scholarly journals A successfully breeding, partially leucistic American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

2020 ◽  
Vol 133 (4) ◽  
pp. 301-304
Author(s):  
Nina M. Zitani ◽  
Leanne A. Grieves ◽  
R. Greg Thorn

American Robin (Turdus migratorius) is the most abundant and broadly distributed thrush in North America. Both sexes likely engage in mate choice, and there is some evidence of assortative mating based on breast colour in this species. Over two breeding seasons, we documented a case of partial leucism, primarily of the breast feathers, in a male American Robin in London, Ontario, Canada. We report evidence that the leucistic robin was capable of successful breeding. How the fitness of leucistic versus normal robins compares and how leucism influences mate choice in this and other species remain to be explored.

PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e2170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann M. Sabo ◽  
Natasha D.G. Hagemeyer ◽  
Ally S. Lahey ◽  
Eric L. Walters

Up to a billion birds die per year in North America as a result of striking windows. Both transparent and reflective glass panes are a cause for concern, misleading birds by either acting as invisible, impenetrable barriers to desired resources, or reflecting those resources over a large surface area. A high number of window strikes occur during migration, but little is known about the factors of susceptibility, or whether particular avian taxa are more vulnerable than others. We report on a study of window strikes and mist-netting data at the Virginia Zoological Park (Norfolk, Virginia, USA), conducted in the autumn of 2013 and 2014. We focused on three factors likely to contribute to an individual’s predisposition to collide with windows: (i) taxonomic classification, (ii) age, and (iii) migrant vs. resident status. Thrushes, dominated by the partial migrant American Robin (Turdus migratorius), were significantly less likely to strike glass than be sampled in mist nets (χ2= 9.21, p = 0.002), while wood-warblers (Parulidae) were more likely to strike than expected (χ2= 13.55, p < 0.001). The proportion of juveniles striking windows (45.4%) was not significantly different (χ2= 0.05, p = 0.827) than the population of juvenile birds naturally occurring at the zoo (48.8%). Migrants, however, were significantly more susceptible to window strikes than residents (χ2= 6.35, p = 0.012). Our results suggest that resident birds are able to learn to avoid and thus reduce their likelihood of striking windows; this intrinsic risk factor may help explain the apparent susceptibility of certain taxa to window strikes.


1995 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francois Morneau ◽  
Claire Lépine ◽  
Robert Décarie ◽  
Marc-André Villard ◽  
Jean-Luc DesGranges

1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rex Sallabanks ◽  
Frances C. James

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (10) ◽  
pp. 1810-1820 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. M. C. Jarvis ◽  
S. M. Comeau ◽  
S. F. Colborne ◽  
B. W. Robinson

The Auk ◽  
1952 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 465-466
Author(s):  
Hervey Brackbill

2003 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 303-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
HAMILTON R. CORREIA

Studies of human mate choice have been based almost exclusively on stated preferences and personal advertisements, and the external validity of such studies has therefore been questioned. In the present study, reallife matings based on a large representative sample of newly wed couples in 1998 (n=66,598) were analysed according to educational assortative mating. The results demonstrate a strong educational homogamy in this national Portuguese sample. However, men tend to marry women who are slightly more educated than themselves. The results are compared with those of a modern society (US, 1940–87) and a traditional society (Kipsigis, 1952–91). Since educational attainment is strongly associated with social status and intelligence, these results are discussed in an evolutionary perspective.


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