SEXUALDIFFERENCESINLEVELSOFBLOODCAROTENOIDSIN CIRLBUNTINGSEMBERIZACIRLUS
JORDIFIGUEROLA 1RICARDGUTIERREZ2
FiguerolaJ.R.Gutidrrez1998.Sexualdifferencesinlevelsofbloodca
rotenoidsinCirlBuntingsEmberizacirlus..
Carotenoidsareresponsiblefor thebrightredandyellowplumageof birds. Thesesubstancescannotbesynthesisedbybirdsandmustbeobtained fromthedietandtransportedthrough thebloodtothefeathers.Thecarot enoidcontentofbloodwasmeasuredinCirlBuntingsEmberizacirlus, a specieswithsexuallydimorphicyellowplumage.Carotenoidconcentra tion,estimatedfromthecolorationofthe plasma,washigherinmalesthan infemalesandjuveniles.Thesedifferenceswereunrelatedtothegreaterin cidenceoffeathermoultinmales.Althoughthereasonsforthedifferences arenotunderstood,theresultsofthisandtwopreviousstudiessuggestthat, inspecieswithsexuallydichromaticplumage, the quantityofcarotenoids transportedin the bloodishigherinthemorebrightlycolouredsex.
Keywords:Emberizacirlus -carotenoids-passerines-plumagebrightness
-sexualdimorphism-sexualattractiveness
‘DepartamentdeBiologiaAnimal(Vertebrats),FacultatdeBiologia,Avda. Diagonal645,E-08028Barcelona,Spain; 2Departamentd’Agricultura, RamaderiaiPesca,GranVia612-614,E-08007Barcelona,Spain; Present address:DepartmentofAppliedBiology,EstaciónBiológicadeDoflana,
CSIC,Avda.MariaLuisas/n,41013,Spain,
Manyofthesexualdifferencesinplumagecolor ationofbirdsresult fromtheoccurrenceofcarot enoid-derivedcoloursinmales (Gray1996). Brightyellow,orange,redandvioletcolorations areproducedbytheaccumulationof carotenoids infeathers(Brush1978).Unlikeotherplumage pigmentssuchasmelanin,carotenoids cannotbe synthesisedby birds,andhaveto beobtained fromthebird’s diet(Brush1978,1990;Goodwin
1984).Afteringestion,carotenoids aretransported
fromthedigestivetract tothedevelopingfeathers viatheblood(Fox1962).Differentstudieshave shownthatfemalesprefertomatewithbrightly plumagedmales(i.e.Hill1991).Arelationship betweenthe quantityofcarotenoidsintheblood (estimatedfromthecolorationoftheplasma)and thebrightnessofthedevelopingplumage,aswell assexualdifferences incarotenoidconcentra tions,havebeenreportedintheHouse FinchCar-
podacusmexicanus(Hillet al. 1994). Asimilar sex-specificpatternofcarotenoidcontentinthe bloodoccursintheNorthernCardinalCardinalis cardinalis,alsoaspecieswitharedcarotenoid derivedandasexuallydimorphicplumage(Hill
1995a).Redandyellowplumagesseemtobepro
ducedbydifferentkind ofcarotenoids(i.e.Brush
Power1976;HudonBrush1992),butupto nownostudyhasexaminedthesexualdifferences inbloodcarotenoidcontentinayellow-plumaged sexuallydimorphicspecies.Inthispaperwecom paretheplasmacolorationofmale,femaleand juvenileCirlBuntingEmberizacirlus,andpro videthefirstevidenceofsexualdifferencesin plasmacolorationinaspecieswithsexuallydi morphicyellow plumage.
TheCirlBuntingisa15.5cmlongpasserine
weighingabout25g.Itiswidely distributed throughout southern Europe and Africa
titles);thecontinuationofWieken Sneb Watervogels(1976-1981,vol.1-6;147titles);se riesdiscontinued
DeGraspieper (1982-1998, vol. 2-18(1); 556
titles)
Inall,thefilelists31,867titlesof17journals. Furtherinformationisavailablebythecompilers ofthisdiskette:
H.J.Lichtenbeld,Valparaisodreef47.3563VL Utrecfit,TheNetherlands
G. Speek,Zonegge16-16,6903GNZevenaar,T
heNetherlands
EDITORIALACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Theeditorialteamwishestothankthe following colleagueswhorefereedmanuscriptsorotherwise providedhelpand advice:
M.Arts,A.V.Badyaev, P.Bednekoff,A.J.Bein tema,A.Berg,R.M.Bevan,E.Bignal,R.G.Bijl sma,C.Both,H.Boyd,J.S.Bradley,R.Brandl,
M.Brinkhof,M.E.Brown,B.Bruderer, L.W. Bruinzeel, C. Carey,J.Carroll,A.J.Cave,B.Eb binge, M. Engelmoer,Y.Ezaki, J.R. Faaborg, A.D.Fox,J.A.vanFraneker,W.R.Fraser,H.Gal braith,A.Gardarsson,S.M.Gatesy,J.Gonzalez- Soils,G.E.Hill,H.J.Hill,P.A.Hockey,H.Hoi, H.Hdtker,A.I.Houston,J.Hudson,B.Kempe
naers,E.Korpimaki,A.Kvist,A.Lindstrom,M.
Loonen,E.Meelis,T.Meijer,P.Monaghan, J.J. Negro, G.Nehis,j.A.Nillson, B.Nolet,K.Nor
ris,M.Owen,W.J.Peach,I.Pen,T.Piersma,J. Prop,K.Reid,G.Ruxton,H.Schekkerman,T. Slagsvold,A.L.Spaans,R.A.Stiliman,I.Tinber gen,I. vander Veen,S.Verhulst,H.Visser,I.Wa nink,P.Wiersma,B.Zonfrillo.Inaddition,we wantto thankGeryEngelmoer-Hoekstra (layout; Computekst,Groningen),DickVisser(artwork; GroningenUniversity),andJosZwarts(artwork) fortheverypleasantco-operation andhighqua lityoftheirworkforArdea. ArieSpaans(IBN DLO,Wageningen)kindlycorrectedthe‘Samen vattingen’.RobDapper(NIOZ)wasinstrumental inthemaintenanceandupdatesoftheNOUhome page.
