[On the presence of Willow Tit Poecile montanus in the Central Apennines]

[Since the mid Fifties data have been published stating the presence of a Willow Tit population on the Central Apennines. The Authors, after controlling all available information and comparing them with the morphological and eco-ethological features of the species, hypothesize that all Willow Tit recorded observations relate instead to Marsh Tit, concluding that no Willow Tit populations were ever recorded in the area]. [Article in Italian]

Longevity of Willow Tits (Poecile montanus): the significance of flock membership, social rank and body size

The Willow Tit Poecile montanus is highly sedentary and breeding pairs remain in their exclusive areas throughout the year. During the winter, these areas are defended by small, non-kin flocks, formed as the roaming yearlings become sedentary and join adults during late summer and autumn. Once established, stable social hierarchies are maintained in these flocks during the winter. The winter flocks consist normally of the socially dominant adult mated pair and two mated juvenile pairs, one higher-ranked and one lower-ranked. Individually colour-ringed juvenile Willow Tits were followed over years in subalpine forest in Norway from ringing in the autumn till they disappeared. None of the lower ranked birds survived their first winter, whereas only 4 of 71 higher-ranked juvenile pairs disappeared during this time. Half of the 71 pairs survived their first winter, about 25 % survived two winters, 8.5% survived three winters, and 5.6% survived four winters. Survival was similar for males and females. Alpha pairs remained mated and defended their common territory across years. Maximum age as revealed by ringing showed one female became six years old and two males ringed as adults were at least nine years old when last observed. The main factor associated with survival was early flock establishment that led to a high rank position among the juvenile flock members. Body size seemed insignificant. Birds that survived their first winter either succeeded to establish as territory owners or they were forced into the role as floaters and probably perished.

LANDSCAPE DISTRIBUTION OF THE WILLOW TIT (PARUSMONTANUS, CONRADVONBALDENSTEIN, 1827) IN SOUTH BAIKAL IN NEST PERIOD

This article focuses on the location of brown-headedtit (Parus montanus CONRAD VON BALDENSTEIN, 1827) on the territory southern Baikal region. The article presents literature data on the intra-landscape placement of chubby tit and gives a complete description of areas suitable for the habitat of these birds.

Different Seasonal Patterns in Song System Volume in Willow Tits and Great Tits

In most species of seasonally breeding songbirds studied to date, the brain areas that control singing (i.e. the song control system, SCS) are larger during the breeding season than at other times of the year. In the family of titmice and chickadees (Paridae), one species, the blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus), shows the typical pattern of seasonal changes, while another species, the black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus), shows, at best, very reduced seasonal changes in the SCS. To test whether this pattern holds up in the two Parid lineages to which these two species belong, and to rule out that the differences in seasonal patterns observed were due to differences in geography or laboratory, we compared the seasonal patterns in two song system nuclei volumes (HVC and Area X) in willow tits (Poecile montanus), closely related to black-capped chickadees, and in great tits (Parus major), more closely related to blue tits, from the same area around Oulu, Finland. Both species had larger gonads in spring than during the rest of the year. Great tit males had a larger HVC in spring than at other times of the year, but their Area X did not change in size. Willow tits showed no seasonal change in HVC or Area X size, despite having much larger gonads in spring than the great tits. Our findings suggest that the song system of willow tits and their relatives may be involved in learning and producing nonsong social vocalizations. Since these vocalizations are used year-round, there may be a year-round demand on the song system. The great tit and blue tit HVC may change seasonally because the demand is only placed on the song system during the breeding season, since they only produce learned vocalizations during this time. We suggest that changes were not observed in Area X because its main role is in song learning, and there is evidence that great tits do not learn new songs after their first year of life. Further study is required to determine whether our hypothesis about the role of the song system in the learned, nonsong vocalizations of the willow tit and chickadee is correct, and to test our hypothesis about the role of Area X in the great tit song system.

Trender i antal ringmärkta fåglar av fyrtio arter på Stora Fjäderäggs fågelstation, nordöstra Sverige, 1985–2014

Very few data series are available on the long-term development of the bird fauna in northern Sweden. This kind of data is of great interest as there are recent signs that bird populations in northern Sweden are developing less favourable than in southern Sweden. We present trends in annual capture rates of 40 frequently ringed species at Stora Fjäderägg Bird Observatory, NE Sweden, autumns 1985–2014. Significant positive and negative trends were found in ten and eight species, respectively. Great tit, Chaffinch and Long-tailed Tit showed the strongest increases, whereas Northern Wheatear, Willow Tit and Bluethroat decreased the most. There was a significant negative trend in capture index for short-distance migrants and a positive trend for irruptive species/partial migrants. For many species, particularly those that were decreasing, the trends at Stora Fjäderägg are similar to population trends seen in Swedish and Finnish breeding bird surveys. For these species the trends at Stora Fjäderägg could be indicative of long-term population changes.