Following nest destruction, the laying of physiologically committed eggs (eggs that are ovulated, yolked, and making their way through the oviduct) in the nests of other birds is considered a viable pathway for the evolution of obligate interspecific brood parasitism. While intraspecific brood parasitism in response to nest predation has been experimentally demonstrated, this pathway has yet to...

Telomeres, the caps of eukaryotic chromosomes, control chromosome stability and cellular senescence, but aging and exposure to chronic stress are suspected to cause attrition of telomere length. We investigated the effect of social isolation on telomere length in the highly social and intelligent African Grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus erithacus). Our study population consisted of single-house...

Fasting is part of penguin's breeding constraints. During prolonged fasting, three metabolic phases occur successively. Below a threshold in body reserves, birds enter phase III (PIII), which is characterized by hormonal and metabolic shifts. These changes are concomitant with egg abandonment in the wild and increased locomotor activity in captivity. Because corticosterone (CORT) enhances forag...

Abstract In human-dominated landscapes, human disturbances may contrast (spatially and/or temporally) with risk imposed by non-human predators. However, how prey adjust behaviour to minimize from multiple threats remains unclear. Central-Western France, we investigated patterns of activity, space and habitat use, causes variations during the diel cycle grey partridge (captive-reared, released),...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the health situation chukar partridges through several diagnostic methods. We investigated a total 224 birds in eighteen populations throughout Turkey, fourteen wild and four captive. molecular sexing method used for gender identification. Clinically, traumatic lesions inflammatory reactions were most commonly observed eyes extremities Chukar Partridges bre...

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...

Phenotypic sexual dimorphism seems to be rare in the Ramphastidae family, except in Pteroglossus viridis and in the genus Selenidera. Many breeders of wild birds believe that specimens of Ramphastos toco can be sexed using bill characteristics. In this study, various discriminant phenotypic variables were analyzed in birds which were sexed cytogenetically. Fifty-one specimens of R. toco and 20 ...

Parasitic infections can be a serious health problem for wild animals kept in captivity, however, coproparasitological assessments Brazilian zoos are scarce and spaced. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the occurrence of endoparasites feces exotic captive zoo Matinha Municipal Park, Itapetinga, Bahia, Brazil, only interior through Mini-FLOTAC® technique, providing subsidies diagnosis ther...