The Digestion of Pollen by Some Australian Birds

1988 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 357 ◽  
Author(s):  
RD Wooller ◽  
KC Richardson ◽  
CM Pagendham
Keyword(s):  
Pollen Grains ◽  
Similar Proportion ◽  
Melopsittacus Undulatus ◽  
Zebra Finches ◽  
Australian Birds ◽  
Poephila Guttata

About one-third of all banksia pollen grains excreted 1-2 hours after ingestion by captive New Holland honeyeaters (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae), zebra finches (Poephila guttata) and budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus), had lost their protoplasmic contents. Most pollen passed through the digestive systems of these birds in 4-5 hours and up to 44% of grains were digested. The faeces of wild purple- crowned lorikeets (Glossopsitta porphyrocephala) showed a similar proportion of empty grains. In the budgerigar, honeyeater and lorikeet, loss of contents of pollen grains occurred, not in the stomach, but progressively along the intestine.

The Morphological Identification of Domesticated Zebra Finches, Poephila-Guttata (Passeriformes, Estrilidae), in Australia

1986 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 439 ◽  
Author(s):  
RA Carr ◽  
RA Zann
Keyword(s):  
First Generation ◽  
Morphological Identification ◽  
Zebra Finches ◽  
Tarsus Length ◽  
Private Collection ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
Poephila Guttata ◽  
Colour Morphs ◽  
White Colour ◽  
Group 1

The zebra finch, Poephila guttata, is a native Australian grassfinch which is used extensively in laboratories of many countries, including Australia. We have compared the morphology of groups of zebra finches from various origins: (1) wild-caught from a population at Bunbartha in northern Victoria; (2) their first-generation offspring which were bred in captivity; (3) fawn colour morphs; (4) white colour morphs; (5) a private collection which included a variety of colour morphs. Birds in groups 3,4 and 5 were considered to be the distant offspring of wild-caught zebra finches. The length of the wing, the head and the tarsus, the width and the depth of the bill, and the weight were measured. All characters, except the width of the bill, differed significantly among the groups. Analyses of variance indicated that head length, tarsus length and bill depth differed significantly between group 1 and groups 3, 4 and 5, but were not significantly different between groups 1 and 2 nor among groups 3,4 and 5. The wild-caught birds and their immediate offspring were larger than those of the colour-morph groups. Discriminant analysis showed that wing length, tarsus length and bill depth were important in classifying individuals into groups. Differences between groups were attributed to the effects of domestication upon birds in aviaries.

scholarly journals Evidence of tutoring in the development of subsong in newly-fledged Meyer's Parrots Poicephalus meyeri

2004 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone Masin ◽  
Renato Massa ◽  
Luciana Bottoni
Keyword(s):  
First Year ◽  
Zebra Finches ◽  
Data Support ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Poephila Guttata ◽  
Time Parameters ◽  
First Year Of Life

Subsongs are vocal trials uttered by young birds to practice songs. Among songbirds, subsongs are displayed by individuals in their first year of life. Studies on Zebra Finches Poephila guttata suggest that the juveniles learn their songs from a vocal tutor, their father. In this study we examine the subsongs in six captive-born Meyer's Parrots Poicephalus meyeri, from fledging time to weaning. Recordings of songs from chicks and fathers were analyzed for similarities in frequency and time parameters. With age, the subsongs of the chicks became more similar to the vocalizations of the fathers with 20% similarity rating in the first week after fledging to 100% at weaning time. Moreover, fledged chicks were exposed to a wide range of stimuli from several species of parrots breeding pairs caged nearby but chicks exclusively learned their fathers' songs. Our data support the hypothesis that Meyer's Parrots are vocal learners and use their father as their tutor.

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