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Aging Catharus Thrushes by Rectrix Shape

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Aging Catharus Thrushes by Rectrix Shape j. Field Ornithol., 60(2):230-240 AGING CATHARUS THRUSHES BY RECTRIX SHAPE BEVERLY COLLIER AND GEORGE E. WALLACE Long Point Bird Observatory Box 760 Port Rowan, Ontario NOE 7MO, Canada Abstract.--Rectrix shapewas examinedas a methodof aging the four speciesof migratory North American Catharusthrushes. The tip angle of pointed and rounded rectriceswas found to differ significantlyfor eachspecies. The observationthat pointedrectrices indicate hatching/second-yearbirds whereas rounded rectrices indicate after-hatching/after-second- year birds correspondedto other acceptedaging criteria. Rectrix shape allowed greater precisionin aging than keys in current use. UTILIZACI•N DE LA FORMA DE LAS RECTRICES PARA DETERMINAR LA EDAD EN ZORZALES DEL G•;NERO CATHARUS Rcsumcn.--La forma dc las rcctriccsfuc utilizada comom•todo para dctcrminar la cdad dc cuatrocspccics dc zorzalcsCatharus spp.) Nortc Americanos.Sc cncontr6quc difcrlan significativamcntccn cadacspccic cl •tnguloapical dc las rcctriccspuntiagudas y rcdondas. Rcctriccspuntiagudas corrcspondicron a nacidosdcl afio/avcsdc segundoafio micntrasquc rcctriccsrcdondcadas a avescn dondcno habla rcmancntcdcl plumajcjuvcnil. La forma dc las rcctriccspermite dctcrminar con mayor prccisi6nla cdad de estasaves, quc otros m&odos cn uso. In Europe, rectrix shape is usedwidely as a characterto distinguish immature passerinesfrom adults in the hand (Svensson1984). In North America, rectrix shape has proven useful for aging a variety of species (Fairfield and Shirkoff 1980, Meigs et al. 1983, Samson 1974, Yunick 1983) and aging passerinesby rectrix shapeand other plumagecharac- teristicshas been advocatedrecently in Pyle et al.'s "IdentificationGuide to North American Passerines"(1987). If plumage characteristicsare to be useful, quantificationof the methodsis required to establishtheir reliability. Our aim is to quantify the rectrix shapemethod of agingNorth American Catharus. Currently acceptedmethods of agingNorth AmericanCatharus thrush- es include noting the presenceor absenceof greater secondarycoverts and/or tertials retained from juvenal plumage and the degree of skull pneumatization (USFWS and CWS 1978). Using these criteria, birds may be aged as hatching-year(HY) or second-year(SY) by the presence of retainedjuvenal covertsor an incompletelypneumatized skull. Alter- natively, birds may be aged as after-hatching-year(AHY) when there are no remnants of juvenal plumage and the skull is completelypneu- matized or (in fall only) has small pinhole "windows." Thus, SY in fall and ASY in spring are not consideredacceptable age codes. Personal observations,and those of Pyle et al. (1987), indicate that rectrix shapeis usefulin agingCatharus thrushes. Juvenal rectrices appear more pointed than thoseof subsequentplumages. The first prebasicmolt 230 Vol.60, No. 2 AgingThrushes byRectrix Shape [23 1 of Catharusthrushes is partial and all flight feathersare retained until the secondprebasic molt (Dwight 1900). Hence, HY/SY birds should have pointed rectrices;AHY/ASY birds rounded ones. The following studyquantifies variability in rectrix shapein Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus),Veery (C. fuscescens),Swainson's Thrush (C. ustulatus),and Gray-cheekedThrush (C. rainlinus).We investigatethe reliability and usefulnessof rectrix shapeas a field techniquefor agingthese species by comparingrectrix shapeto agesassigned by acceptedplumage and skull criteria. METHODS The four speciesof Catharusthrushes were studiedat Long Point Bird Observatory,Long Point, Ontario during springand fall migrationsfrom 29 Mar. 1986 to 23 May 1987. Thrushes were capturedin mist nets at three field stations located along the 30 km point. All stations lie at approximately42ø35'N and between80o03 ' and 80ø25'W.Results from the three stationswere examinedcollectively. We recordedthe following information from a sampleof eachspecies: rectrix shape,by visual inspection,as "pointed" or "rounded";the pres- enceor absenceof greatersecondary coverts retained from juvenal plum- age; and the degreeof skull pneumatizationusing Baird's (1964) tech- nique. Rectrix shapewas determinedby evaluatingthe anglesat which the distal edgesof the inner and outer websmet the rachisat the tip of the feather. On rounded rectricesthe distal edgesare more nearly per- pendicularto the rachis,giving both webs, particularly the outer,a squared appearance. On pointed rectricesthe distal edgesmeet the rachis at a much shallowerangle, creating a tapered appearance(Fig. 1). In order not to bias observers'opinions of rectrix shape,shape was judged before skulling and before examination of the wing coverts.Reconsideration of rectrix shape was not permitted. On somebirds, many