DOCSLIB.ORG

A Eurasian Wryneck Speciment from Southern Indian

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A Eurasian Wryneck Speciment from Southern Indian A EurasianWryneck specimen from southern Indiana JohnB. Dunning,Jr. Amanda Beheler head of the natural resources division at Crane. Andrews also did not rec- Michael Crowder ognizethe bird, and neither he norMr. Crowdercould find a goodmatch Departmentof Forestryand Natural Resources in the North Americanfield guides present at the naturalresource office PurdueUniversity Knowingthat wildlife faculty and students from Purdue University would WestLafayette, Indiana 47907-1159 be workingat Cranein the spring,Andrews placed the specimenin h•s office freezer. Several months later Beheler,then a Ph.D. candidate in the Steve Andrews Departmentof Forestryand Natural Resourcesat Purdue,arrived at NaturalResources Building NSWC Crane to begin her annualfield researchon EasternPhoebes Code 09228 (Sayornisphoebe).Andrews showed her the specimen, but shealso did not Naval Surface Warfare Center recognizeit. The detailsof itsdiscovery were vague, because the nameand Crane,Indiana 47522 contactinformation of thefinder had disappeared during the intervemng months.Beheler transported the bird to Purdue,while Andrews tried to Ron Weiss relocate the individual who found the bird. Ch•pperWoods Bird Observatory Bythe time Behder arrived home, she had checked a numberof North 10329North New Jersey Street andCentral American field guides to no avail..Shecalled Dunning, a fac- Indianapolis,Indiana 46280 tfitymember in her departmentat Purdue,and told him aboutthe find WhenDunning arrived at the Behelerhouse 30 minuteslater to seethe ABSTRACT specimen,Amanda and her husbandBrian had identifiedthe bird as a In February2000, a deadbird found by a workerat theCrane Naval Surface EurasianWryneck (Jynx torquilla) using a Europeanfield guide. Dunning WarfareCenter in southernIndiana proved to be a EurasianWryneck concurredwith theidentification, although neither he norBeheler had any (Jynxtorquilla), a species recorded only once before in NorthAmerica. The fieldexperience with wrynecks.Its identificationas a woodpeckerrelative circumstancesof the specimen's discovery and its arrival in Indianahad the wassupported by closeexamination of the toes,which were zygodactyl makangsof an ornithologicaldetective story. Although it is likelythat the Thistrait aloneeliminated all passetinesand members of mostother avlan full storywill neverbe known,we believe that the wryneck was probably families.With an ideaof whatthe bird mightbe, the nextsteps were to transportedto Indianain a shippingcontainer, and that the specimen does confirmthe identificationand determine if it werepossible to traceexact- notrepresent a second North American record of a vagrantwryneck. The ly howthe bird arrivedin Indiana. •nvest•gationof the wryneckspecimen demonstrates. the valueof the Internet•n researchingrecords of unusualoccurrence. IDENTIFICATION Descriptionof the bird INTRODUCTION Ournotes on the bird include the following observatisns, which are keyed Duringthe winter of1999-2060, anornithological mysteryunfolded ata to Figuresherein. A medium-sizedbird (Fig. 1), with plumagemostly mdltarybase in southernIndiana. On 16February 2000, an unusualbird dominatedby browns and grays in crypticpattern. Crown and nape most- was found at the Crane Naval SurfaceWarfare Center (hereafter,NSWC ly gray.Dark streakon sideof facethrough eye; throat and upper breast Crane),which is a federalfacility for the storage and processing of ammu- buffybrown with narrowdark barring (Fig. 2). Barringon breastfaded to nmonand supplies for the U.S.Army and Navy located near Loogootee, dark specklingon lower breastand light gray belly. Bill chisel-hke Mamn County,Indiana. On thatwinter day, Mr. EarlCrowder, an employ- Upperpartsmostly gray with flecks of blackor darkbrown. Very distinctive eeat Crane,paused during his daily work routine and noticed a deadbird darkpatch on back,triangular in shapebut extendingas a widedark hne lyingfrozen on the groundat theedge of a smallwoodland rearing. Mr. up napeto backof crown(Fig. 3). Rumpgray. Wing browner than back Crowder,a self-taughtnaturalist and hunterand a long-timeresident of with lightbuff feathertips to somecoverts. Scattered upperwing coverts theregion, was familiar with most of thebird life of thearea and therefore with dark central shaft streak with buff on either side