Malar stripe size and prominence in peregrine falcons vary positively with solar radiation: support for the solar glare hypothesis
Many falcons (Falco spp.) exhibit a distinct dark plumage patch below the eye, termed the malar stripe. This stripe is hypothesized to reduce the amount of solar glare reflected into the eyes while foraging, thereby increasing hunting efficiency in bright conditions. Here, we use a novel, global-sca...
Published in: | Biology Letters |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , |
Format: | Text |
Language: | English |
Published: |
The Royal Society
2021
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8169203/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34062086 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2021.0116 |
id |
ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:8169203 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:8169203 2023-05-15T16:09:56+02:00 Malar stripe size and prominence in peregrine falcons vary positively with solar radiation: support for the solar glare hypothesis Vrettos, Michelle Reynolds, Chevonne Amar, Arjun 2021-06-02 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8169203/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34062086 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2021.0116 en eng The Royal Society http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8169203/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34062086 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2021.0116 © 2021 The Author(s) http://royalsocietypublishing.org/licencePublished by the Royal Society. All rights reserved. Biol Lett Evolutionary Biology Text 2021 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2021.0116 2022-06-05T00:31:21Z Many falcons (Falco spp.) exhibit a distinct dark plumage patch below the eye, termed the malar stripe. This stripe is hypothesized to reduce the amount of solar glare reflected into the eyes while foraging, thereby increasing hunting efficiency in bright conditions. Here, we use a novel, global-scale correlative approach to test this ‘solar glare hypothesis' in peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus), the most widespread falcon species, using web-sourced photographs from across the species' global range. We found that the size and prominence of the malar stripe were positively associated with average annual solar radiation, but not with other environmental variables, such as temperature and rainfall. Our results provide the first published evidence for the hypothesis that this plumage feature functions to reduce the amount of solar glare reflected into the falcon's eyes, thereby improving the ability to pinpoint and target agile prey in bright conditions. Text Falco peregrinus PubMed Central (PMC) Stripe ENVELOPE(9.914,9.914,63.019,63.019) Biology Letters 17 6 20210116 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
PubMed Central (PMC) |
op_collection_id |
ftpubmed |
language |
English |
topic |
Evolutionary Biology |
spellingShingle |
Evolutionary Biology Vrettos, Michelle Reynolds, Chevonne Amar, Arjun Malar stripe size and prominence in peregrine falcons vary positively with solar radiation: support for the solar glare hypothesis |
topic_facet |
Evolutionary Biology |
description |
Many falcons (Falco spp.) exhibit a distinct dark plumage patch below the eye, termed the malar stripe. This stripe is hypothesized to reduce the amount of solar glare reflected into the eyes while foraging, thereby increasing hunting efficiency in bright conditions. Here, we use a novel, global-scale correlative approach to test this ‘solar glare hypothesis' in peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus), the most widespread falcon species, using web-sourced photographs from across the species' global range. We found that the size and prominence of the malar stripe were positively associated with average annual solar radiation, but not with other environmental variables, such as temperature and rainfall. Our results provide the first published evidence for the hypothesis that this plumage feature functions to reduce the amount of solar glare reflected into the falcon's eyes, thereby improving the ability to pinpoint and target agile prey in bright conditions. |
format |
Text |
author |
Vrettos, Michelle Reynolds, Chevonne Amar, Arjun |
author_facet |
Vrettos, Michelle Reynolds, Chevonne Amar, Arjun |
author_sort |
Vrettos, Michelle |
title |
Malar stripe size and prominence in peregrine falcons vary positively with solar radiation: support for the solar glare hypothesis |
title_short |
Malar stripe size and prominence in peregrine falcons vary positively with solar radiation: support for the solar glare hypothesis |
title_full |
Malar stripe size and prominence in peregrine falcons vary positively with solar radiation: support for the solar glare hypothesis |
title_fullStr |
Malar stripe size and prominence in peregrine falcons vary positively with solar radiation: support for the solar glare hypothesis |
title_full_unstemmed |
Malar stripe size and prominence in peregrine falcons vary positively with solar radiation: support for the solar glare hypothesis |
title_sort |
malar stripe size and prominence in peregrine falcons vary positively with solar radiation: support for the solar glare hypothesis |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8169203/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34062086 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2021.0116 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(9.914,9.914,63.019,63.019) |
geographic |
Stripe |
geographic_facet |
Stripe |
genre |
Falco peregrinus |
genre_facet |
Falco peregrinus |
op_source |
Biol Lett |
op_relation |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8169203/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34062086 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2021.0116 |
op_rights |
© 2021 The Author(s) http://royalsocietypublishing.org/licencePublished by the Royal Society. All rights reserved. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2021.0116 |
container_title |
Biology Letters |
container_volume |
17 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
20210116 |
_version_ |
1765995182202814464 |