Keywords:
Plumage
Flight feather
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The functions and consequences of moult the terminology of feathers, plumages, moults and age classes the moult of adults the moult during the first year of life species accounts. Appendix - the use of skull pneumatization for ageing.
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Journal Article Melanin and the Abrasion Resistance of Feathers Get access Richard H. C. Bonser Richard H. C. Bonser School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol, BS8 I UC, U.K. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The Condor, Volume 97, Issue 2, 1 May 1995, Pages 590–591, https://doi.org/10.2307/1369048 Published: 01 May 1995 Article history Received: 22 November 1994 Accepted: 21 December 1994 Published: 01 May 1995
Abrasion (mechanical)
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This work falls into two parts. The first section gives a short general summary of the plumage of birds, its structure, arrangement and functions and briefly reviews the various types of moult patterns which are found and the ways of recording them. The second part gives a systematic species-by-species account of points including the number of flight feathers, the sequence, season and rate of moult, its relationship to breeding and migration, and the extent of the post-juvenile moult. In addition, scatter diagrams of primary moult score plotted against date are given for some species.
Plumage
Flight feather
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Emphasis (telecommunications)
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We sampled bacteria from the plumage of 1,588 individuals of 83 species of birds. Feather-degrading bacteria, those able to extract energy and nutrients by breaking up β-keratin, were isolated from 134 individuals in 32 species. Nine of 11 samples of feather-degrading (keratinolytic) bacteria were identified as Bacillus licheniformis, one as B. pumilus, and one as a Bacillus of undetermined species. A strong correlation between occurrence of keratinolytic bacilli and the number of birds sampled per species suggests that feather-degrading bacilli are widespread among birds. The bacillus occurred on 6.7 to 10.7% of birds and showed little annual variation. The incidence of birds with feather-degrading bacilli was highest in late fall and winter and lowest in early spring and late summer. The bacilli occurred most frequently on the venter and less commonly on the dorsum and tail. They occurred most frequently on ground-foraging species and least frequently on aerial-foraging species. Regardless of avian species, time of year, or area of the bird from which the bacilli were isolated, the rate at which bacilli degraded feathers was similar. Because bacilli are active only when conditions are warm and humid, we suggest that they degrade feathers during the summer when the bird becomes wet, for example during thunderstorms. Such feather degradation may contribute to the deterioration of feathers and be a selective force in the evolution and timing of molt.
Plumage
Bacillus (shape)
Bacillus pumilus
Bacillus licheniformis
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Life-history theory proposes that costs must be associated with reproduction. Many direct costs are incurred during breeding. There is also evidence for indirect costs, incurred after breeding, which decrease survival and future reproductive success. One possible indirect cost identified in birds is that breeding activity in some way compromises plumage quality in the subsequent moult. Here we propose a mechanism by which this could occur. Breeding activity delays the start of moult. Birds that start to moult later also moult more rapidly - an effect of decreasing daylength. Could this result in poorer quality plumage? We kept two groups of male European starlings, Sturnus vulgaris, one on constant long days and the other on decreasing daylengths from the start of moult. Decreasing daylengths reduced the duration of moult from 103 ± 4 days to 73 ± 3 days (p < 0.0001). Newly grown primary feathers of birds that moulted fast were slightly shorter, weighed less (p < 0.05) and were more asymmetrical. They had a thinner rachis (p < 0.005), were less hard (p < 0.01) and less rigid (p < 0.05). They were also less resistant to wear so that differences in mass and asymmetry increased with time. There was no difference in Young's modulus. Poorer quality plumage will lead to decreased survival due to decreased flight performance and increased thermoregulatory costs. Thus, reproduction incurs costs through a mechanism that operates after the end of breeding.
Plumage
Sturnus
Starling
Muda
Flight feather
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The Black‐chested Prinia Prinia flavicans shows two distinctive periods each year during which adult birds undergo a complete moult: there is a fast moult (about 67 days) in spring (September‐November) involving all birds simultaneously and a slower moult (about 108 days) in autumn (February‐June), when about 95% of adults are moulting during April. A biannual complete moult pattern was also shown to occur in individual birds. The pattern of secondary replacement was variable and unusual for a passerine; the majority replaced S8 to S5/S4 descendantly, or had feathers being renewed ascendantly amongst S4‐S7 before the ascendant series starting from the outermost secondary reached the middle secondaries. The descendant series tended to be longer during the autumn moult with S4 most frequently being the last to be replaced in autumn, but S5 last in spring. Breeding was erratic during summer in response to rains and sometimes overlapped extensively with moulting, the onset of which was less variably timed. When breeding occurred during the autumn moult, the new plumage was not the usual winter plumage (without the chest‐band), but a new summer plumage.
Plumage
Flight feather
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All birds have fundamentally similar patterns of plumage succession. Thus Humphrey and Parkes (1959) proposed a system of nomenclature (the H-P system), based on homologies, that has become standard for molt studies in North America. However, presumably analogous similarities in pattern between first basic and definitive basic plumages have obscured homologies. Many plumages conventionally known as "first basic" are better considered as novel first-cycle plumages that lack homologous counterparts in subsequent cycles. Consequently, current nomenclature does not consistently reflect between-species homologies. Howell and Corben (2000b) proposed that traditional juvenal plumage can be considered an unambiguous starting point for a terminology that better reflects presumed homologies in basic plumages; alternate and other nonbasic plumages may not necessarily be homologous between species. Four underlying strategies of increasing complexity incorporate all known patterns of plumage succession: the Simple Basic Strategy, the Complex Basic Strategy, the Simple Alternate Strategy, and the Complex Alternate Strategy. We review inconsistency in the H-P system; explain the four underlying strategies; and discuss how one can identify homologies (if any) between plumages in first and subsequent cycles and among taxa. Many species have novel plumages added into their first plumage cycle; we argue that existing terminology for these plumages is unsuitable and we term them formative plumages attained by preformative molts. Finally, we provide examples of how this modified H-P system can be applied to diverse taxa of birds while reflecting the homology underlying all basic plumage cycles. Our revision validates the flexibility and utility of the H-P system.
Plumage
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