of streak. Primaries wassurprised that he did not recognizethe bird. with alternatingdark brown and buff bands,so foldedwing showsa The deadbird wasthe sizeof a thrushand was cryptically patterned in checkerboardpattern (Fig. 1). Tailmostly gray with buff tones,crossed by graysand browns. Its appearancereminded Mr. Crowderof a grouseor a fourthin black lines (Fig. 4). Centralrectrices about 55 mm long,not stiff- mghtjar,but thebird was unlike any species he had seen. NSWC Crane is a ened.Bill and legs dark. Toescurled, but zygodactyl.Toes and claws were largelyforested landscape with extensiveupland and bottomland wood- undamaged,as were feathers in the wingsand tail. No damageto bill lands,so it waslogical that the deadbird mightbe a forestresident or win- Measurements[taken at Purduein April 2000 with the specimenstdl terwsitor. Mr. Crowderkept the specimen to seeif he cotfidget it identi- frozen]:ctfimen from base to tip: 12.5min. Bill lengthfrom naresto t•p fied 8.5mm. Billwidth at nares:4 mm. Tarsus:21 mm. Totalbody length 168 Mr Crowderbrought the specimento the attentionof Andrews,the min. Wing chord:86 min. Comparedto biometricssupplied by Andy VOLUME 56 (ZOOZ), NUMBER 3 265 M•tchellof Orkney,Scotland, the specimen's wing and tarsus are within the the bird mighthave gotten to NSWCCrane. At thispoint, the detective rangeexpected for Europeanbirds, but the bill is somewhatshort (bill storygot truly serendipitous.At the base,Andrews had no successrelocat- lengthsof Europeanbirds range 14.8 to 17.4mm for bothsexes; Mitchell, ing the originalcollector of the specimen.Word spread about the unusu- m htt.). al specimenthroughout Purdue's Department of Forestryand Natural Resources,and many people came by Beheler'soffice to seethe b•rd One Confirmingthe identification personwith a particularinterest was Michael Crowder, a Master'sstudent To confirmthat the bird wasa wryneck,Dunning and Behelerposted a in the departmentwho wasfamiliar with NSWC Cranebecause h•s father noUceon IN-BIRD, a computerlistserv dedicated to Indianabirding. The workedthere. Shortly after seeing the specimen,Crowder called h•s father noticestated that a deadbird tentativelyidentified as a wryneckhad been on an unrelatedmatter and happened to askif hisfather had heard about foundat Craneand requested that anyonewith fieldexperience with the theweird bird fromNSWC Crane. His father,Earl Crowder, rephed, "You speciescontact Dunning and Beheler. immediately Weiss, executive direc- meanmy bird?"Mr. Crowderquickly got in contactwith Andrews,and tor of the ChipperWoods Bird Observatoryin Indianapolis,emailed additionaldetails about the discovery came to light. Dunningand offered to postphotographs of thespecimen on hiswebsite The bird hadbeen found at the edgeof a forestdeafing in whichwas and solicitopinions worldwide. Weiss drove to Purduethe nextday and locatedone of thebunkers that serveas the primarystorage facil•ues at v•deotapedthe specimen. He thenposted still photos from the video on the NSWC Crane. Mr. Crowdercould not find anyonewho had worked Ch•pperWoods website and solicitedcomments. Over the nextfew days, recentlyin thebunker area who remembered finding the bird. The b•rd was confirmationof the bird asa wryneckwas received from researchersin not locatednear the entrance to a bunker(where it mightfall if sweptout Scotland,Belgium, England, and Malta. In additionto viewingthe photo- of a containerduring deaning) or nearany road or parkingarea. graphsand offering an opinion,European researchers emailed Weiss pho- Thereare at leasttwo reasonableexplanations as to how the wryneck tosfrom identificationguides, measurements from published handbooks, arrivedat the location where it wasfound. it couldeither be a wild vagrant, and opinionson the subspecificidentification. They alsooffered other or it couldhave been transported with humanassistance (deliberately or •nformationgleaned from personal experience with thespecies, including inadvertently).A remotepossibility exists that someonedehberately plumagevariation, molt, age and sex characteristics, and details on typical broughtthe bird to NSWCCrane and released it, or thatit wasan escaped behavior and movements. bird from a collection.NSWC Crane is a securemilitary base, and access Furtherinformation was obtained when Beheler sent the specimento to the facilityis strictlylimited. Personnel working on the site are subject the FieldMuseum of NaturalHistory in Chicago,illinois. JohnBates, a