Mercury is a persistent, toxic heavy metal that can bioaccumulate in organisms, causing diseases and other health problems. Wilson’s snipe (Gallinago delicata) feed primarily on aquatic invertebrates, which makes them prone to mercury bioaccumulation. In this study, we measured total mercury in Wilson’s snipe. Total mercury was measured in the feathers and muscle tissue. Mean concentration (ppm...

Total mercury levels in different feather types (down, contour, tail and flight) in Great Cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo L.) were determined using CV-AAS. Feathers from Great Cormorants inhabiting the Vistula Lagoon ecosystem have an average Hg level of 7.14 ± 3.99 (μg/g w.w.). Age-dependent concentrations of Hg were statistically significant (ANOVA Kruskal-Wallis, p < 0.0001). There were also...

The feathers of Amazon parrots are brightly coloured. They contain a unique class of pigments, the psittacofulvins, deposited in both barbs and barbules, causing yellow or red coloured feathers. In specific feather areas, spongy nanostructured barb cells exist, reflecting either in the blue or blue-green wavelength range. The blue-green spongy structures are partly enveloped by a blue-absorbing...

Monitoring of avian productivity and tail feathers

Dietary T-2 toxin (0, 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 mug./g.) was fed to 4 groups of 10 chickens at each treatment level from hatching until 3 weeks of age. Growth inhibitory levels (4, 8, and 16 mug./g.) caused abnormal feathering which appeared dose related. The chickens were sparsely covered with short feathers protruding at odd angles in comparison to controls. There were few feathers on the base of th...

—Tachycineta swallows nest in secondary cavities and build nests made of a mat of dry grasses with a nest cup lined with feathers. The insulative quality of feathers may prevent hypothermia of the chicks and increase chick growth, but also may raise the risk of nestling hyperthermia if ambient temperature is high. The number of feathers added to the nest should vary throughout the breeding seas...

For centuries, naturalists have suggested that the tonal elements of pigeon wing sounds may be sonations (non-vocal acoustic signals) of alarm. However, spurious tonal sounds may be produced passively as a result of aeroelastic flutter in the flight feathers of almost all birds. Using mechanistic criteria emerging from recent work on sonations, we sought to: (1) identify characteristics of rock...

Carotenoid-based plumage coloration of birds has been hypothesized to honestly reflect individual quality, either because carotenoids are difficult to acquire via food or because of a trade-off in allocation of carotenoids between maintenance and signaling functions. We tested whether differential foraging ability is a necessary precondition for maintaining individual differences in carotenoid-...