(SnowPerrins1997).Maleshavehighlyvari ableplumages,withvariousextents ofyellow featheringonbreast,bellyandhead.Theplumage offemales,andespeciallyjuvenilesofbothsexes, islessconspicuous,withmainlylightgreyand brownunderparts,andsomelightyellowpartsin adultfemales(Gutiérrez 1997).
CirlBuntingsweretrappedwithmist-netsat
Juncosa (Lleida, northeast Spain, 41°23N,
00°46’E)inJuly-August1996andAugust1997. Individual4swereringed,wing-lengthandbody-
masswiremeasured,and moultstageand differ
entplumagecharacteristicsofthemaleswerere corded.Bloodwasextractedbypuncturingthe brachIalvein,andrecoveredinaheparinizedcap illarytubeandonamicroscopeslide.Aftercen trifugationofthecapillarytubes,thethreebasic characteristics of colour, were later estimated (light,chromaandhue)oftheplasmaweremeas uredusing a Minolta CR200 colorimeter.The colorimetersendsastandardisedlightflashover thetableusedtoscoretheplasmaandanalyses thereflectedlight(seeSenaretal.1998).Huerep resentsthewavelengthofacolourandismeas uredindegreesofacirclewith redat0degrees, yellowat90degrees,greenat180degrees,blue at270degreesandcompletingthecirclewith red at 360 degrees. Lightness corresponds to the physicallightintensity,tothecolour sensation producedoverascaleofgreys.Lightnesswas measuredonaslidingscalewith0forblackto
100forwhite.Chromaispositively correlatedto colourmonochromatism(Kuppers1996),andis
measuredaspercentagesaturationrangingfrom0 forwhiteto100forpurecolour.
Bloodsampleswereobtainedfrom93indi
viduals(Table1).Nodifferencesweredetectedin lightnessandhuevaluesofplasma between young,adultmales andadult females(Kruskall Wallistest:light,H393=2.61,P=0.27;hue,H393
=0.03,P=0.93).Highlysignificantdifferences
werefoundinthechromavaluesofplasma(H393
=24.02,P0.0001). Thesedifferencesweredue
toahigherchromavaluesofmales comparedto females (Mann-WhitneyU-test,Z229=-2.99,P
0.003)andjuveniles(Z229 -4.80,P0.0001),
but no differencesoccurred betweenjuveniles andfemales(Z229=-0.42,P=0.68).Ahigher proportion ofmalesthanfemaleswereundergo ingbodymoult(F-Fisher,P=0.001).Nodiffer enceswerefoundinplasmacoloration inmoult ingandnon-moultingmales(chroma:Z175=-
1.14,P=0.25;light:Z175 -0.51,P=0.61;hue:
Z175=-0.12, P=0.91). Non-moultingmales
showedhigherchromascoresthannon-moulting
females(Z58=-2.49,P=0.01),althoughnodif ferenceswerefoundfortheothertwovariables (light:Z58=-0.44,P=0.66;hue:Z58 -0.44,P
0.66).Comparisonsformoultingandnon-moult
ingfemales,andformoultingmalesandfemales werenotcomputedduetothesmallnumberof moultingfemalescaptured.
The basicassumptionof thisstudyis that
plasmacolorationreflectscarotenoidcontent(see
BrushJohnson1976;Brush1990;Hilletal.
1994,foradiscussionofitsvalidity).Onthisba
Table1. Aspectofplasma colour(seetext)inunsexedjuvenile, andadultmaleandfemale,CirlBuntings (ave
rages±l SD).
n / Lightness / Hue / ChromaJuveniles / 62 / 83.4±3.9 / 87.7± / 7.0 / 47.2±6.2
Males / 22 / 82.5±3.3 / 87.9± / 4.4 / 57.1±8.2
non-moulting / 5 / 82.7 ±3.5 / 88.5 ± / 5.0 / 61.3±8.5
moulting / 17 / 82.4±3.4 / 87.8 ± / 4.3 / 55.9±7.9
Females / 9 / 81.5±7.3 / 83.5 ± / 15.3 / 47.1±8.1
nonmoulting / 8 / 80.9±7.5 / 82.2± / 15.7 / 48.7±7.0
moulting / 1 / 86.1 / 94.3 / 34.4
cludedonthemailinglistforbrochuresandfor informationonthe23rlCongressshouldbesent totheSecretary-GeneralortheAssistantSecre tary-General.
Allinquiriesaboutthescientificprogramof the23Mcongress,aswellascommentsandsug gestionsforthe generalprogram,plenarylec tures,andsymposia shouldbesenttoDrFer nandoSpina,Chair,ScientificProgramCommit tee,23’ Congress,InstitutoNazionaleperIa FaunaSelvatica,ViaCa’Fomacetta9,1-40064
OzzanoEniila (BO),Italy,phone+39516512
111,fax+3951796628,e-mail<infsioc@iper
bole.bologna.it>.
General questionsandcommentsshouldbe senttoDrWalterJ.Bock,Presidentofthe23td Congress(addressseebelow).Inquiriesaboutthe International Ornithological Committee should besenttoDrDominiqueG.Homberger,Secre taryoftheInternationalOrnithologicalCommit tee, DepartmentofBiologicalSciences,508Life SciencesBuilding,Louisiana StateUniversity, BatonRouge,LA70803-1715,USA,phone+1
504388 1747, fax+15043882597,e-mail <zod >.Informationaboutthe IOCcan also be obtained from a new home page at
<
whichiscurrentlyunderconstruction.
