Seasonal, sexual, and quality related variation in retinal

mites (Pellonyssus reedi) and the reproductive biology of the house finch

genetic correlations in ontogeny of the house finch

, Carpodacus mexicanus, were exposed to short days and chronically treated with T-filled (T males; N=10) or empty (C males; N=10) Silastic capsules. Testosterone administration increased plasma T levels and the size of the cloacal protuberance, an androgen-dependent secondary sexual characteristic. To study

The house finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) has emerged recently as a model species in studies of sexual selection, reproductive physiology, population genetics, and epizootic disease ecology. Here we describe 17 highly polymorphic microsatellite loci for this species. In a sample of 36 individuals, we

Abstract. The house finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) is a native songbird of western North America that was introduced to the eastern United States and Hawaiian Islands in historic times. As such, it provides an unusually good opportunity to test the ability of molecular markers to recover recent

infrequently been studied, however. Here we report the relationship between male-female af � liative behaviour, pair-bond duration, and breeding date in house � nches (Carpodacus mexicanus), a short-lived,socially monogamous passerine species in which the duration of pair bonds is highly variable within

Parasite infections can influence host foraging behavior, movement, or social interactions. House finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) in the US are susceptible to a recently emerged strain of the bacteria, Mycoplasma gallisepticum. Infected birds develop mild to severe conjunctivitis that could affect

Abstract. In altricial birds, the food habits of young birds may be aVected by extended parental contact. To examine this, five nesting pairs of captive adult house finches were exposed to hulled oats treated with an aversive agent, methiocarb. During the nestling and early fledgling stages, juvenile finches raised by adults that avoided oats received 30–40 times less exposure to hulled oats than did juveniles raised by adults that ate oats. After they were separated from the adults, the juveniles had no further access to oats or to canary seed, the alternative untreated food, until tested individually at 10–12, 20–22, and 35–38 weeks of age. There was no relationship between the juvenile birds ’ exposure to oats in the early nestling stage and their subsequent oat preference scores. Birds raised by adults that avoided oats during the late nestling and fledgling stages, however, displayed lower oat preference scores than did birds raised by adults that ate oats. Thus, dietary aversion to oats established in adult birds was expressed in the seed preferences of their oVspring.? 1996 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour Experiences in the first weeks of a bird’s life influence numerous later behaviour patterns (Immelmann 1972; Skutch 1976; Glück 1984;

pigmentation of male house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) fades during the breeding season