Ringing & Migration Journal of the BTO Ringing Scheme

Ringing & Migration Volume 23 Part 4
Abstracts

REVIEW
Wild birds and human pathogens in the context of ringing and migration

HUSSEIN H. ABULREESH1*, RAYMOND GOULDER2 and GRAHAM W. SCOTT2
1Department of Biology, Umm Al-Qura University, PO Box 7388, Makkah 21955, Saudi Arabia 2Department of Biological Sciences, University of Hull, Hull HU6 7RX,

Wild birds carry a diversity of micro-organisms that are pathogenic to humans, may be transmitted over long distances during migrations, and are potentially transmissible to people who handle and ring birds. High-profile diseases that are associated with carriage by birds include avian influenza, West Nile fever, and Lyme disease. Also potentially important is the existence of an avian reservoir of bacteria that are enteric human pathogens; for example species of Campylobacter and Salmonella, and toxin-producing strains of Escherichia coli. Wild birds have been implicated in the transfer of these enteric pathogens to people. The subject of wild birds as potential reservoirs of pathogens that may be transmitted to humans in the context of ringing and migration is reviewed and it is recommended that appropriate precautions to minimise risk should be taken during and subsequent to the handling of wild birds.

Can migrating Tengmalm’s Owls Aegolius funereus be reliably sexed in autumn using simple morphometric measurements?

TIM HIPKISS
Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden

I investigate whether three standard, easily-taken body measurements (wing length, tail length and mass) can be used in combination to determine accurately the sex of Tengmalm’s Owls Aegolius funereus in autumn. A total of 135 migratory Tengmalm’s Owls, caught in autumn 1999 on a small island between Sweden and Finland, were weighed, measured and accurately sexed using PCR-based molecular techniques. While females were on average larger than males, discriminant analysis using wing length, tail length and mass could not satisfactorily classify males and females. Ringers are advised not to use these common morphometric measurements to sex individual Tengmalm’s Owls in autumn, as the degree of overlap is too great, and even the largest and smallest individuals might be incorrectly sexed.

Plastic colour rings and the incidence of leg injury in flycatchers (Muscicapidae, Monarchidae)

ANDREW J. PIERCE1, DANAË K. STEVENS2*, RAOUL MULDER3 and VOLKER SALEWSKI4TALIA
1King Mongkut’s University of Technology, Thonburi, School of Bioresources, 83 Moo 8 Thakham, Bang Khun Tien, Bangkok 10150, Thailand 2RSPB Conservation Science, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG19 2DL, UK 3Department of Zoology, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia 4Institüt für Vogelforschung, “Vogelwarte Helgoland”, An der Vogelwarte 21, 26386 Wilhelmshaven, Germany

Studies of birds involving colour ringing can provide much detailed information concerning bird movements and behaviour without the need for recapture. However, a fundamental premise of colour ringing, and indeed all ringing studies, is that the rings applied should neither cause harm to the birds concerned nor alter their behaviour or survival. Colour rings have been used safely for many studies on a wide range of species, and problems are rarely reported. Here, we report on problems associated with colour-ringing several species of flycatcher, and discuss the nature and extent of the issue. Unacceptable levels of leg injury were reported when flycatchers were ringed using either celluloid or PVC colour rings, particularly when the colour ring was proximal to the foot. In the light of our evidence, we would urge those considering embarking upon colour-ringing projects involving flycatchers to consider using anodised aluminium colour rings and to avoid the use of plastic colour rings.

Continental Great Spotted Woodpeckers in mainland Britain – fact or fiction?

JOHN COULSON1* and NIGEL ODIN2
129 St Mary’s Close, Shincliffe Village, Durham City DH1 2ND, UK 2Landguard Bird Observatory, View Point Road, Felixstowe, Suffolk IP11 3TW, UK

The wing lengths of Great Spotted Woodpeckers Dendrocopos major resident in Britain (subspecies anglicus) are more variable than had previously been realised, with one individual in a thousand reaching extremes of 123 mm and 140 mm. As a result, many of the past British records claiming to be of the larger continental subspecies major have probably been misidentified. There is no reliable evidence to indicate that continental Great Spotted Woodpeckers visit Britain annually. Rather, infrequent irruptions into Britain occur about once in 12 years. Birds arriving at Fair Isle are at the top end of the size range of this species, and probably originate from northern Russia and Scandinavia. The birds irrupting into the mainland of Britain are intermediate in size but, on average, have longer wings than the British residents, and so only the larger individuals with wing lengths beyond the British range can be identified as of continental origin. Woodpeckers originating from continental areas south of the Baltic have similar wing lengths to British birds and cannot be identified from wing length measurements. Currently, there are only two instances of Great Spotted Woodpeckers being ringed on the European continent and recovered in Britain, again indicating that immigrant birds are probably few.

