Arrival and pre-nesting period of the snow bunting Plectrophenax nivalis in East Greenland
The first snow bunting males arrive in Northeast Greenland in early April, 6-8 weeks before nesting and 2 4 weeks ahead of the females. At this time temperatures regularly reach -25 to -30°C and snow storms may rage for days. The living conditions during this long-lasting pre-nesting period and its...
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Norwegian Polar Institute
2010
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ftjpolarres:oai:journals.openacademia.net:article/2557 2023-05-15T16:03:47+02:00 Arrival and pre-nesting period of the snow bunting Plectrophenax nivalis in East Greenland Meltofte, Hans 2010-01-01 application/pdf https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/2557 https://doi.org/10.3402/polar.v1i2.6983 eng eng Norwegian Polar Institute https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/2557/5808 https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/2557 doi:10.3402/polar.v1i2.6983 Copyright (c) 2018 Polar Research Polar Research; Vol. 1 No. 2 (1983); 185-198 1751-8369 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Peer-reviewed Article 2010 ftjpolarres https://doi.org/10.3402/polar.v1i2.6983 2021-11-11T19:12:57Z The first snow bunting males arrive in Northeast Greenland in early April, 6-8 weeks before nesting and 2 4 weeks ahead of the females. At this time temperatures regularly reach -25 to -30°C and snow storms may rage for days. The living conditions during this long-lasting pre-nesting period and its possible function are described and discussed. Based on 781 birds caught. .ringed, and measured, and on observations on phenology, diurnal rhythm, night roosts, etc., it is shown that the age ratio in males is close to 50/50 first living year/adults, that adult males arrive and occupy territories earlier than first year males, that first-year males have shorter wings and are leaner than adult males, that the birds lose weight during spells of inclement weather early in the season, that diurnal rhythm is apparently governed by direct insolation, that males apparently greatly outnumber females in the populations, and that competition for the optimal territories is probably the selective force behind the prolonged pre-nesting period in males. Article in Journal/Newspaper East Greenland Greenland Plectrophenax nivalis Polar Research Snow Bunting Polar Research (E-Journal) Greenland Polar Research 1 2 185 198 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Polar Research (E-Journal) |
op_collection_id |
ftjpolarres |
language |
English |
description |
The first snow bunting males arrive in Northeast Greenland in early April, 6-8 weeks before nesting and 2 4 weeks ahead of the females. At this time temperatures regularly reach -25 to -30°C and snow storms may rage for days. The living conditions during this long-lasting pre-nesting period and its possible function are described and discussed. Based on 781 birds caught. .ringed, and measured, and on observations on phenology, diurnal rhythm, night roosts, etc., it is shown that the age ratio in males is close to 50/50 first living year/adults, that adult males arrive and occupy territories earlier than first year males, that first-year males have shorter wings and are leaner than adult males, that the birds lose weight during spells of inclement weather early in the season, that diurnal rhythm is apparently governed by direct insolation, that males apparently greatly outnumber females in the populations, and that competition for the optimal territories is probably the selective force behind the prolonged pre-nesting period in males. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Meltofte, Hans |
spellingShingle |
Meltofte, Hans Arrival and pre-nesting period of the snow bunting Plectrophenax nivalis in East Greenland |
author_facet |
Meltofte, Hans |
author_sort |
Meltofte, Hans |
title |
Arrival and pre-nesting period of the snow bunting Plectrophenax nivalis in East Greenland |
title_short |
Arrival and pre-nesting period of the snow bunting Plectrophenax nivalis in East Greenland |
title_full |
Arrival and pre-nesting period of the snow bunting Plectrophenax nivalis in East Greenland |
title_fullStr |
Arrival and pre-nesting period of the snow bunting Plectrophenax nivalis in East Greenland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Arrival and pre-nesting period of the snow bunting Plectrophenax nivalis in East Greenland |
title_sort |
arrival and pre-nesting period of the snow bunting plectrophenax nivalis in east greenland |
publisher |
Norwegian Polar Institute |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/2557 https://doi.org/10.3402/polar.v1i2.6983 |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
East Greenland Greenland Plectrophenax nivalis Polar Research Snow Bunting |
genre_facet |
East Greenland Greenland Plectrophenax nivalis Polar Research Snow Bunting |
op_source |
Polar Research; Vol. 1 No. 2 (1983); 185-198 1751-8369 |
op_relation |
https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/2557/5808 https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/2557 doi:10.3402/polar.v1i2.6983 |
op_rights |
Copyright (c) 2018 Polar Research |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3402/polar.v1i2.6983 |
container_title |
Polar Research |
container_volume |
1 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
185 |
op_container_end_page |
198 |
_version_ |
1766399468402376704 |