J. F. K. Craig B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Information Technology Division, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa.
B Department of Zoology & Entomology, Rhodes University, P. O. Box 94, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa.
C Corresponding author. Email: b.bonnevie@ru.ac.za
Emu 114(4) 371-378 https://doi.org/10.1071/MU13072
Submitted: 8 August 2013 Accepted: 16 July 2014 Published: 3 November 2014
Abstract
In southern African passerine birds, the timing of moult often varies regionally in relation to breeding season and patterns of rainfall, and may also differ between sexes in sexually dimorphic species. However, the relationship between feeding ecology and moult has not been studied in this region. We investigated primary-moult, body-mass and wing-length in four southern African passerines belonging to a feeding guild of hawking (sallying) insectivores, using bird-banding (ringing) data. The timing of wing-moult, from December to April throughout the region, was very similar in all four species, in contrast to other sympatric species, which moult at different times in summer- and winter-rainfall regions. For each species the duration of moult decreased southwards, as did wing-length corrected for body-mass. There was no difference between the sexes in the timing or duration of wing-moult, even in sexually dimorphic species, but juveniles generally started moult later than adults and completed their moult more rapidly. Our results suggest that foraging ecology and life-history traits of insectivorous hawkers may constrain the timing of moult.
Additional keywords: African birds, foraging, morphology, moulting.
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