La Tour du Valat

Institut de recherche pour la conservation des zones humides méditerranéennes

Titre :	Ontogenetic variation in the plumage colour of female European Pied Flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca
Auteurs :	Jaime Potti, Auteur ; David Canal, Auteur ; Carlos Camacho, Auteur
Type de document :	Article
Dans :	Ibis (156(4) OCT 2014)
Article en page(s) :	879-884
Résumé :	Although variation in the dorsal plumage colour of male European Pied Flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca has received a great deal of attention, females of the species have been usually considered to be nearly uniformly monochromatic brown. Using reflectance spectrophotometry, we explore the age-dependent variation of plumage colour in females. We disentangle the within- and between-individual effects of this pattern and show a within-individual darkening of the mantle colour with age, whereas differences between individuals in structural colour expression may underlie the trend for a more reflective white in the females' breast plumage with advancing age. The darkening of the dorsal plumage as females age reflects the most common pattern of age-related variation in males in most European populations of the species.

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