DrWalterJ. Bock,Presidentofthe23Congress, Department ofBiologicalSciences,Columbia University,l200AmsterdamAvenue,MailBox
5521,NewYork,NY10027-7004,USA,phone
+12128544487,fax12128658246,e-mail
<>.
COMPLETETABLEOFCONTENTSOF
ARDEA AVAILABLEONDISKETTE
AcompletetableofcontentsofARDEAisnow availableondiskette(DbaseIV format),inclu dingtitlesofarticles,shortnotes,notesandnoti ces,bookreviews,necrologiesandintroductions,
3455titlesinall:1912-1998,vols. 1(1)to86(1). ARDEAwasthecontinuationof‘Jaarboekjesder NederlandscheOrnithologischeVereeniging’ (An nualreportsofthe NetherlandsOrnithologists’ Organisation),whichwasissuedbetween 1904 and1911,andthetableofcontentsofwhichisin cludedon thediskette(152titles).
Theindexfilewasissuedforthe first time in December1998,andwillbefollowed byupdates, whichcanbeorderedatanymoment,convenient fortheuser.Thedisketteisissuedatapriceof Dfl.50,=percopy(Dii.45,=formembersofthe NOU,institutesandlibrariesDfl.250,=).Updates areavailableforDfl.25,=(Dfi.22,50/Dfl.100,=) percopy.Thediskettedoesnotincludeasearch engine,foritisassumedthatthedatawillbeim portedintoreferencesystemsofone’s own choice.BesidestheindexofARDEAand ofJaar boekjesderN.O.V.,thediskettecontainsacom pleteindexof:
DrentseVogels(1985-1998, vol.1-11;151titles) DutchBirding(1979-1998,vol.1-20(5);2290titles) Jaarberichtder ‘Club’ (1911-1928,vol.1-17;
684titles)
Orgaander‘Club’(1928-1933,vol.1-6,868titles) Limosa(1934-1998, vol.7-71(3);3845titles);the continuationofOrgaander‘Club’
RingingMigration(1975-1998,vol.1-19(1);
469titles)
SlechtvalkNieuwsbrief(1995-1998,vol.1-4(1);
56titles)
Sula(1987-1998,vol.1-12(2);797titles)
DeTakkeling(1993-1998, vol.1-6(3);326titles)
Vanellus(1948-1998, vol.1-51(5);6621titles)
OphetVinkentouw(1963-1998,vol.1-87;1311 titles)
WiekenSneb(1951-1956,vol.1-4;317titles)
Het Vogeljaar(1957-1998, vol. 5-46(5); 9688
sis,the carotenoidcontentofmalep’asmawas higherthanthatoffemalesandjuveniles.These differencescould berelatedto thehighercaroten oidcontentofmaleplumage,andtheneedfor highercarotenoidlevelstoproducemorebrightly colouredplumage(Hilleta!.1994).Thatthepro portionofmoulting malesinoursamplewashig herthanthatoffemalescouldhavebiasedour es timatesofplasma carotenoidsiftheingestionof carotenoids,orthedegreetowhichtheywerere
tainedintl1e blood,increasedduringthemoult
(seeHill1995b).However,therewasnodiffer
enceinplasmacolorationbetweenmoulting and non-moultingmales.Sexualdifferencesinplas ma hroma remained statistically significant whenonlythedatafromnonmoultingbirdswere considered.Additionally,juvenilebirdsthatwere stillgrowingtheirfirstfeathersinsomepartsof thebodyhadlowercarotenoid levelsthanmales. Thissuggeststhatthepattemsfoundarenotan artifactofsexualdifferencesinmoultinitiation date.
Differencesin plasmacoloration havebeen
alsoreportedin theHouseFinchand theNorthern Cardinal(Hill1995a).Thesestudiessuggestthat therearesexualdifferencesinthequantityofca rotenoidstransportedintheblood.Thecausesof thesedifferencesarenotunderstood,butseveral non-mutually exclusive hypotheses have been proposed.Forexample,malesandfemalescould differinthedensityofcarotenoid-carryingpro teinsintheblood (seeTrams1969).Sexualdiffer ences in foraging behaviour or diet selection couldalsoresultinahighercarotenoidintakein males(Hill1992).Ourdatadonotallowusto de terminethereasonsforthispattern,whichhasso farbeeninvestigatedinveryfewspecies.Investi gationofcarotenoidlevelsin non-sexuallydimor phicspeciescould provideadditionalinforma tion.Ifthereporteddifferenceswerereallyre latedtoplumageneedsandnottootherecological factorsdifferingbetweensexes,wewouldexpect tofindnodifferencesintheplasma colorationof non-dimorphicspecies.However,Bortolottietat (1996)haverecentlyreportedtheexistenceofsex ualdifferences in theconcentration of plasma
caretonoidsinLoggerheadShrikesLaniusludovi cianus,aspecieswithoutcarotenoid derived colorations.
DrJuanCarlosSenar(MuseudeZoologiade
Barcelona)kindlyallowedustousethecolorime ter.ManelPomarolprovidedessentialsupportfor thework.TheArbonesfamilyprovidedlodging facilitiesandgreatlyimproved ourforagingsuc cess.FranciscoCerdàandMontserrat Panyella collaboratedinthefieldwork.Thecommentsof GeoffHill,JocelynHudonand TheunisPiersma inprovedanearlierversionofthismanuscript.
REFERENCES
BortotottiG.R.,1.1.Negro,J.L.Telia,TA.Marchant D.M.Bird1996.Sexualdichromatisminbirdsin dependentof diet,parasitesandandrogens.Proc. R.Soc.Lond.B263:1171-1176.
BrushA.H.1978.Avianpigmentation.In:BrushD.E. (ed.).Chemicalzoology,10:141-161.Academic
Press,NewYork.
BrushA.H.1990.Metabolismofcarotenoidpigments inbirds.Fed.Am.Soc.Exp.Biol.J.4:2969-2977.