to inspectionand strictregulations regarding contraband. Woodpeckers researcherin theField Museum's Bird Division, compared the specimen to arenot commonlykept in captivity,and wrynecks are virtually unknown thosein the museum'scollection. Bates (pers. comm.) stated that the in the pet trade. Furthermore,the specimendid not showany s•gns of Cranespecimen had relativelylong primaries,indicative of a northern, beinga captivebird (worndaws, damaged rectrices or primaries,damage m•gratorypopulation. The plumagewas very fresh, with no wear,and was to the bill, etc.). One of the web responders,John Montalto of Malta, asdark or darkerthan any Field Museum specimen. The Cranespecimen pointedout the lackof anysigns of captivityvisible in thephotographs alsohad more extensive rufous tips to
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Ecological Determinants of Wryneck Occurrence
    Food or nesting place? Identifying factors limiting wryneck populations Master thesis der Philosophisch-naturwissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Universität Bern submitted by Valérie Coudrain 2009 Supervision Prof. Raphaël Arlettaz PD Michael Schaub Institute of Ecology and Evolution Division of Conservation Biology Table of contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................. 3 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 4 2. MATERIAL AND METHODS..................................................................................... 6 2.1 HABITAT REQUIREMENTS OF WRYNECKS ..................................................... 7 2.1.1 Sampling design ............................................................................................... 7 2.1.2 Habitat mapping ............................................................................................... 8 2.1.3 Food resources .................................................................................................. 9 2.1.4 Statistical analyses .......................................................................................... 9 2.2 ANT ABUNDANCE MODELLING ......................................................................... 10 2.2.1 Sampling design ............................................................................................. 10 2.2.2 Ant nest detection probability ..................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Explicit Nation-Wide Habitat Models for Common Italian Piciformes
    Avocetta 33: 115-122 (2009) Explicit nation-wide habitat models for common Italian Piciformes Tommaso Campedelli2, GuGlielmo londi2, lorenzo mini2, Guido Tellini Florenzano1,2 1 MITO2000, National Committee 2 DREAM Italia - Via Garibaldi 3, I-52015 Pratovecchio (AR), Italy ([email protected]) Abstract – The aim of this paper is to assess the effect of broad scale environmental and geographical variables on the presence of Italian commonest breeding Piciformes (Wryneck, Green, Black, and Great Spotted Woodpeckers). Using the data of MITO2000 (2000-2003), logistic regression models were built, relating their presence with area occupied by Corine land-use categories, habitat diversity, morpho- logical and elevation-range, latitude and longitude. Our analyses seem to give some basic information about large scale ecology of the species, allowing to indicate different habitat types (heterogeneus habitat for Wryneck, broadleaved woods for Green Woodpecker, woods for Great Spotted Woodpecker). Our models clearly show the importance of geographical variables to infer how species ecology chang- es at different latitudes: Green and Great Spotted Woodpecker for example, become commoner, and less linked to woods, northwards. INTRODUCTION 2003, Brotons et al. 2004a, Rushton et al. 2004). Although some doubts on their effectiveness still remain (Gutzwiller Woodpeckers are typically considered forest species and and Barrow 2003, Chamberlain et al. 2004), these tech- efficient woodland biodiversity indicators, from local niques, if correctly applied, have proved to be valuable (Mikusinski et al. 2001) to continental scale (Mikusinski tools for the knowledge of the actual distribution of spe- and Angelstam 1998). Moreover, the ecology of wood- cies and to obtain objective information on the main eco- peckers is complex: they show a different degree of spe- logical factors affecting their presence (Guisan and Zim- cialization (Angelstam and Mikusinski 1994) and, even merman 2000, Scott et al.
