Facultative Altitudinal Movements by Mountain White-Crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia Leucophrys Oriantha) in the Sierra Nevada

Mountain White-crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha) winter in Mexico and often arrive in the vicinity of their breeding grounds in the Sierra Nevada well before nesting is possible. Arrival at Tioga Pass, California (elevation 3,030 m), usually occurs in early May, but residual winter snow and adverse weather can delay nesting for weeks. We used radiotelemetry to determine whether prebreeding Mountain White-crowned Sparrows engaged in weather-related altitudinal movements during the waiting period between the end of spring migration and onset of breeding during 1995–2001, with a range of residual winter snowpacks. Interannual variation in arrival date and onset of egg laying was 18 and 41 days, respectively. We tracked females for two years and males for all seven years. During spring snowstorms (which occurred in four years), radiomarked individuals moved to lower elevation sites, where they often remained for several days. Departing birds left Tioga Pass by early afternoon and returned early in the morning after storms. More frequent storms during tracking increased the likelihood of facultative altitudinal movements, but heavier residual winter snowpack did not. Warm days increased the likelihood of birds returning to Tioga Pass from low elevation. This study demonstrates that facultative altitudinal movement behavior can be a common feature of spring arrival biology in montane-breeding birds.

Reproductive Effort and Return Rates in the Mountain White-Crowned Sparrow

We analyzed return rates of high-altitude-breeding Mountain White-crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha) in relation to five components of their previous season's reproductive effort: number of fledglings produced, double brooding, number of nesting attempts (first nests plus renests), total number of eggs laid, and fledging date. No relationship of return rate to reproductive effort occurred except in the case of fledging date. Fledging dates spanned a 2-month period from mid-June to mid-August. Returns of females to the study area held steady no matter when their chicks fledged in the previous breeding season, but male return rates increased significantly when their chicks fledged after 20 July. Coincident with that time frame, they entered molt and often withdrew parental care. We hypothesized that males in this montane environment, where thermoregulatory costs are high, traded off reproductive effort (parental care) with survival (return rates). This fits well with models of life-history evolution; however, the corresponding prediction that return rates of females with late-season broods should decrease due to their assumption of greater parental care was not supported. Apparently, the cost of reproduction shifted to the young: late-season nestlings grew more slowly, fledged at a smaller mass, and exhibited a fourfold increase in brood reductions. Their recruitment as breeders in the following season was also greatly reduced. Thus, a cost of reproduction was expressed in two forms, one as changes in survival rates of breeding males, the other as changes in quality of offspring.Esfuerzo Reproductivo y Tasas de Retorno en Zonotrichia leucophrys orianthaResumen. Analizamos las tasas de retorno en las poblaciones reproductivas de alta montaña de Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha con relación a cinco componentes de su esfuerzo reproductivo de la estación anterior: número de volantones producidos, eventos de dobles nidadas, número de intentos de nidificación (primer nido más re-nidificaciones), número total de huevos puestos y fecha de emplumamiento. No encontramos una relación entre la tasa de retorno y el esfuerzo reproductivo, excepto en el caso de la fecha de emplumamiento. Las fechas de emplumamiento se extendieron por un período de dos meses, desde mediados de junio hasta mediados de agosto. El regreso de las hembras al área de estudio se mantuvo constante, sin importar cuándo los pichones abandonaron el nido en la estación reproductiva anterior, pero las tasas de retorno de los machos incrementaron significativamente cuando sus pichones dejaron el nido luego del 20 de julio. En coincidencia con este momento, los machos comenzaron la muda y frecuentemente dejaron de cuidar a de los pichones. Hipotetizamos que los machos en este ambiente de montaña, donde los costos de termorregulación son altos, canjearon esfuerzo reproductivo (cuidado parental) por supervivencia (tasas de retorno). Esto se ajusta adecuadamente con los modelos de evolución de historias de vida. Sin embargo, la predicción correspondiente de que las tasas de retorno de las hembras con nidadas tardías deberían disminuir debido a la suposición de que brindarían mayor cuidado parental, no fue respaldada. Aparentemente, el costo reproductivo sería trasladado a las crías: los pichones de finales de la estación crecieron más despacio, dejaron el nido con menor masa corporal y exhibieron un incremento de cuatro órdenes de magnitud en la reducción de la nidada. Su reclutamiento como individuos reproductivos en la siguiente estación también se redujo enormemente. De este modo, el costo reproductivo fue expresado de dos formas, una como cambios en las tasas de supervivencia de los machos reproductivos y la otra como cambios en la calidad de la progenie.

