Molt In Neotropical Birds

Molt is an important avian life history event in which feathers are shed and replaced. The timing, duration, seasonality, extent and pattern of molt follows certain strategies and this book reviews and describes these strategies for nearly 190 species based on information gathered from a 30-year study of Central Amazonian birds. Most species accounts are illustrated with several color photos focusing on wing and tail feather molt, molt limits, and how to use these patterns to accurately age birds. Published in collaboration with and on behalf of the American Ornithological Society, this volume in the highly-regarded Studies in Avian Biology series is a rich source of life history information for ornithologists working on tropical birds.

Citing the lesser-known role of molt in identifying and understanding birds, a detailed reference comprehensively illuminates four key strategies about the molt cycle to provide insights into North American bird history, habitat and migratory patterns.

Feathers are amazing structures unique to birds and, for a variety of reasons, they need to be renewed periodically as a whole in a process called moult. During this process, all of the functions of plumage are impaired and most aspects of a bird's life are affected. Every moult determines a bird's appearance anew, and restores plumage efficacy for flight and insulation. Moult profoundly affects physiology and the organization of the annual cycle, and it constrains reproduction and migration. Given these major impacts, which are equal to the other annual challenges of reproduction and migration, it is surprising that research on moult has largely been so neglected a subject. Lukas Jenni and Raffael Winkler have brought together the widely scattered results of studies on the processes and consequences of moult in birds. This book opens with an overview of the functions of plumage, and of feather maintenance and feather wear, and then introduces the two functions of moult: replacement of worn feathers and adjustment of plumage characteristics and appearance. The body of the book then examines feather-growth and the physiology, energetics and control of moult, and how various other physiological processes interact with moult and may compensate for its costs. Significantly, the authors explain how variations in moult and feather quality affect a bird's overall plumage quality, and they highlight the resulting consequences in terms of physical performance, appearance and signalling. Finally, there is a review of all the various solutions that birds have developed to fit moult into the annual cycle. This long-awaited book covers for the first time all aspects of the biology of moult and fills an important gap in the literature, completing our understanding of how the most important annual events in a bird's life fit together into a coherent whole. It draws on a wide range of information – from penguins to small passerines, from raptors to wildfowl – to highlight the variety of the subject and to pinpoint the many gaps in our knowledge along with avenues for fruitful further research.

This book covers central aspects of behavioral ecology, including sexual selection, social and genetic mating systems, cooperative breeding, brood parasitism, brood reduction, migration, personalities and communication. Over the past several years, Neotropical bird species from temperate to tropical latitudes of South America have been extensively studied, yielding valuable insights into the evolutionary mechanisms that drive their behavioral traits. In this book, international experts provide a general overview of main behavioral aspects. They also present the main findings of their work, including experimental approaches to testing the most accepted behavioral theory in their model systems. In closing, they propose new theoretical frameworks and future research directions. As such, the book provides a comprehensive and updated guide for all researchers, students and professionals whose work involves the study and management of birds across the Neotropical region.

THE BTO/BRITISH BIRDS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020 A brand-new, completely revised second edition of Jenni and Winkler's classic guide, updated and improved for the next generation of ringers and professional ornithologists. The moult strategies of birds exert an important influence on their behaviour and energetics, and also provide the basis of valuable tools for study. A proper understanding of how feathers are replaced and the precise differences in the appearance of the various feather generations can allow ringers, scientists and keen birdwatchers to age individual birds, and to distinguish between first-year and adult birds. Understanding the moult strategy of a species also provides insights into its general and migration ecology, and allows detailed studies of many aspects of its population dynamics. Lukas Jenni and Raffael Winkler have studied moult across a wide range of bird species for decades, and in this book bring their observations together to produce a valuable reference for both professional ornithologists and bird ringers. This second edition has been completely updated and revised, with 16 new species accounts added, bringing the total covered to 74. The first part of the book provides an up-to-date summary of the moult strategies and moult sequences of European passerines, and discusses the ecological consequences of moult. Throughout the book, the authors draw on the enormous amount of data on moult that they have collected over 40 years of study and which, combined with data from the literature, allow them to present a thorough synthesis of the subject. The second part is of particular value to ringers. Following a general introduction to ageing, detailed moult profiles are given for 74 European passerine species, illustrating all of the major moult strategies and including useful summary statistics, schematic diagrams of the extent of moult and indications of the variation within each species. The main moult strategies are illustrated with schematic graphs, and the moult strategies and extent of moult of every European passerine species are summarised in tabular form. The crowning feature of this book is its collection of more than 600 full-colour photographs of extended wings, which show the entire range of moult patterns and plumage-ageing criteria. An appendix gives supplementary information on ageing birds by the degree of pneumatisation of the skull. Large in format, packed with high-quality photography and lavish in production specifications, this second edition of Moult and Ageing in European Passerines is both a major reference for ornithologists, zoologists, bird ringers and dedicated birdwatchers, and a work of great scholarship and beauty.

The first comprehensive review of all aspects of the biology of moult, drawing information from across the literature and in all birds, from penguins to passerines. Feathers are amazing structures unique to birds and, for a variety of reasons, they need to be renewed periodically as a whole in a process called moult. During this process, all of the functions of plumage are impaired and most aspects of a bird's life are affected. Every moult determines a bird's appearance anew, and restores plumage efficacy for flight and insulation. Moult profoundly affects physiology and the organization of the annual cycle, and it constrains reproduction and migration. Given these major impacts, which are equal to the other annual challenges of reproduction and migration, it is surprising that research on moult has largely been so neglected a subject. Lukas Jenni and Raffael Winkler have brought together the widely scattered results of studies on the processes and consequences of moult in birds. This book opens with an overview of the functions of plumage, and of feather maintenance and feather wear, and then introduces the two functions of moult: replacement of worn feathers and adjustment of plumage characteristics and appearance. The body of the book then examines feather-growth and the physiology, energetics and control of moult, and how various other physiological processes interact with moult and may compensate for its costs. Significantly, the authors explain how variations in moult and feather quality affect a bird's overall plumage quality, and they highlight the resulting consequences in terms of physical performance, appearance and signalling. Finally, there is a review of all the various solutions that birds have developed to fit moult into the annual cycle. This long-awaited book covers for the first time all aspects of the biology of moult and fills an important gap in the literature, completing our understanding of how the most important annual events in a bird's life fit together into a coherent whole. It draws on a wide range of information – from penguins to small passerines, from raptors to wildfowl – to highlight the variety of the subject and to pinpoint the many gaps in our knowledge along with avenues for fruitful further research.

For centuries biologists have tried to understand the underpinnings of avian migration: where birds go and why, why some migrate and some do not, how they adapt to a changing environment, and how migratory systems evolve. Twenty-five years ago the answers to many of these questions were addressed by a collection of migration experts in Keast and Morton's classic work Migrant Birds in the Neotropics. In 1992, Hagan and Johnston published a follow-up book, Ecology and Conservation of Neotropical Migrant Landbirds. In Birds of Two Worlds Russell Greenberg and Peter Marra bring together the world's experts on avian migration to discuss its ecology and evolution. The contributors move the discussion of migration to a global stage, looking at all avian migration systems and delving deeper into the evolutionary foundations of migratory behavior. Readers interested in the biology, behavior, ecology, and evolution of birds have waited a decade to see a worthy successor to the earlier classics. Birds of Two Worlds will complete the trilogy and become indispensable for ornithologists, evolutionary biologists, serious birders, and public and academic libraries.