BrushA.H.N.K.Johnson1976.Theevolutionofco
lordifferencesbetweenNashvilleandVirginia’s
warblers.Condor78:412-414.
FoxD.L.1962.Metabolicfractionation,storage,and
displayofcarotenoid pigments byflamingoes. Comp.Biochem.Physiol.6:1-40.
GoodwinT.W.1984.Thebiochemistryofcarotenoids.
Vol.2,Animals,2nded.ChapmanandHall,New
York.
GrayD.A.1996.Carotenoidsand sexualdichromatism
inNorthAmericanpasserinebirds.Am.Nat.148:
453-480.
Gutidrrez R.1997.Identification ofCirlBuntings.
Alula3:174-180.
HillG.E.1991.Plumagecolorationisasexuallyse
lectedindicator ofmalequality.Nature350:337-
339.
HillG.E.1992.Proximatebasisofvariationincaroten
oid pigmentationinmaleHouseFinches.Auk109:
1-12.
HillG.E.1995a.Interspecificvariationinplasmahue
inrelationtocarotenoidplumagepigmentation.
Auk112:1054-1057.
HillG.E.1995b.Seasonalvariationincirculatingca
rotenoidpigmentsintheHouseFinch.Auk112:
1057-1061.
HillG.E., R.Montgomerie,C.Y.Inouye3. Dale
sitism,parentage,extra-paircopulations(includ ingnecrophilia),ectoparasites,predators,crèches, informationcentres, kieptoparasitism,andnon- breeding.However,itisabookfullofanecdotes rather than insightful scientificobservations, a book of how a fairly self-confident academic trainsandleadshisratheranonymousassistants andstudentsinthefield.Thereisnodoubt,how ever,thattheCliffSwallows,intheirtightlypac kedcoloniesinculvertsformanidealstudyob jectandthatthemanyyearsofstudyinNebraska havebeanexceptionallyproductive.Goodnews isthe factthatthereisan extensivesubjectindex inthebackofthispaperback,sothatinteresting subjectscanbeeasily(re-)located. (CJC)
SECONDMEETINGEUROPEAN ORNITHOLOGISTSUNION GDANSK(POLAND),
15-18SEPTEMBER1999
TheEuropeanOrnithologistsUnionwas estab lishedin1997.TheaimoftheUnionisthead vancementofornithologyandthepromotionof thescientificstudyofbirds amongornithologists withinEurope.ThefirstEOUMeetingwasheld inBologna,Italy.Therewasnearly250partici pantsfrom28countries(mostlyfrom thewest partofEurope).The aimoftheSecond Meetingis tocreateanopportunityforareallylargenumber ofornithologistsfromthewholeofEuropeto ex changethemostrecent resultsof theirworkin differenttopics,tomakeitpossibletodiscussdif ferentaspects oftheirresearch,tomake contacts between centralleasternscientistsandwestern onesaseffectiveaspossible. Thusitwasagreed toholdthis conferenceinPolandtoenablemany scientiststocomefromcentralandeasternpartof Europe.Theconferencewillincludethreedaysof meetingsandwillconsistof:-plenarysessions (withinvitedkeyspeakers)- symposia/work shops -postersessionswithspecialtimeforpre sentationanddiscussion. Therewillbepost-con ferenceexcursions.The conferencelanguagewill beEnglish,and theproceedingswillbepublished
inEnglish.
Thesecondconferencewilltakeplace in Gdansk,an oldtownsituatedonthecoastofBal ticSeainthenorthpartofPoland.Itwillbeheld attheUniversityofGdansk.Thevenue offers goodfacilitiesformeetings,isnotfarfromthe centreofthetown,easilyaccessiblebycar,tram orsubway.Theconferencefee($120),includes conferencedocumentsandproceedings.
Organisingcommittee:University ofGdansk, BirdMigrationResearchStation,Przebendowo
84-210Choczewo,Poland,phone+4858676 32
20, fax +4858676 32 65, e-mail <eou.meet
>.
23RDINTERNATIONALORNITHO LOGICALCONGRESSINBEUING, AUGUST2002
Atthe22ndInternationalOrnithologicalCon
gressheldinDurban,SouthAfrica,16-23August
1998,theInternationalOrnithologicalCommittee votedtoaccepttheinvitationfromtheChinese ornithologiststohostthe23rdInternationalOrni thologicalCongressinBeijing,China,on11-17
August2002.Informationcanbeobtainedviaem
ail<>,viatheinternetat
< the22uidcongressat <
Itwillbepossibletoregisterandtosubmitab
stractsviatheinternet.Thefollowingarecontact addressesofpeopleresponsibleforthe23Con gressinBeijing.ProfessorXuWeishu,Secretary- Generalofthe23’’ Congress,BeijingNatural HistoryMuseum,1-1-302,BeijingScienceand TechnologyCommissionApt.,Balizhuang, Hai dianDistrict,Beijing100037,China,phonefax:
+861068465605,e-mail<>.The HonorableLiuFeng,AssistantSecretary-General ofthe23k’Congress,ChinaInternationalConfer enceCenterforScienceandTechnology,Xuey uanNanRoad,Beijing100081,China,phone+
861062174952;fax+861062180142,e-mail
<>.Requeststobein-
248ARDEA86(2),1998
1994.Influence ofdietarycarotenoids onplasma andplumagecolourinthehousefinch:intra-and intersexualvariation.Funct. Ecol.8: 343-350.
HudonJ. &A.H.Brush1992.Identificationofcaroten
oid pigmentsin birds.MethodsEnzymol. 213:
312-321.
KUppersH.1996.Atlasdeloscolores.Blume,Barce
lona.
SenarJ.C.,J.Domênech &M.J.Conroy1998. Sexing Serinfledgingsbyplumagecolourandmorpho metric variables.OrnisSvecica 8:inpress.
Snow D.W.C.M.Perrins1997.TheBirdsofthe
Wesern Palearctic.ConciseEdition.OxfordUn
sivitdyiPress,Oxford.