    [Show full text]
  • Bird Ringing Results in Hrvatsko Zagorje Region (North-Western Croatia): Ringing Recoveries in Other Countries
    NAT. CROAT. VOL. 17 No 4 325¿333 ZAGREB December 31, 2008 original scientific paper / izvorni znanstveni rad BIRD RINGING RESULTS IN HRVATSKO ZAGORJE REGION (NORTH-WESTERN CROATIA): RINGING RECOVERIES IN OTHER COUNTRIES ZDRAVKO DOLENEC Department of Zoology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Zagreb, Rooseveltov trg 6, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia (e-mail: [email protected]) Dolenec, Z.: Bird ringing results in Hrvatsko zagorje region (north-western Croatia): ringing recoveries in other countries. Nat. Croat., Vol. 17, No. 4, 325–333, 2008, Zagreb. This paper is based on the recoveries of birds ringed in the territory of Hrvatsko zagorje region (north-western Croatia). In the period from 1972 to 2007 I ringed 16400 birds (70 species), 31 of which were recorded outside the territory of Croatia (5 species: starling Sturnus vulgaris – 26, woodpigeon Columba palumbus – 1, blackbird Turdus merula – 2, song thrush Turdus philomelos – 1 and blue tit Parus caeruleus – 1). Twenty-two birds were recovered in Europe (8 in Italy and 1 in Spain, France, Hungary and the Czech Republic) and nine in Africa (5 in Algeria and 4 in Tunisia). Key words: ringed, recoveries, migration of Croatian birds, Hrvatsko zagorje region Dolenec, Z.: Rezultati prstenovanja ptica u Hrvatskom zagorju (sjeverozapadna Hrvatska): nalazi u drugim zemljama. Nat. Croat., Vol. 17, No. 4, 325–333, 2008, Zagreb. U ovome se radu donose rezultati dugogodi{njeg prstenovanja ptica na podru~ju Hrvatskog zagorja, a odnose se na nalaze u drugim zemljama. U razdoblju od 1972. do 2007. godine prsteno- vao sam 16400 ptica (70 vrsta) od koji je izvan granica Hrvatske na|ena 31 ptica (5 vrsta: ~vorak Sturnus vulgaris – 26, golub grivnja{ Columba palumbus – 1, kos Turdus merula – 2, drozd cikelj Turdus philomelos – 1 i plavetna sjenica Parus caeruleus – 1).
    [Show full text]
  • Jynx Torquilla
    Jynx torquilla -- Linnaeus, 1758 ANIMALIA -- CHORDATA -- AVES -- PICIFORMES -- PICIDAE Common names: Eurasian Wryneck; European Wryneck; Torcol; Wryneck European Red List Assessment European Red List Status LC -- Least Concern, (IUCN version 3.1) Assessment Information Year published: 2015 Date assessed: 2015-03-31 Assessor(s): BirdLife International Reviewer(s): Symes, A. Compiler(s): Ashpole, J., Burfield, I., Ieronymidou, C., Pople, R., Wheatley, H. & Wright, L. Assessment Rationale European regional assessment: Least Concern (LC) EU27 regional assessment: Least Concern (LC) In Europe this species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence 10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). The population trend appears to be increasing, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (30% decline over ten years or three generations). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern in Europe. Within the EU27 this species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence 10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). The population trend appears to be increasing, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (30% decline over ten years or three generations).
