<abstract xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Biometrics of juvenile 760 White Wagtails and 714 Yellow Wagtails migrating through the Gulf of Gdańsk region in autumn were studied between 1990 and 2000. In both species distributions of wing length, body mass and indices of wing shape were unimodal, with only one exception - in the White Wagtail the wing length distribution showed two peaks caused by sexual dimorphism. The mean body mass and reserves of fat in both species were low in comparison to other stopover sites. There were significant differences in mean weight between birds caught in the morning and in the evening. The majority of birds behave as energy minimising migrants and migrate with low fat reserves in small steps.</p></abstract>

Biometrics of juvenile 760 White Wagtails and 714 Yellow Wagtails migrating through the Gulf of Gdańsk region in autumn were studied between 1990 and 2000. In both species distributions of wing length, body mass and indices of wing shape were unimodal, with only one exception - in the White Wagtail the wing length distribution showed two peaks caused by sexual dimorphism. The mean body mass and reserves of fat in both species were low in comparison to other stopover sites. There were significant differences in mean weight between birds caught in the morning and in the evening. The majority of birds behave as energy minimising migrants and migrate with low fat reserves in small steps.

Biometry of young White Wagtails (<italic>Motacilla alba</italic>) and Yellow Wagtails (<italic>Motacilla flava</italic>) caught in the Gulf of Gdańsk region during autumn migration

Dept. of Nature Conservation, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Akademicka 19, PL-20-033 Lublin, Poland

Dept. of Vertebrate Ecology and Zoology, Univ. of Gdańsk, Legionów 9, PL-80-441, Gdańsk, Poland

The Ring

Biometry of young White Wagtails () and Yellow Wagtails () caught in the Gulf of Gdańsk region during autumn migration

Biometrics of juvenile 760 White Wagtails and 714 Yellow Wagtails migrating through the Gulf of Gdańsk region in autumn were studied between 1990 and 2000. In...

Biometry of young White Wagtails (Motacilla alba) and Yellow Wagtails (Motacilla flava) caught in the Gulf of Gdańsk region during autumn migration

Published Online: Jan 22, 2010

Page range: 69 - 78

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/v10050-008-0010-5

Keywords
White Wagtail, Yellow Wagtail, biometry, Gulf of Gdańsk, migration

This content is open access.