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Field determination of age in male great bustards (Otis tarda) in spring

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Abstract

During a long-term study of individually marked, free-living male great bustards captured as chicks and radio-tracked through several years in Spain, we studied the development with age of two secondary sex traits, the moustachial feathers and the neck plumage pattern. Juvenile males acquired full adult plumage between their fourth and seventh years. The main changes occurred at the neck, coinciding with the onset of sexual maturity. The grey colour typical of immature males turned to ivory white around the fourth to fifth spring, and a gradual increase was appreciated in adults in the brightness of the white colour of the upper neck and in the contrast between this and a progressively more intense chestnut brown at the neck base. Based on these changes, we proposed four neck plumage patterns that can be used to differentiate male age classes during the mating period. The development of moustachial feathers showed more interindividual variability and was not as useful as the neck plumage to estimate male age.

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Acknowledgements

This paper is dedicated to Professor Christian Pitra on the occasion of his 65th birthday, 29 April 2006. We are grateful to E. Martín and M. Morales for their help during the fieldwork. Marking permits were provided by the Consejerías de Medio Ambiente of the Junta de Castilla y León and the Comunidad de Madrid. Financial support was partly obtained from projects PB87-0389, PB91-0081, PB94-0068 and PB97-1252 of the Dirección General de Investigación. The capture, handling and marking techniques complied with current Spanish legislation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain

    Juan C. Alonso, Marina Magaña, Carlos A. Martín & Carlos Palacín

  2. Facultad de Biología, Universidad Complutense, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    Javier A. Alonso

Authors
  1. Juan C. Alonso
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  2. Marina Magaña
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  3. Carlos A. Martín
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  4. Carlos Palacín
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  5. Javier A. Alonso
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Correspondence to Juan C. Alonso.

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Alonso, J.C., Magaña, M., Martín, C.A. et al. Field determination of age in male great bustards (Otis tarda) in spring. Eur J Wildl Res 52, 43–47 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-005-0004-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-005-0004-4

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