A slow catching day

Today was a quiet ringing day at Kabeltromlen. The sky remained cloudy the whole morning, but luckily it did not rain and we were able to keep the nets open. It was a slow day and we caught few birds. And all the Backcaps (Munk) were apparently gone ! We instead caught several Garden Warblers (Havesanger).

Garden Warbler (Havesanger)

One highlight of the morning was a very bright red male Bullfinch (Dompap Lille). Contrary to other pigments, red pigments are not directly produced by the birds. Instead, red birds rely on carotenoids - molecules found in the food they eat – to acquire a red coloration. Food such as leaves, seeds, berries and fruits are rich in carotenoids. However, carotenoids are a yellow pigment, and birds therefore need to use enzymes to convert them into red pigments. Brightness and extent of the red pattern is therefore affected by diet in red birds.  A study¹ from 2001 have compared coloration of wild and captive bullfinches and found that this bird has a unique way of producing red pigments, different from other close related species, which is quite interesting !

Bullfinch (Dompap Lille)

¹ Stradi R, Pini E, Celentano G. Carotenoids in bird plumage: the complement of red pigments in the plumage of wild and captive bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula). Comp Biochem Physiol B Biochem Mol Biol. 2001;128(3):529-535. doi:10.1016/s1096-4959(00)00353-5

Ringmærkning (Kabeltromlen):

Rødstjert – Common Redstart – 1

Rørsanger – Reed Warbler – 2

Gærdesanger – Lesser Whitehtroat – 1

Lille Gråsisken – Lesser Redpoll – 2

Kærsanger – Marsh Warbler – 1

Løvsanger – Willow warbler – 2

Munk – Blackcap –  4

Havesanger – Garden Warbler – 5

Tornsanger – Common Whitethroat – 2

Dompap lille – Bullfinch – 1

Total: 21

People : Martina Hillbrand and Amandine Doré

Klik her for at se dagens observationer indtastet i Dofbasen af observatører i området

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