Sex and age-specific differences in wing pointedness and wing length in blackcaps Sylvia atricapilla migrating through the southern Baltic coast

• 作者: Agnieszka O?AROWSKA Grzegorz ZANIEWICZ W?odzimierz MEISSNER
• 来源期刊: 动物学报（英文版）
• 年，卷（期）: 2021,（3）
• 所属期刊栏目: Articles
• 页码范围: 271-277
• 页数: 7页
• 语种: 英文
• DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoaa065

摘要

The blackcap Sylvia atricapilla shows a complex migratory pattern and is a suitable species for the studies of morphological migratory syndrome,including adaptations of wing shape to different mi-gratory performance.Obligate migrants of this species that breed in northern,central,and Eastern Europe differ by migration distance and some cover shorter distance to the wintering grounds in the southern part of Europe/North Africa or the British Isles,although others migrate to sub-Saharan Africa.Based on＞40years of ringing data on blackcaps captured during autumn migra-tion in the Southern Baltic region,we studied age-and sex-related correlations in wing pointedness and wing length of obligate blackcap migrants to understand the differences in migratory behavior of this species.Even though the recoveries of blackcaps were scarce,we reported some evidence that individuals which differ in migration distance differed also in wing length.We found that wing pointedness significantly increased with an increasing wing length of migrating birds,and adults had longer and more pointed wings than juvenile birds.This indicates stronger antipredator adap-tation in juvenile blackcaps than selection on flight efficiency,which is particularly important dur-ing migration.Moreover,we documented more pronounced differences in wing length between adult and juvenile males and females.Such differences in wing length may enhance a faster speed of adult male blackcaps along the spring migration route and may be adaptive when taking into ac-count climatic effects,which favor earlier arrival from migration to the breeding grounds.