A new insight into the ageing of Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago – the value of contrast within the wing coverts of adults

KRZYSZTOF KACZMAREK1, PIOTR MINIAS2*, RADOSLAW WLODARCZYK3,
TOMASZ JANISZEWSKI3 and ANNA KLESZCZ2
1Medical University of Lódz, Kosciuszki 4, Lódz, Poland 2 Students’ Ornithological Section, University of Lódz, Banacha 1/3, 90-237 Lódz, Poland 3 Department of Teacher Training and Biodiversity Studies, University of Lódz, Banacha 1/3, 90-237 Lódz, Poland

The ageing criteria for Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago are complex, and a significant proportion of birds in autumn which have completed moult cannot be aged. Jeziorsko Reservoir is an important stopover site for Common Snipe during autumn migration through central Poland. Detailed studies of wing coverts show that in a proportion of adult birds a contrast or moult limit between old, faded feathers and new ones grown during the moult can be used as an additional criterion to distinguish adults from first-year birds that have completed their post-juvenile moult. In particular, the presence of one or more old humeral coverts allowed a high proportion of birds, otherwise of indeterminate age, to be identified as adults. Since these feathers are normally hidden under the scapulars, careful plumage examination is needed to age birds correctly.

Time of roosting of Barn Swallows Hirundo rustica at an Irish reedbed during autumn migration

PATRICK SMIDDY1*, CHRIS CULLEN2 and JOHN O’HALLORAN3
1Ballykenneally, Ballymacoda, Co. Cork, Ireland 2Aghavine, Ballymacoda, Co. Cork, Ireland
3Department of Zoology, Ecology and Plant Science, University College, Cork, Ireland

Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica roosting time was studied at a south-coast Irish reedbed during 2003 to 2006. Roosting time varied between 11 and 35 minutes after sunset. There was no significant difference in roosting time after sunset across years. Roosting time (relative to sunset) was later in July than in August and September. The time interval between roosting of the earliest and latest birds usually spanned a period of about 10 to 15 minutes, but could be as long as 30 minutes. The light intensity at the time of roosting varied between 41 and 6 lux.

Measuring passerine productivity using constant effort sites: the effect of missed visits

WILL MILES1*, STEPHEN N. FREEMAN2, NANCY M. HARRISON1 and DAWN E. BALMER2
1Environmental Science Research Centre, Anglia Ruskin University, East Road, Cambridge CB1 1PT 2British Trust for Ornithology, The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk IP24 2PU, UK

Site visits for the Constant Effort Sites (CES) ringing scheme are occasionally missed and the standard 12 scheduled annually (May–August) may not all be completed. To account for this, total annual adult and juvenile passerine catches may be adjusted for inclusion in CES productivity-indexing analyses. Adjustment methods and the inclusion of adjusted catches are thought not to generate unrepresentative measures of productivity, but we aimed to test this. Productivity-indexing analyses were carried out using CES data with and without adjusted catches, and long- and short-term changes in productivity were compared. Similarity between productivity indices (and also the precision of estimates) was consistently high between adjusted and unadjusted data, but greatest for species caught most frequently. The inclusion of data adjusted for missed visits increases the precision of measures of productivity by increasing sample sizes, although this improvement is likely to be exaggerated as no account is taken of the uncertainty in the data adjustment. We consider adjustment methods to be appropriate, despite a great potential for between-year variation in the seasonal pattern of catches on CE sites.

Site fidelity of Icelandic Greylag Geese between winters

ROBERT (BOB) L. SWANN1* and IVAN K. BROCKWAY2
114 St Vincent Road, Tain, Ross-shire, IV19 1JR, Scotland 2 Malin, Glenaldie, Tain, Ross-shire, IV19 1ND, Scotland

Britain supports almost the entire Icelandic population of Greylag Geese Anser anser in winter and has a special responsibility for the conservation of these birds. To facilitate the successful management of this population, the aim of this analysis was to ascertain the degree of site fidelity on the wintering grounds in relation to age and sex. Observations of marked Icelandic Greylag Geese suggest that most Greylag Geese are faithful to a region from one winter to the next. No significant differences were found according to age or sex groups. In the light of a recent major shift in the distribution of Icelandic Greylag Geese wintering in Scotland, these results are surprising as they provide evidence of a high level of site fidelity in the non-breeding season.

Migratory stopovers of passerines in an oasis at the crossroads of the African and Indian flyways

NIKITA CHERNETSOV1*, VICTOR N. BULYUK1 and PAVEL KTITOROV1,2
1Biological Station Rybachy, Zoological Institute, Rybachy 238535, Kaliningrad Region, Russia 2Institute of Avian Research ‘Vogelwarte Helgoland’, An der Vogelwarte 21, Wilhelmshaven D-26386, Germany

We studied migratory stopovers of nocturnal passerine migrants migrating between the Urals and Siberia and the Near East and Africa (five species) and between European Russia and the Indian subcontinent (two species) in an oasis in the arid belt of the northwestern edge of western Central Asia. In autumn, fuel loads of Blyth’s Reed Warblers Acrocephalus dumetorum before their desert crossing were much greater than in Palaearctic–African migrants, which face a much narrower barrier, and also greater than in conspecifics captured during and after the desert crossing. However, another Indian migrant, the Red-breasted Flycatcher Ficedula parva, had low average fuel stores. In spring, Blyth’s Reed Warblers carried less fuel than in autumn, and less than African migrants such as Garden Warblers Sylvia borin in spring. This suggests that the arid belt of western Central Asia is a serious ecological barrier for Palaearctic–Indian passerine migrants in autumn, but much less of one in spring. Palaearctic–African migrants which make a detour around this barrier to the northwest and migrate north of the Caspian Sea do not need large fuel stores like those they deposit before crossing the Sahara.

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