| Title |
Notes on the moult and plumages of Lesser Kestrel |
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| Author |
Andrea Corso |
| Language |
English |
| Magazine |
British Birds, vol. 94, no. 9, 2001
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| Page |
409 - 418 |
Contents
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Headlines:
Methods * Moult * Plumage and bare parts * Variability in facial pattern * Tail pattern * Tail shape * Wing formula and wing shape * Pattern of upperwing- and underwing-coverts * Underpart pattern * Claws * Discussion * Acknowledgments * References
Abstract:
During a study of Lesser Kestrels [Falco naumanni] at Matera, in Basilicata, southern Italy, in May-June 2000, special attention was paid to the state of moult of individuals, and details of plumage were recorded. On average, second-calendar-year females showed five or six newly moulted primaries, and second-calendar males three; adult females usually exhibited three new primaries, while adult males typically showed none (rarely, one to three). A degree of plumage variability was observed, mostly in facial pattern (all ages) and tail pattern (second-calendar-year males), but also in the tinderwing-covert and underpart patterns. The dark moustache varied in thickness, length and contrast, and the cheek patch was also somewhat variable. The tail varied in number/shape of bars and in the colour of the central feathers and other rectrices.The underwing-covcrts of males varied from uniformly pale and unmarked to diffusely dark-spotted, as did the underparts, while females exhibited some variation in the length and thickness of the dark streaking below. Claw colour was typically pale, rarely darkish.
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