| anhydrolutein in the zebra finch: a new, metabolically derived carotenoid in birds. | many birds acquire carotenoid pigments from the diet that they deposit into feathers and bare parts to develop extravagant sexual coloration. although biologists have shown interest in both the mechanisms and function of these colorful displays, the carotenoids ingested and processed by these birds are poorly described. here we document the carotenoid-pigment profile in the diet, blood and tissue of captive male and female zebra finches (taeniopygia guttata). dietary carotenoids including: lutei ... | 2002 | 12128067 |
| can establishment success be determined through demographic parameters? a case study on five introduced bird species. | the dominant criterion to determine when an introduced species is established relies on the maintenance of a self-sustaining population in the area of introduction, i.e. on the viability of the population from a demographic perspective. there is however a paucity of demographic studies on introduced species, and establishment success is thus generally determined by expert opinion without undertaking population viability analyses (pvas). by means of an intensive five year capture-recapture monito ... | 2014 | 25333743 |
| the evolution of carotenoid coloration in estrildid finches: a biochemical analysis. | the estrildid finches (aves: passeriformes: estrildidae) of africa, asia, and australia have been the focus of several recent tests of sexual selection theory. many estrildids display bright red, orange, or yellow colors in the beak or plumage, which typically are generated by the presence of carotenoid pigments. in this study, we used high-performance liquid chromatography to investigate the carotenoid content of feathers and other colorful tissues in seven species of estrildids. star finches ( ... | 2004 | 15364287 |
| low survival of parasite chicks may result from their imperfect adaptation to hosts rather than expression of defenses against parasitism. | host parents exhibit a variety of behaviors toward avian brood parasites, but not all of their actions have necessarily evolved in response to costs imposed by parasites. to investigate whether common waxbills (estrilda astrild) have evolved defenses specifically against parasitic pin-tailed whydahs (vidua macroura), i studied the specificity and flexibility of host behaviors toward nestlings at two sites that differed significantly in parasitism rates and intensities. i focused on documenting n ... | 2005 | 16261738 |
| signalling with a cryptic trait: the regularity of barred plumage in common waxbills. | sexual signals often compromise camouflage because of their conspicuousness. pigmentation patterns, on the contrary, aid in camouflage. it was hypothesized that a particular type of pattern-barred plumage in birds, whereby pigmented bars extend across feathers-could simultaneously signal individual quality, because disruptions of these patterns should be perceptually salient at close range and help assess plumage condition. here we show that common waxbills (estrilda astrild), which have extensi ... | 2016 | 27293800 |
| six playback experimental designs fail to demonstrate acoustic preferences in common waxbills (estrildidae: estrilda astrild). | playback experiments in controlled laboratory settings have been instrumental in studies of animal communication and signal evolution. nonetheless, applying common methods to wild or non-model species can be challenging. we tested male and female common waxbills (estrilda astrild) for behavioural preferences of conspecific vs. heterospecific songs, and of conspecific song vs. calls. although common waxbills are related to model species used in this type of experiments, we could not demonstrate t ... | 2015 | 25783803 |
| similar preferences for ornamentation in opposite- and same-sex choice experiments. | selection due to social interactions comprises competition over matings (sexual selection stricto sensu) plus other forms of social competition and cooperation. sexual selection explains sex differences in ornamentation and in various other phenotypes, but does not easily explain cases where those phenotypes are similar in males and females. understanding such similarities requires knowing how phenotypes influence nonsexual social interactions as well, which can be very important in gregarious a ... | 2014 | 25371062 |
| out of africa: the mite community (arachnida: acariformes) of the common waxbill, estrilda astrild (linnaeus, 1758) (passeriformes: estrildidae) in brazil. | the common waxbill, estrilda astrild (l., 1758) (passeriformes: estrildidae) is a small passerine bird native to sub-saharan africa that has been introduced into several regions of the world. | 2017 | 28637478 |
| experimental evidence for a role of dopamine in avian personality traits. | there is increasing interest in the genetic and physiological bases of behavioural differences among individuals, namely animal personality. one particular dopamine (da) receptor gene (the dopamine receptor d4 gene) has been used as candidate gene to explain personality differences, but with mixed results. here, we used an alternative approach, exogenously manipulating the dopaminergic system and testing for effects on personality assays in a social bird species, the common waxbill (estrilda ast ... | 2020 | 31953366 |
| haemosporidian parasites missed the boat during the introduction of common waxbills (estrilda astrild) in iberia. | exotic species can experience fast expansion in new environments, especially if they left their pathogens behind (enemy release hypothesis) or brought novel pathogens to the native competitors (novel weapon hypothesis). common waxbills (estrilda astrild) are native to sub-saharan africa and invaded west iberia since the 1960s. past haemosporidian parasite surveys at four locations in portugal showed that waxbills can be infected with parasites, though with very low prevalence. however, it is not ... | 2018 | 29551097 |
| changes in habitat associations during range expansion: disentangling the effects of climate and residence time. | the distributions of many species are not at equilibrium with their environment. this includes spreading non-native species and species undergoing range shifts in response to climate change. the habitat associations of these species may change during range expansion as less favourable climatic conditions at expanding range margins constrain species to use only the most favourable habitats, violating the species distribution model assumption of stationarity. alternatively, changes in habitat asso ... | 2018 | 31258385 |