    [Show full text]
  • Newsletter Number 27– October 2014
    P O Box 93, Wakkerstroom 2480 Cell Number 0822556778 E-Mail: [email protected] NEWSLETTER NUMBER 27– OCTOBER 2014 CONTROLLED BURN IN THE WETLAND – John Burchmore On Tuesday 14th October, a controlled burn was successfully carried out near the bridge on the right hand side of the Amersfoort road, next to the poplars. In this specific area there is some Salt Marsh Rush, Juncus kraussii (incema Zulu). The thin strong stem of this reed is one of the favourite weaving materials in KwaZulu–Natal, especially for making the traditional sleeping mats or incansi and is an important source of income for rural people. These mats made from incema stems are of high quality and they last much longer than similar mats made from other sedges. The reeds were dying back due to the increase of moribund material around the rhizomes, possibly because of very few fires in this area of the wetland during the last ten years. Towards the end of summer some of the residents in eSizameleni harvest the reeds, and they requested that the area be burnt to stimulate the growth of the plants. The burn was carried out by the Working on Fire team which is based at BirdLife South Africa Wakkerstroom Centre, after permission had been obtained from the Fire Chief in Volksrust. The Sandy Twomey Memorial Photographic Competition. Sandy Twomey sadly passed away recently. She was so well known and respected for her love of birds and her skill as a photographer that we have instigated what we hope will becomean annual photographic competition in her honour to be called The Sandy Twomey Memorial Photographic Competition.
    [Show full text]
  • Monitoring the Feeding Activity of Nesting Birds with an Autonomous System
    Monitoring the feeding activity of nesting birds with an autonomous system. Freitag et al. Monitoring the feeding activity of nesting birds with an autonomous system: the case study of the endangered Wryneck Jynx Torquilla ANNE FREITAG *1, ALCHERIO MARTINOLI 2** and JOSEBA URZELAI 2 [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] 1 Museum of Zoology, PO Box 448, CH-1000 Lausanne 17, Switzerland. 2 Microprocessor and Interface Lab, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, IN-F Ecublens, CH- ** 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland Short title: Nest monitoring autonomous system * Correspondence author. ** Alcherio Martinoli is now at the Microsystems Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, U.S.A. 1 Monitoring the feeding activity of nesting birds with an autonomous system. Freitag et al. This paper describes an original autonomous system based on the Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) technology for monitoring the feeding activity of small birds at their nest. It is installed on pre-existing nest boxes which were slightly modified for the monitoring purposes. The system operates autonomously for at least 7 days and recorded data can be collected using a simple pocket calculator or a standard laptop. The monitoring capabilities of the system include the arrival times of each adult, tagged with a PIT attached to one leg, and the regular collecting of microclimatic data. In the present study, the internal and external temperatures of the nest were recorded. The autonomous system was validated during two weeks as part of a more extended study on Wryneck (Jynx torquilla L.) foraging strategies. Its efficacy was confirmed by comparison with conventional photographs of birds at each feeding and climatic station data.