Energetics of Altricial Nestlings in Cold Climates: Insights from the Mountain White-Crowned Sparrow

We determined the energy budget of nestling Mountain White-crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha) at a 2900-m-high subalpine site by combining growth data with measurements of field metabolic rate (doubly labeled water technique) and resting metabolic rate made on different-aged nestlings. Nestling sparrows grow rapidly (their logistic growth rate constant is 129% of the allometric prediction) and they fledge at 9 days of age weighing 20.6 g (75% of adult mass). Relatively rapid growth in a cool montane environment (mean daytime air temperature = 16.5 ± 1.4°C) is associated with high daily and total nestling energy requirements. During the 9 days between hatching and fledging, each nestling metabolized a total of 443 kJ of energy; a value 25% higher than expected for an open-nesting passerine bird. The relative cost of producing a fledgling White-crowned Sparrow (21.5 kJ per g body mass) exceeds that of the three other open-nesting passerine species that have been measured with doubly labeled water (range 16.5–19.3 kJ g−1). The energy that nestling sparrows accumulated as new tissue (115 kJ) constituted 26% of the total energy metabolized; substantially less than the 37% allocated to activity and thermoregulation combined. Nestling White-crowned Sparrows allocated more energy to activity and thermoregulation than nestlings of most other parent-fed species, but much less than the 50–53% of total metabolizable energy allocated by precocial shorebird chicks. La Energética de Pichones Altriciales en Climas Fríos: Lecciones de Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha Resumen. Determinamos el presupuesto energético de pichones de Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha en un sitio subalpino a 2900 m de altitud combinando datos de crecimiento y de tasa metabólica en el campo (medida con la técnica de agua doblemente marcada) y tasa metabólica en reposo en pichones de diferentes edades. Los pichones crecen rápidamente (sus tasas de crecimiento logístico son el 129% de las tasas alométricas) y empluman a los 9 días de edad, pesando 20.6 g (75% de su peso adulto). El crecimiento relativamente rápido en un ambiente de montaña fresco (temperatura diaria promedio = 16.5 ± 1.4°C) está asociado con altas exigencias energéticas diarias y totales. Durante los 9 días entre la eclosión y el emplumamiento, cada pichón metabolizó un total de 443 kJ de energía, un valor 25% más alto del esperado para un ave paserina de nido abierto. El costo relativo de producir un volantón de Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha (21.5 kJ por g de peso corporal) es más alto que el de otras tres especies de paserinos de nido abierto que se han estudiado con la técnica de agua doblemente marcada (rango 16.5 a 19.3 kJ g−1). La energía que los pichones acumularon como tejido nuevo (115 kJ) representó el 26% de su metabolismo total, un valor sustancialmente menor que el 37% asignado a la actividad y a la termorregulación combinadas. Los pichones de Z. leucophrys oriantha asignaron más energía a la actividad y a la termorregulación que los pichones de la mayoría de las demás especies alimentadas por los padres, pero menos que los pichones precoces de aves playeras (50 a 53%).

Physiological and behavioural responses of female mountain white-crowned sparrows to natal- and foreign-dialect songs

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of early song learning on physiological and behavioural responses to song in adulthood in female mountain white-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha). Juvenile females were captured before they had dispersed from their natal region. In experiment 1, natal-dialect song, foreign-dialect song, and heterospecific song were played back to the birds during photostimulation when they were 1 year old and physiological responses were measured. The physiological responses (luteinizing hormone and ovarian growth) did not indicate that natal-dialect song was more stimulating than foreign-dialect song. In experiment 2, behavioural responses (solicitation displays) to the same songs were measured when the birds were 2 years old. The birds showed a clear preference for natal-dialect song, exhibiting more displays to natal-dialect song than to foreign-dialect or heterospecific song. This effect was attenuated in birds that had heard heterospecific or foreign-dialect song when they were 1 year old. These results indicate a dissociation between behavioural preferences and longer-term physiological responses to song. Although there was a behavioural preference for natal-dialect song, this did not translate into enhanced physiological response as measured here. Moreover, natal dialect song preferences may be attenuated by adult experience.