TramsE.1969.Carotenoidtransportintheplasmaof theScarletIbis(Eudocimusruber).Comp.Bio chem.Physiol.28:1177-1184.
SAMENVATTING
Carotenenzijnplantaardigebiologische kleurstoffen diemeestalverantwoordelijkzijnvoordefellerode, oranjeengelekleurenvanvogels.Vogelskunnencaro teennietselfaanmaken,endestoffenmoetendusmet hetvoedselwordenopgenomen. Caroteenwordtnaar groeiendeverengetransporteerdviadebloedbaan. In dezestudiewerdencaroteenconcentratiesinhetbloed geschat aandehandvandematevankleuringvanhet bloedplasmabij deinZuid-Europaalgemeenvoorko mende CirlgorsEmberizacirlus.Bijdezegorzensoort heefthetmannetjeeengelerverenkleeddanhetvrouw tje.Inderdaadwas hetbloedplasma vanmannetjesge lerdandatvande vaal-gekleurdevrouwtjesenjuvenie len.DeresultatenvoordegeelgekleurdeCirlgorszijn inovereenstemmingmeteerderestudiesaanroodge kleurdezangvogels:bijdichromatische vogelsoorten wordt inhetbloedvandefelgekleurdesexehetmeeste caroteen getransporteerd. (TP)
Received5January1998, accepted14July1998
Correspondingeditor:TheunisPiersma
Browsingthroughthis fascinatingbookgives the impressionthatmostbirderswerebearded men.Thereis someexceptions,likeEvelynBax ler (1879-1959) and Leonora Rintoul (1875-
1953),EmilieSnethiage(1868-1929),Elizabeth Kozlova(1892-1975) anda few other women whohaveaprominentplacein thisbook.All thesepeoplearedescribedandwhenpossiblede pictedinabookthatreadslikeanovel.Thisisa bookaboutthenameswe so oftenseeattachedto birdnames:Linnaeus,Hutton,Pleske,Temminck, Steller, MtiGillivray, Bulwer,Franklin,and Gouldtonameafew.Chaptersaredevotedto the birdartists(e.g.JohnGould),armyofficers (e.g. RichardMeinertzhagen),clergymenand mission aries(e.g.ReverendFrancis Jourdain)andthe professionalfieldcollecters(e.g.AlfredRussell Wallace).Itdescribestheirmethodsofkilling, skinningandpreparing,labellingandnote taking, andinparticularthedifficultiesinthefieldand the severeproblemsinvolvedwithgettingthe specimenshome.Ifallwentfine, therewere still themuseumdisasterslikefireorinsectsruining vastcollections.
Thewriters,Barbara andRichardMearns, mustbecongratulatedwiththeirwork.Onthe dustcoverwereadthat“theystrongly believethat theimportantroleofthescientific collectors shouldnotbeforgottenandthattheir collections shouldnotbeundervalued.”Thisbookisaseri ouscontributiontowardsachievingjustthat.
Kees(C.].)Camphuysen
NetherlandsInstituteforSeaResearch, P0.Box59,1790ABDenBurg,Texel, The Netherlands
ALSORECEIVED
ERRITZOEJ.H.B. ERRITZOE1998.-Pittas oftheWorld.AMonographonthePittaFamily- TheLutterworthPress,Cambridge.ISBN07188
29611.Hardback,2O’lpp,32colourplates,some
linedrawingsand B&Wphotographs, numerous maps. Price: £30.=(f94=).
Onlytwoyearsafterthepublicationofanidentifi cationguideonPittas,Broadbillsand Asities (LambertWoodcock1996, PicaPress,Sussex), thismonographonthePittafamilyhas beenpub lished.Afteraverydetailed chapteronthePitta familiyanditsplacewithin thePasseriformes thereare30speciesaccounts,akeytothesyno nymsandnewproposed names,aglossary, 5ap pendices and an impressive bibliography(ca.
1300references). AnyoneinterestedinPittas shouldhavethisbook.Thetextsareverywellor ganised,withclearheadingsandsubdivisions,in formationonrecentrecords (after1975),habitat, vocalisations,foodandfeedingbehaviour,breed ingbiology, moult,biometrics,andworldwide museumholdingsofskins.Perhapsnot expected inabooklikethisaresectionsonPittasincaptiv ity,whichincludeincredibledetailssuchasthe survivalofindividualsonadietofWayme dog foodwithvitaminsandmixedwithfinelydiced three-day-old mice, apparentlybecause“Pittas arenotbirdsforthebeginnerinaviculture.”This bookisamust,because ifitisn’tinthebook,or cannotbefoundusingthespectacular bibliogra phy, itiseitherunknownornotworthbeing known. (CJC)
BROWNC.R.1998.-SwallowSummer-Univer
sityofNebraskaPress,Lincoln.ISBN0-8032-
6145-4. Paperback, 371pp, 26 B&W photo
graphs.2maps.Price$16.95(f31.50).
Inthisbook,bestdescribedasanovelindiary format,CharlesBrown,oneoftheco-authorsof ColonialilyintheCliffSwallow(Universityof ChicagoPress,1996),leadsthereaderthrough onefieldseason,infactthe15thconsecutivesea sonofstudy.ThebookstartsonMay8, 1995(the startofanewfieldseason)andendsonJuly27, whenthe expedition packs up to movehome again.Itdescribesinaratherentertainingmanner thefieldworkatcoloniesofCliffSwallowsPet rochelidonpyrrhonotanear Ogallala insouth westernNebraska,USA.Althoughadescription offieldworkratherthanstudyresults,several interestingbiologicalaspectsareaddressed,such ascolonyformation,sitefaithfulness,broodpara
249
ESSAYSONRECENTPUBLICATIONS
(ANINVITATION)
In addition to the ‘ordinary’book reviews,in
1999,Ardea hasinauguratedanew‘bookreview’ sectioncalled‘Essays on recent publications’,to publishin-depthcriticalreviews ofimportant booksinornithology.Newornithologicalbooks tendtoreceiverather cursorytreatmentinthe bookreviewsectionsofthemajorjournalsand, inspiredby,theextensivebookreviewspublished byEvolution,Ardea nowaimstoprovideoppor tunitiesforcriticalreaderstopresentlastingeval uationsofnewpublicationsintheirfieldofinter estandexpertise.