    [Show full text]
  • Food Or Nesting Place? Identifying Factors Limiting Wryneck Populations
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by RERO DOC Digital Library J Ornithol (2010) 151:867–880 DOI 10.1007/s10336-010-0525-9 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Food or nesting place? Identifying factors limiting Wryneck populations Vale´rie Coudrain • Raphae¨l Arlettaz • Michael Schaub Received: 6 July 2009 / Revised: 16 March 2010 / Accepted: 24 March 2010 / Published online: 11 April 2010 Ó Dt. Ornithologen-Gesellschaft e.V. 2010 Abstract In recent decades, farmland bird populations ground and with hollow trees or dedicated nestboxes in the have declined strongly as a consequence of agriculture surroundings, are essential to preserve Wryneck popula- intensification. Birds may have lost breeding sites, food tions. Such a habitat structure could be achieved even in supply or other crucial resources, with the role of multiple intensively farmed habitats, such as in vineyards or fruit factors often remaining unclear. The ant-eating and cavity- tree plantations. breeding Wryneck (Jynx torquilla) may be limited by the availability of cavities, the number of ants or their acces- Keywords Ant nest abundance Á Nest box Á sibility. By comparing occupied and unoccupied breeding Vegetation structure Á Bare ground Á Jynx torquilla territories, we investigated the relative role of these factors in the decline of Wrynecks. We compared the character- istics of known Wryneck breeding territories (availability Introduction of breeding cavities, food abundance and ground vegeta- tion structure) with randomly selected, fictitious territories As a result of the intensification of agriculture, which has (n = 154) in Western Switzerland. We also studied envi- considerably modified the structure of most landscapes, ronmental factors that may affect ant nest density.
    [Show full text]
  • Arboreal Perching Birds
    Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries Standards For Arboreal/Perching Bird Sanctuaries Version: December 2019 ©2012 Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries – Standards for Arboreal/Perching Bird Sanctuaries Table of Contents INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 1 GFAS PRINCIPLES ............................................................................................................................................................. 1 ANIMALS COVERED BY THESE STANDARDS ................................................................................................. 1 ARBOREAL/PERCHING BIRD STANDARDS .................................................................................................... 3 ARBOREAL/PERCHING BIRD HOUSING ............................................................. 3 H-1. Types of Space and Size .................................................................................................................................................... 3 H-2. Containment ................................................................................................................................................................................ 5 H-3. Ground and Plantings ........................................................................................................................................................... 7 H-4. Gates and Doors ......................................................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Bird Checklists of the World Country Or Region: Malaysia
    Avibase Page 1of 23 Col Location Date Start time Duration Distance Avibase - Bird Checklists of the World 1 Country or region: Malaysia 2 Number of species: 799 3 Number of endemics: 14 4 Number of breeding endemics: 0 5 Number of introduced species: 17 6 Date last reviewed: 2020-03-19 7 8 9 10 Recommended citation: Lepage, D. 2021. Checklist of the birds of Malaysia. Avibase, the world bird database. Retrieved from .https://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/checklist.jsp?lang=EN&region=my [23/09/2021]. Make your observations count! Submit your data to ebird.
    [Show full text]
  • Biodiversity of Scottish Wildlife Trust Reserves (2011)
    Reserve Biodiversity an assessment of the habitats and species on Scottish Wildlife Trust reserves The Scottish Wildlife Trust, 2011 About the Scottish Wildlife Trust THE SCOTTISH WILDLIFE TRUST, established in 1964, has the charitable purpose to advance the conservation of Scotland’s biodiversity for the benefit of present and future generations. With more than 36,000 members, over 120 reserves and a network of volunteers the length and breadth of the country, we are proud to say we are now the largest voluntary body working for all the wildlife of Scotland. This report should be cited as: Dowse G., and Gallagher P. (2011) Reserve Biodiversity: an assessment of the habitats and species on Scottish Wildlife Trust reserves. Scottish Wildlife Trust, Edinburgh. Contents [click title to view section] 1 Executive Summary 4 2 Introduction 6 3 Review of species on Trust reserves 7 4 Species results 10 5 Review of priority habitats on Trust reserves 25 6 Habitat results 27 7 Review of invasive non-natives on Trust reserves 34 8 UK BAP signposting of species to habitats on 43 Trust reserves 9 Species appendices 51 10 Habitat appendices 66 11 Invasive non-native species appendices 68 12 Signposting appendices 74 Please note This report was compiled in November 2008, being published in 2011. In the intervening time, very little will have changed on Trust reserves and so the findings within this report are still valid. Two reserves, Stormont Loch and Doire Donn Scottish Wildlife Trust were disposed of during 2010/11 as the respective landowners did not wish to continue with the Harbourside House management agreements.