juvenal coverts had been retained and it was difficult to ignore their presence.However, in thesecases, every effort was made to judge rectrix shapeobjectively. In the courseof the study, we encountereda small number of rectrices which defied classificationas pointed or rounded. These were termed "intermediate." A typical pattern of Catharuspneumatization and our rating system are shownin Figure 2. Small, horizontal,elliptical unpneumatized patches ("windows") within the occipital triangle were ignored, as these are presentin all individualsregardless of age (pers.obs.). Windows in nearly pneumatizedskulls (="3") were measuredwith calipersto the nearest 0.1 mm alongtheir longestaxes. We trained ten field biologists,in addition to ourselves, to collect the above data. After recordingthe aboveinformation, either a left or right fifth rectrix was collectedfrom a sampleof individualsof each of the four species. On any individual, rectricesone through six differ among themselvesin basic shape. Therefore, it was necessaryto standardizethe rectrix col- lected.Feathers were then measuredusing an adaptationof the method 232] B. Collierand G. E. Wallace J.Field Ornithol. Spring 1989 '1 FIGURE1. Rectrix tips of a Catharusthrush. A. The tip angle0 was the anglebetween the lines ab and bc where x = y = 2 mm. B. A pointedfifth rectrix typical of an immaturein first basicplumage. C. A roundedfifth rectrixtypical of an adult in basic plumage. employedby Meigs et al. (1983) (Fig. 1). Rectriceswere placedflat on a 1 mm grid with the rachisoriented along one grid line. The locations where the outer and inner feather edgescrossed a grid line 2 mm to each sideof the tip and parallel to the rachiswere plotted.The tip angle0 was measureddirectly with a protractorto the nearestdegree. Spring Gray-cheekedThrush rectrix sampleswere augmentedby examining specimens(rz = 31) from the Royal OntarioMuseum, Toronto. Rectrices were measuredin the samemanner, but were not removedfrom the birds. Resultswere analyzedwith standardstatistical methods (Steel and Torrie 1980). Birds with intermediate rectriceswere not included in analysesthat involvedrectrix shapeas one of the variables. Agingnomenclature follows that usedin the Bird BandingManual (USFWS and CWS 1978). For the purposesof this study,we make the followingdefinitions. A bird of knownage is a bird agedas SY in spring or as HY in fall by the presenceof an unpneumatizedskull (exceptas notedbelow) and/or retainedjuvenal greater secondary coverts or a bird agedas AHY in fall by a completelypneumatized skull and an absence Vol.60, No. 2 AgingThrushes by Rectrix Shape [233 0 T 1 2 3 4 FIGURE2. Typical pneumatization pattern of a Catharusthrush. Skulls were rated from unpneumatized("0") to completelypneumatized ("4"). T = trace pneumatization.The elliptical "windows" in the occipitaltriangle are presentinto adulthoodand, exceptto note their formation between "T" and "1," these windows were not used in the skull evaluation. Pneumatized areas are stippled. of juvenal coverts.We stressthat, by this definition,an AHY bird may be two, three or more yearsold, and thus scarcelyof known age. However, we use the term throughout the paper, and readers should be aware of our usage.Alternatively, a bird of presumedage is a bird agedby rectrix shape alone as SY or ASY in spring when the skull is completelypneu- matized and juvenal covertsare absentor a bird aged as SY in fall by a nearly pneumatizedskull (="3," before 1 Oct.) or by pointed rectrices alone when the skull is completelypneumatized (before 1 Oct.). Spring migrationcovered the period 1 Mar.-30 Jun. and fall migrationthe period 1 Jul.-30 Nov. RESULTS Table 1 divides the number of birds examined of each speciesinto categoriesbased on the three variables used in this study: rectrix shape, skull pneumatizationand juvenal covertretention. Within each season, the percentageof birds with intermediate rectrix shape never exceeded 4.5% in any species. Mean rectrix tip anglesare shown in Figure 3. Rounded and pointed formedtwo distinctclasses of rectrix shape,as definedby their tip angles, in both spring and fall for each of the four species.Within each season and species,the mean tip angle of pointed and roundedrectrices differed significantly (Table 2). Differences in rectrix shape, which could be discernedsubjectively in the field, were verified objectivelyin the lab. Thus, rectriceswhich observersjudged to be pointed were measurably pointedand thosejudged to be roundedwere measurablyrounded. Rel- ative differencesin tip angle betweenpointed and roundedrectrices were consistentfrom fall to spring in each species,and indicatedconsistency in the measurement method. Worn feathers, in which the distal 1-2 mm had abraded away, always producedlarger tip anglesthan comparable fresh feathersof the same basic shape (pointed or rounded), becauseof
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