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ISSN: 2053-7166
CN: 10-1240/Q

Flexible nest site selection of the endangered Oriental Storks (Ciconia boyciana): Trade-off from adaptive strategies

Nest site selection is a vital component of bird reproduction success, and an adaptive behavior conducted to decrease nest predation risk with avoiding external disturbances. Understanding patterns...

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Systematics of the avian family Alaudidae using multilocus and genomic data

The family Alaudidae, larks, comprises 93–100 species (depending on taxonomy) that are widely distributed across Africa and Eurasia, with single species extending their ranges to North and northernmost...

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Avian malaria, haematocrit, and body condition in invasive wetland passerines settled in southwestern Spain

Avian malaria and related haemosporidian parasites can negatively impact fitness in many songbirds. Research on the malaria infection and its physiological costs on their avian hosts is heavily skewed...

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Predicting the non-breeding distributions of the two Asian subspecies of Black-tailed Godwit using morphological information

Until recently, Limosa limosa melanuroides was thought to be the only subspecies of Black-tailed Godwit in the East Asian–Australasian Flyway. For this reason, all previous occurrences and counts of...

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Does bird photography affect nest predation and feeding frequency?

Bird photography is a popular and growing form of ecotourism that contributes to the economic growth of local communities, but its disturbance to bird reproduction remains understudied. We worked in...

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Phylogenetic definitions for 25 higher-level clade names of birds

Knowledge of the higher-level phylogenetic relationships of birds has grown substantially during the past two decades due to the application of genomic data. However, the nomenclature of higher-level...

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A network meta-analysis on comparison of invasive and non-invasive sampling methods to characterize intestinal microbiota of birds

Birds maintain complex and intimate associations with a diverse community of microbes in their intestine. Multiple invasive and non-invasive sampling methods are used to characterize these communities...

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Visual cognition of birds and its underlying neural mechanism: A review

Birds have acute vision and many remarkable visual cognition abilities, due to their unique living environment. The underlying neural mechanisms have also attracted interests of researchers in neuroscience....

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A novel method to collect sperm from brood parasitic cuckoos: Urodeum stimulation (UroS) method

Sperm competition has been studied in numerous species as a representative example of postcopulatory sexual selection, where sampling sperm from male is the most basic and important step. Sperm collection...

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Vocal repertoire of Azure-winged Magpies (Cyanopica cyanus): A context-associated communication system

Signals within animals’ vocal communication are considered functional referential and context-specific. Even in the absence of the context, receivers are expected to acquire the information of calls...

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The evolution of courtship displays in Galliformes

Species in Galliformes have elaborate ritual courtship displays, often including strutting, fluffing of tail or head feathers, and vocal sounds that serve as excellent examples of sexual selection....

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Seasonal acclimatization and temperature acclimation in small passerine birds is achieved via metabolic adjustments

Temperature and other environmental factors play an integral role in the metabolic adjustments of animals and drive a series of morphological, physiological, and behavioral adaptions essential to survival....

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A highly effective incubation strategy enhanced the urban bird hatch success

Urbanization is currently considered one of the most rapid types of global environmental change. Urban habitats are biotically and abiotically different from their rural areas, i.e., the ambient temperature,...

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The mechanisms of color production in black skin versus red skin on the heads of New World vultures

A determination of how the color of animal integument is produced is a starting point for investigations into the function and evolution of coloration. The mechanisms that give rise to the color of...

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Structure and heterogeneity of habitat determine diet of predators despite prey abundance: Similar response in Long-eared, Short-eared Owls and Common Kestrels

According to one of the theses of optimal foraging theory, main prey species abundance in the hunting area is the main factor determining the diet and habitat choices of birds of prey. However other...

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Heterogeneity in song rates in the Collared Flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis) explained with the availability parameter in generalized N-mixture models: Its importance for abundance estimates in avian aural counts

Binomial N-mixture models are commonly applied to estimate abundance unaffected by imperfect detection, but are known to be sensitive to violations of assumptions. One of the model's assumptions, the...

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Intraguild niche partitioning in granivorous birds from the late past

Niche partitioning is a widespread ecological strategy within trophic guilds, ensuring the coexistence of sympatric species by reducing interspecific competition. Stable isotope analysis of carbon and...

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Feeding ecology of a highly aerial bird during its long breeding season

Pallid Swifts (Apus pallidus), as other swifts, are birds extremely adapted to an aerial lifestyle, showing unique adaptations that allow them to fly almost continuously. The diet of these non-stopping...

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Litter buffet: On the use of trash bins by birds in six boreal urban settlements

Unintentional food resources in urban areas (street litter, food leftovers, overflowing trash bins) are dietary components of some urban-exploiter bird species. In this study, we report on 13 bird species...

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The benefits of being smaller: Consistent pattern for climate-induced range shift and morphological difference of three falconiforme species

Climate exerts a dominant control over the distribution of species. Generally, species migrate to higher elevations to track thermal niches, but variations in morphological traits can result in trait-specific...

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Timing of breeding as a determinant of nest success of the vulnerable Chestnut Seedeater (Sporophila cinnamomea) in grasslands of southern South America

The breeding traits of Sporophila seedeaters have been relatively well studied in recent years; nevertheless, a group of ten species in the genus, known as southern capuchinos, remain understudied....

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Evolutionary relationships of mitogenomes in a recently radiated Old World avian family

Environmentally heterogeneous mountains provide opportunities for rapid diversification and speciation. The family Prunellidae (accentors) is a group of birds comprising primarily mountain specialists...

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Changes in wintering Hooded Cranes and their habitats at Chongming Dongtan over the past 20 years

The Hooded Crane (Grus monacha) is listed as a Vulnerable species in the IUCN red list. Tidal wetland (tideland), the major habitat for wintering Hooded Cranes at East China's Chongming Dongtan, has...

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Hummingbird-plant interactions in Chile: An ecological review of the available evidence

Hummingbird species have closely evolved with the plants they feed on, which is confirmed by their often tight ecological relationships in natural settings. Hummingbird-plant interactions are of interest...

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Social experience promotes the exploratory behaviour in Java Sparrows

Personality widely exists in diverse animal taxa. Such inter-individual variance in behaviour is supposed to be influenced by social context. However, it remains unknown whether the experience of social...

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