The lineage of the Bar-backed Partridge (Arborophila brunneopectus) was investigated to determine the phylogenetic relationships within Arborophila as the species is centrally distributed within an area covered by the distributions of 22 South-east Asian hill partridge species. The complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of A. brunneopectus was determined and compared with four other hill pa...

Whereas in most of Europe the decline of the grey partridge Perdix perdix is due primarily to agricultural intensification, the Pyrenean grey partridge P. p. hispaniensis is believed to suffer from the opposite effect, namely the abandonment of agricultural practices which allows the encroachment of dense shrublands. We investigated habitat use by the Pyrenean grey partridge during the breeding...

Flying animals exhibit remarkable capabilities for both generating maneuvers and stabilizing their course and orientation after perturbation. Here we show that flapping fliers ranging in size from fruit flies to large birds benefit from substantial damping of angular velocity through a passive mechanism termed flapping counter-torque (FCT). Our FCT model predicts that isometrically scaled anima...

Many of the morphological features of animals are considered to be adaptations to the habitat that the animals utilize. The habitats utilized by birds vary, perhaps more than for any other group of vertebrates. Here, we study possible adaptations in the morphology of the skeletal elements of the hind limbs to the habitat of birds. Measurements of the lengths of the femur, tibiotarsus and tarsom...

Recent evidence suggests that neurons within the ventromedial medulla give rise to an inhibitory pathway(s) which projects directly upon the sympathetic preganglionic neuropil. The present investigations were initiated to determine the effects of interrupting this pathway on the expression of a learned autonomic response, defensively conditioned cardioacceleration in the pigeon. Experiment I in...

The present study aimed at detection and species-level identification of the Malassezia yeasts in domestic animals and aquatic birds by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Samples were collected using tape strips and swabs from 471 animals including 97 horses, 102 cattle, 105 sheep, 20 camels, 60 dogs, 30 cats, 1 hamster, 1 squirrel, 50 aquatic birds a...

ammonites Shelled group of invertebrates related to octopus, squid, and nautilus. amniota Taxon of vertebrates including mammals and reptiles (including birds). archaic ungulates (or condylarths) Extinct group or grade of mammals possibly giving rise to hoofed mammals. chondrichthyeans Sharks and their relatives. ectotherm Animals that produce their heat from external sources such as the Sun. e...

The revision of EU legislation will ban the use of wild-caught animals in scientific procedures. This change is partially predicated on the assumption that captive-rearing produces animals with reduced fearfulness. Previously, we have shown that hand-reared starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) indeed exhibit reduced fear of humans compared to wild-caught conspecifics. Here, we asked whether this reduct...

Photorefractoriness is the insensitivity of gonadal development to the stimulatory effects of long photoperiods in birds and to the inhibitory effects of short photoperiods in small mammals. Its molecular mechanism remains unknown. Recently, it has been shown that reciprocal expression of thyroid hormone-activating enzyme [type 2 deiodinase (Dio2)] and -inactivating enzyme [type 3 deiodinase (D...