Age related evolution of sexual dimorphism in the Red-necked Nightjar Caprimulgus ruficollis

Some morphological and sexual characters were measured in juvenile, first-year and adult Red-necked Nightjars in SW Spain. We found significant age-related growth in wing, tail and body mass, first-year birds being heavier than adults. Adults showed sex differences in tail and wing lengths, and the...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Forero, Manuela G., Tella, José Luis, García, Luis
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:1995
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/57583
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/57583
Access Level:acceso abierto
Descripción
Sumario:Some morphological and sexual characters were measured in juvenile, first-year and adult Red-necked Nightjars in SW Spain. We found significant age-related growth in wing, tail and body mass, first-year birds being heavier than adults. Adults showed sex differences in tail and wing lengths, and the size of tail and wing spots differed between males and females of all age classes. There was not any difference in the number of wing spots, and juvenile males had a lower number of tail spots than older males. An age-related increase in sexual dimorphism was found to exist by size increase of wing spots in males. Since wing and tail spots are exhibited in courtship displays, the elongation of these secondary sexual characters could be related to mate choice mechanisms. © 1995 Verlag der Deutschen Ornithologen-Gesellschaft.

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