    [Show full text]
  • Vertebrata: Aves: Piciformes) and Implications for Creationist Design Arguments P.A
    OPEN ACCESS JCTS Article SERIES B Baraminological Analysis of the Picidae (Vertebrata: Aves: Piciformes) and Implications for Creationist Design Arguments P.A. Garner Biblical Creation Ministries, Soham, Cambs, UK Abstract The Picidae (woodpeckers, wrynecks and piculets) comprise a family within the near passerine order Piciformes. Creationists have often appealed to the unique anatomical and behavioural specializations found in woodpeckers as evidence of divine design. However, until now no baraminological studies of the group have been undertaken. This paper reports a baraminic distance correlation analysis of 50 morphological characters (mostly related to hind limb musculature) and 20 taxa (12 picids and eight outgroup taxa). The results show that the woodpeckers, wrynecks and piculets form a well-defined group united by significant positive correlation and separated from seven of the eight outgroup taxa (barbets, toucans and toucanets) by significant negative correlation. The eighth outgroup taxon, the honeyguide Indicator, was neither positively nor negatively correlated with the other taxa in the dataset. Multidimensional scaling applied to the baraminic distances revealed an orthogonal pattern with ingroup taxa arranged on one axis and outgroup taxa on another, a result that has previously been interpreted as mitigating conclusions of negative discontinuity. However, repeating the analysis without the genus Indicator, which formed one of the axes, did not change the negative correlation between the picids and non-picids, suggesting that the result cannot be dismissed merely as an artefact of the multidimensional scaling pattern. The results suggest that all members of the Picidae constitute a single holobaramin. This conclusion is consistent with hybridization data indicating the monobaraminic status of at least 12 genera in six of the nine tribes within the Picidae.
    [Show full text]
  • Contribution to the Oology of the Eurasian Wryneck Jynx Torquilla
    NAT. CROAT. VOL. 29 No 1 123-128 ZAGREB October 30, 2020 original scientific paper / izvorni znanstveni rad DOI 10.20302/NC.2020.29.11 CONTRIBUTION TO THE OOLOGY OF THE EURASIAN WRYNECK JYNX TORQUILLA Zdravko Dolenec Mokrice 132, HR-49243 Oroslavje, Croatia (e-mail: [email protected]) Dolenec, Z.: Contribution to the oology of the Eurasian wryneck Jynx torquilla. Nat. Croat., Vol. 29, No. 1., 123-128, 2020, Zagreb. In this article I shall present data on the characteristics of the eggs of the Eurasian wryneck, Jynx torquilla, collected in north-western Croatia during the period from 1985 to 2018 using wood nest- boxes. Nestboxes were primarily installed for investigation of Passerine bird species (tits Parus sp., tree sparrow Passer montanus and nuthatch Sitta europaea), but approximately one out of a hundred nest- boxes per year was occupied by the Eurasian wryneck. In this study, 34 clutches in total were sampled during the first nesting in the study period, after all eggs had been laid. In this paper, oological data of the Eurasian wryneck in the south-eastern Europe area are presented for the first time. It is worth not- ing, however, that such data are scarce for the whole of Europe. Average number of eggs per clutch was 8.1 (from 6 to 10). Egg length ranged from 17.7 to 21.9 mm (mean = 20.1 mm), egg breadth from 14.2 to 15.9 mm (mean = 15.1 mm), egg volume from 1856.4 to 2668.9 mm³ (mean = 2347.5 mm³) and elongation index from 1.19 to 1.43 (mean = 1.33).
    [Show full text]