Weinvitereviewerstosubmitessaysonchal lengingbookspublishedinrecentyears.Essays shouldbeformattedasshortpublications andin cludea title,alist ofreferences andthenameand addressoftheauthor.The titleandpublicationde tails ofthebookunder reviewwillbe givenasa footnotetotheessay.Ardea aimstopublish‘Es says on recent publications’assoonaspossible aftersubmission.Manuscriptswillbereviewed bymembersoftheeditorialteam,with outside helpifnecessary.Twenty-fivereprintswillbeof feredfreeofcharge.
BOOKREVIEWS
BookreviewsinArdea arewritten oninvitation. Booksreviewedbelowwere receivedfromthe publishersandwillbekeptinthelibraryofthe NetherlandsOrnithologists’Unionforconsulta tion byNOUmembers.Thereviewsaremeantto alert readerstonewbooksandtogiveanidea whether ornotthebookisworthreadingorpur chasing.Reviewsshouldthereforebedescriptive, butalsohighlightboththe strengthsandweak nesses ofthebook.Reviewsshouldbeinforma tive,interestingandpertinent.Technicalinforma tion onthebooksunderreviewincludespub lisher, ISBNnumber(ifavailable),anindication oftheprice(andf),thenumberofpages,fig ures,tablesandphotographs.Prices,ifnotmdi-
catedbythepublishers,arebasedonrecentcata loguesofmajorbooksellers.Englishpounds () havebeenconvertedintoDutchguilders(f)ata rateof1:3.13; 1$=f1.86,1DM=f1.13.
BYRKJEDALI.D.B.A.THOMPSON1998- Tundra Plovers:theEurasian,PacificandAmeri canGoldenPloversandGrey Plover -T.A.D. Poyser,London.ISBN0-85661-109-3.Hardback,
422pp.,onecolourplate,57blackwhite pla tes, 89 figures, and 16 tables. Price £ 27.95 (f87.50).
“Mostofallthisisabookbyandforpeoplewho lovethebirdsandtheirhaunts.Youmayhave beenon alargecoastal mudflat, in themidstofan agriculturallandscape.orevenwanderingacross hugetundraplainsclosetotheNorthPole.Itdoes notreally matter,forsolongas youhavewatched atundraplover, andthoughtaboutitsbehaviour, ecologyandappearance,youarewithus.” This quotefromthebeginningofIngvarByrkjedaland DesThompson’s impressivebookonthefour speciesofPluvialis,thetundraplovers,isspoton. Itisadeeplyinspiredbook,thelabouroflove fromagiftedNorwegianlScottishduo.Thebook isbeautifulforits manyoriginaldrawingsbyIng varByrkjedalandforitstext,anditprovidesan incredible,worldwide,compilationofdataonthe birds’morphology,distribution,populationsizes, breedingschedules,breedingbehaviour,migra tionpatternsandschedulesanddiets.Browsing thebookgivesoneafeelfortheecological and behaviouraltraitsthatunitethetundraploversas agenus,butalsoafeelforwhat setseachofthe speciesapartfromtheothers;itimpressesone withtheaccumulatedamountofknowledgeon tundraploverswhilstatthesametimeconveying thehugegapsinourunderstandingofthisworld wideandenigmaticgroupofbirds.
Thesceneis setintheforewordbyDerekRat cliffe,thedescriptionsoftheauthors’plover-la denpersonalhistories,asurveyofthestudyareas, andareviewoftheploverandlapwingfamily Charadriidae.Itisclearthatthetundraploversare
ARDEAt(2),I99
ershipofover50,000skinswasnotunusual.Wil hamHenry Phelps(1875-1965),withhelpofhis sonBillyandhisdaughterinlawKathleencol lected76,000skins,mainlyfromVenezuela(Co
.lecciónOrnitologiaPhelpsinSabena Grande). LouisBishopofConnecticut(1865-1950)person allyshotabout40%ofthe53,000skinsinhiscol lection,manyofthemwhileonvacation.Count HansvonBerlepschfromHessen(1850-1915),a hummingbird specialist, had a collection of
55,000s4inswithnofewerthan6000ofthesebe
inghuirimingbirds.Thebirdsandbutterfliesthat
WalterRothschildinitiallyhousedin hisbedroom andagardenshedgraduallyswelledto280,000 bird skins,2400mountedbirds,200,000birds’ eggs,3400mammals(mounts,skinsandskulls),
2,250,000lepidoptera,300,000beetlesand other invertebrates,reptilesandfish(laterleading tothe establishmentofTringMuseuminwhichtohouse them).Therewereseveralmoreofthose‘veryac tive’collectors,convenientlysummarizedinthe chapteron‘TheGreatAccumulators’.
