The Babbler 42 - July 2012
regional news
Phylogeny and Biogeography of the Core Babblers (Aves: Timaliidae)
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he avian family Timaliidae is a species rich and morphologically diverse component of African and Asian tropical forests. The morphological diversity within the family has attracted interest from ecologists and evolutionary biologists, but systematists have long suspected that this diversity might also mislead taxonomy, and recent molecular phylogenetic work has supported this hypothesis. The authors produced and analysed a data set of 6 genes and almost 300 individuals to assess the evolutionary history of the family. Although phylogenetic analysis required extensive adjustment of program settings, the authors ultimately produced a well-resolved phylogeny for the family. The resulting phylogeny provided strong support for major subclades within the family but extensive paraphyly of genera. Only 3 genera represented by more than 3 species were monophyletic. Biogeographic reconstruction indicated a mainland Asian origin for the family and most major clades. Colonization of Africa,
Sundaland, and the Philippines occurred relatively late in the family’s history and was mostly unidirectional. Several putative babbler genera, such as Robsonius, Malia, Leonardina, and Micromacronus are only distantly related to the Timaliidae. Read full paper here -------------Source: Robert G. Moyle, Michael J . Andersen, Carl H. Oliveros, Frank D. Steinhemer, and Sushma Reddy. Phylogeny and Biogeography of the Core Babblers (Aves: Timaliidae). Syst. Biol. 61(4):631–651, 2012
Serious contractions in wintering distribution and decline in abundance of Baer’s Pochard Aythya baeri
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bserved maximum numbers of Baer’s Pochard Aythya baeri in China, the traditional core wintering range, declined from 16,792 during 1987–1993 to 2,131 during 2003–2011, accompanied by a dramatic contraction in range. Coordinated coverage of the most important sites in the middle and lower Yangtze River floodplain in January 2011 found only 194 Baer’s Pochard. The reported wintering population outside China declined from 719 in 2000–2005 to 48 in 2006–2010. The world population in 2011 apparently did not exceed 1,000 individuals, and the true number was most likely many fewer. The species seems to have ceased wintering regularly outside mainland China, where none had been found by mid-February 2012 despite coverage of favoured sites. Urgent, coordinated actions are needed to protect this species which may soon be on the verge of extinction in the wild. Read full paper here -------------Source: Xin Wang, Mark Barter, Leicao, Jinyu Lei and Anthony D. Fox. Serious contractions in wintering distribution and decline in abundance of Baer’s Pochard Aythya baeri. Bird Conservation International (2012) 0:1–7. © BirdLife International, 2012. doi:10.1017/S0959270912000214
Moult of primaries in Long-toed Stints (Calidris subminuta) at a non-breeding area in Thailand
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dult Long-toed Stints Calidris subminuta, spending the non-breeding season at a coastal fresh to brackish water site in central Thailand, commenced moult of primaries soon after their arrival from their breeding grounds. The estimated duration of primary moult was 70 days, with starting and completion dates 14 August (standard deviation + 13.3 days) and 23 October. Juvenile/first-year birds did not moult any flight feathers during the 1 July to 31 December study period. The adaptive significance of this rapid moult of flight feathers is probably linked to the influence of monsoon upon food abundance. Birds under went a rapid moult of flight feathers towards the end of the southwest monsoon (wet season), when food was most abundant, and completed their moult before the onset of the dry season caused many wetland habitats to dry up . Read full paper here -------------Source: Philip D. Round, George A. Gale and Somchai Nimnuan. Moult of primaries in Long-toed Stints (Calidris subminuta) at a non-breeding area in Thailand. Ringing & Migration (2012) 27, 32 – 37
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