Obviously, therewasnotjustkillingforcol lectionsandthisbookexplorestheharvests of birdsand theireggs insimilardetail.Birdsasver min,birdsbeingdecorative anduseful,birdskil ledforsport,birdsasfood.Asonedramaticillus trationthereisthispictureoftheLaysanAlba trosses(p.14),beingrobbedoftheireggsonLay- san(Hawaiianislands)in1906forcompaniesthat usedalbumeninthemanufactureofphotographic paper. Thebirdsstandaroundintheircolony whichhasjustbeenclearedofeggs.Heapsof eggsarevisible,piledupinwagonsandwheel barrows,withthecollectorstakingarest.Among thecollectorsisasmallgirlvisible,TillieSchiem mer.Tillielivedontheislandwithherfatherand she,despitethelocalpopulationofafew millions ofseabirds,demandedpets. Father introduced Englishrabbits,GuineaPigs andBelgianHares. Tillie’spetsbredsoproficallythatherfatherre leasedthem.Threeyearslater,Japanesefeather hunterslanded(illegally)ontheislandandkilled
200,000seabirds,mainlyalbatrosses.Thecolo
nieswouldprobablyhaverecoveredfromtherob
bery,buttheintroducedherbivores,Tillie’spets,
hadcausedecologicaldisaster(erosion).Withthe exceptionofSchlemmer’stobaccopatch,every greenleafontheislandwasconsumed. mci dently,theendemicMillerbirds,LaysanHoney- creepersandLaysanRailswerewipedout.Thisis justone‘little’drama,orratherafewincidents leadingtodisaster,ofwhichthisbookgivesso manyexamples.
Intheappendixofthisbook,69museumsare
listed, housing atleast7,362,574 skins.Since
1600,90speciesand60subspeciesofbirdshave vanishedfromthe faceoftheearth,thevastma jorityofthembeingislandendemics. Collectors aresometimesblamedforthe extinctionofbirds, mostnotablysoincaseoftheDodoandtheGreat Auk.However,thiswasalsotheerawherethe rapidlyadvancingcivilizationtransformed the worldandwherethelossofnatural habitat broughtsomanyspeciestoextinction.Habitatde structionissomethingatwhichwe arestillvery good.Whilewenowgenerallyfind itmorally wrong toharmor killbirds,wecannotstopclear ingawaytropicalrainforests.Wenowtry andre habilitatetheoddoiledseabirdwashed ashore, shockedasweare,butatthesametimewefailto stopchronicoilpollutionofourseasandwecon tinueoverfishing.So,beforethe fingerispointed totheold collectors,we shouldlookat ourselves firstandperhapstryandappreciatetheknowl edgethesepeoplebrought forwardwiththeir work.
Theimportanceof‘old’and‘new’bird collec
tionsisdiscussedinthebook,aswellas current methodsofaddingtomuseum bird collections (mainly‘passive’collecting).Thecollectionsare very valuableindeed. Zoologistsdependonspec imencollectionsasthebasisofsystemsforclas sification.Anobviousfunctionofskincollections istheircontributiontotheidentificationprocess. Thebrilliantpaintingsinmodernhandbooksand fieldguides,whichwetendtotakeforgranted, areoftenlargelybasedon carefulstudiesofskins inthemuseum.Furtherreasonsinthebookaregi ven astowhyweshouldappreciate theskincol lectionsworldwide,althoughsomeargumentsare ratherfarfetched.
ARDEAO5(2),1998
agroupanthrirown,staudiugquitoapartfrom boththrChar-ads’iua-ptovrrsasthrVanellun-lap wiugs.Thryarruuiqurforthrirnorthrrnbrood inghabitsauditisthought thatthrapprarancrof icragrs,2mittiouyawsago,mayhavrhad much todowiththrorigins ofPtacialis.Thrrarty chaptrrs contain rxcrrdingty dataitad dasccip tiousofthaptumagrsandmouttsofrachatthr fourspacirs(audadiscoursaouthrrrcrutdis tiuctionbrtwrrnthrAmrricanaudPacificGot
druPtos’rs P.dominicaaudfulca).ttatsacon
taiusanorigtnatctadisticanatytis ofthagroup
basad00ptumagacharactarisfics.Tharaisa totto sayforthacouctusionthatthaGrayPtovar istha siftarspaciastotha gotdeuptovars,audthattha EurasianGotdanPtovaaisthasistarspaciatto tha tassargotdanptoveas,butmotecutardataoaruow uaadadtocoaroboratathis.Thaauthorsdooat comaupwithadafinisivastatamantanthamis tancaoftwodistinctsuhspacias ofEurasianGot- danPtovars(thasauthamapsicas-iaandthanorth- amatttjrons).ThairdatafarNorwayshowactina inthaaxtentofcantrasfingbraadingptumaga,and thara appaarstohaintriguingassociationsha twaanhabitatcharactaaisfics,timingofsnowwatt andptumagatraits.Thisisjustanaofthamany topicsthatthabookindantifiasasbaingripafar fuatharandfmitfutanquicy!
Tharaisabigbtackoffourchaptarsthatra viaw diffarantaspactsofbraading:distribution andpopulationsiaa,baaadingschadutas,andso ctatandparantatbahavioucAlt ofthatopicsma basadonnawsumsoariasofaxistingdataandan unpubtishad absarvatiansbythaauthors,aspa ciattybyEyrkjadatwhohasaccumutatad axpan anca withattfour ptas’aasspaciasin diffarant partsofNorway,anthaYamatPaninsutatnEus siaandinthaCanadianArctic.
Thachapsar andistributioncomasupwith shockingcanctusiousaboutprobabtapopulation siaasofaachofsha spacias.Parallfourspacias Iharaviawsofbaaadingdansitsasincombination withastimalasofavailablahabitattaadtopopula tionastimalasofImillionpairsormara,twoto
19limasthacusrantlyavailablapopulationsiza astimatas.Thisdoasnotnacassaritymaanthattha
populations arefaring watt!AmaricanGatdaa Plavarssaamtohas’asuccassfuttyracos’aradfrom IhaonslaughtsofthamarkathuntinginUnitad fitatasintha19thCantury,andoarstiltsarmingly incraasing thairranga tn the CanadianArctic. EurasianGaldanPloverscontinuasariouslysoda dmainthahaathar moorsofwastamEuropa,but hasamanagad toanpandIhairaangadnato dafo raslalianinthabaraatforastzana,aspaciallyin Pinland.ThawidalyraporladincraasaofGray PlovarsinwaslamEuropa(f-foldinsha Eritish Islassincatha197fs(isunlikatytohaduasosaul populationincraasasbut,accordingtoEyrkjadal andThompson,mustaaflacldistributionalchan gasinwinlacIamnotsocanvincadthatthaam partad disappaarancaof an apparantEurapaan wintaringpopulationofPacificGaldanPlavars fhighlyanigmaticinitsawnrighticouldhava brancausadbythaGulch‘wilslawallars’,aspa cialtyasIhahistoricalrapartsofthisspactasmdi catathat(incangmancawishihaiehabitatchaica inAsia-Pacifc( thayusadinsarsidatratharthan grasslandaraas.Farthisraasan,Ihayshouldhava bran ralativatyimmunatothisfann ofmartcas hunting.
Thansharaarm wandarfulsammariasofsha
hraadingschadulasshowingshaimprasstoalongi tudinalvariafianinplavarbraadingsaasanalily, aspaciatlyfarEurasian GaldanandGrayPlavars. Thasongfight andgrounddisplaysofthafont tundraplavarsarmbroughtalivabyIha many drawingsandschamasofaarialmavamants,as wallasbythasanogramsandIhairanalysas;allof thisbringoriginal workagain!
Thatthaauthorswaranotafraidtowork vary
hardansynthasasofinfas’mafian,comasoutin thachaptaronmigration. Easadontha datagai nadfrom 4dfifimusaum-skinstha warid aver, backad-upbythoroughtisarasuraravsaws,savaral diagramsare campitadtoshowthaworldwide phanatagyofsouth-andnorthwardmigrationof Ihafaurplavars.Gaagraphicallinasofsimilardo- lasofaccuwanca (‘isaphanas’(,basadonthama diandatasforctustarsofmuseumspacimans,pro videaninnovativewaytodocument migratory advanceinsuchwidelyrangingspecies.Eming
interestedinage-differencesinmigrationsched ules andbeingfrustratedwiththelackofageing informationinthemuseumrecords,rather than tryingtoborrow somanyskins theauthorsasked forskinstobephotocopied:“soonphotocopied specimenspiledup, andvirtuallyallofthemwere sufficientlycleartoenableustoagethebirdscon fidently!”.Quitestriking,andnotunderstood,dif ferencesinthe autumndistributionofjuveniles andadultsinespeciallyAmericanGoldenPlovers comeoutasaresult.
Afterdealingwithmigrationandnonbreeding distributions, thebookiscompletedwith reviews of foragingandfood,interactionsbetween p1o- versandothershorebirdspecies,andaspectsof conservation.Inthelatterchapteritispointedout howlittleweknow aboutpopulation processesin anyofthetundraplovers, inspiteofthefactthat suchknowledgeisapparentlyconsideredmanda toryforEurasianGoldenand GreyPlovers inthe contextoftheECBirdDirective. Gosh,doesthis reallymeanthatthereare‘societalneeds’forde tailedstudiesonthe demographyofourtundra plovers?Let’sgetgoing!
No seriouscriticismsatall,then?Well,maybe
afew.To dojusticetotheimportantdata-compi lationsondistributionandbreeding-andmigrat ion-phenology,therecouldhavebeen greaterat tentionto theclarityofthelay-outoftheresulting maps,whichcouldalsohavebeenprintedina biggerformat.Theencyclopaedictreatmentof topics,andthechapterarrangements,aresome timesatoddswiththedevelopmentofastrong theme.Forexample,thechapterontheevolution ofthegenusPluvialiswouldprobablyhaveseen greater development,andbeenmoresatisfying,if ithadbeenwrittenasthegrandsynthesisofthe currentknowledgeontundraploversand their habitats.Theseparationoftext+figuresfromthe tables(afterReferencesattheendofthebook) andtheextensiveAppendices(beforeReferences) is sometimes a little cumbersome. The Index wouldhavebeenmore effectiveifthebiological subjectshadbeengivenseparateentriesforeach ofthespecies,ratherthansimilarlistsoftopics beinggivenforeachofthem.Butthesearereally
minor quibbles,andprobablyrather personal ones.Ifyoulove,orevenjustlike,ploversand thehabitatsinwhichtheyoccur,thisisabookfor you.
TheunisPiersma,
NetherlandsInstituteforSeaResearch(NIOZ), P0.Box59,1790ABDenBurg,Texel,
TheNetherlands
MEARNSB.R.MEARNS1998.-TheBird
Collectors-AcademicPress,SanDiego.ISBN0-
12-487440-1.Hardback, 472pp.,manyunique B&Wphotographsandportraits,3tables,4maps. Price:£29.95(f93.50)
TheBirdCollectorsisanamazingbook.Weall knowthatourgrandfathersand great-grandfa thers(butonlyonrareoccasionsour grandmoth ers)wentbirdingwithagunratherthanwitha pairofbinoculars.Weallatleastfaintlyknow aboutthefashiondemandingternsonwomen’s hats,aboutthelargescaleeggingonislandsand inseabirdcolonies, aboutthelasttwoGreatAuks killedonEldey(Iceland),andtheextinctionof the DodoonMauritiusandthePassengerPigeon inNorthAmerica. Butthisbookgoesfarbeyond thatfaintknowledgeandshowsusindetailwhat isabsolutelyworthknowingaboutourorntiho logicalhistory!Prismbinoculars werenotin venteduntilthebeginningofthe1900sandthe notionthatanexperiencedbirdwatcher could confidentlyidentifyeveryspecieshesaw,using binocularsandafieldguide,wasonlyslowlyac ceptedby‘theoldshotgunschoolofornitholo gists’.Thebeliefthat“What’s hitishistory, what’smissedismystery”wasfirmlyentrenched intheirminds.So,theVictorianbirderwaswork ingonhispersonalbirdcollection. Therefore, earlybirdbooksconcentratedontheidentifica tionofbirdsinthehand,notin thefield,depicting wingformulae,tarsi,websandtoes,beaks,and thepatternonindividualfeathers.
Thesepersonalcollectionswereoftenhuge
andbytheendofthenineteenthcenturytheown-