云南鸟类绦虫两种记述

记述采自云南保山市张明山灰头鹦鹉及黄胸织布鸟肠道的两种绦虫：赛尼苛氏绦虫Ｃｏｔｕｇｎｉａｓｅｉ及雀形双子宫绦虫Ｂｉｕｔｅｒｉｎａｐａｓｅｒｉｎａ．这两种绦虫在我国的分布均为首次记录。

Improvement on molecular sex identification primers for Passeriform bird species

The primer pair sex1/sex2,which can be widely applied for sex identification in Galliform species,was used to determine the sex of 17 Passeriform species.As CHD-W fragments tended to be preferentially amplified,which may cause unnecessary misidentification in bird species with little difference between CHD-Z and CHD-W,we modified sex1 and sex2,obtaining sex1' and sex-mix respectively.Primer sets were then recombined to conduct sex identification.After testing several Passeriforme birds of known sex,we found that the primer pair sex1'/sex2 was better at limiting the preferential amplification of CHD-W fragments.As they are being frequently used in sex allocation study of Aegithalos concinnus and song learning research of Lonchura striata,we can expect more applications of this primer pair to further studies in Passeriformes.

Phylogenetic relationships of 18 passerines based on Adenylate Kinase Intron 5 sequences

The 18 species of bird studied originally are known to belong to muscicapids, robins and sylviids of passerines, but some dis- putations are always present in their classification systems. In this experiment, phylogenetic relationships of 18 species of passerines were studied using Adenylate Kinase lntron 5 （AKS） sequences and DNA techniques. Through sequences analysis in comparison with each other, phylogenetic tree figures of 18 species of passerines were constructed using Neighbor-Joining （N J） and Maximum-Parsimony （MP） meth- ods . The results showed that sylviids should be listed as an independent family, while robins and flycatchers should be listed into Musci- capidae. Since the phylogenetic relationships between long-tailed tits and old world warblers are closer than that between long-tailed tits and parids, the long-tailed tits should be independent of paridae and be categorized into aegithalidae. Muscicapidae and Paridae are known to be two monophylitic families, but Sylviidae is not a monophyletic group. AK5 sequences had better efficacy in resolving close relationships of interspecies among intrageneric groups.

Effects of temperature acclimation on body mass and energy budget in the Chinese bulbul Pycnonotus sinensis

Chinese bulbuls （Pycnonotus sinensis） are small passerine birds that inhabit areas of central, southern and eastern China. Previous observations suggest that flee-living individuals of this species may change their food intake in response to seasonal changes in ambient temperature. In the present study, we randomly assigned Chinese bulbuls to either a 30 ~C or 10 ~C group, and measured their body mass （BM）, body temperature, gross energy intake （GEl）, digestible energy intake （DEI）, and the length and mass of their digestive tracts over 28 days of acclimation at these temperatures. As predicted, birds in the 30 ℃ group had lower body mass, GEI and DEI relative to those in the 10 ℃ group. The length and mass of the digestive tract was also lower in the 30 ℃ group and trends in these parameters were positively correlated with BM, GEl and DEI. These results suggest that Chinese bulbuls reduced their absolute energy demands at relatively high temperatures by decreasing their body mass, GEI and DEI, and digestive tract size.

Macrosegregation and thermosolutal convection-related freckle formation in directionally solidified Sn−Ni peritectic alloy in crucibles with different diameters

Different from other alloys,the observation in this work on the dendritic mushy zone shows that the freckles are formed in two different regions before and after peritectic reaction in directional solidification of Sn−Ni peritectic alloys.In addition,the experimental results demonstrate that the dendritic morphology is influenced by the temperature gradient zone melting and Gibbs−Thomson effects.A new Rayleigh number(Ra_(P))is proposed in consideration of both effects and peritectic reaction.The prediction of Ra_(P) confirms the freckle formation in two regions during peritectic solidification.Besides,heavier thermosolutal convection in samples with larger diameter is also demonstrated.

Recent Data on Birds of Kinshasa in Democratic Republic of Congo

The study aimed at understanding the current avifauna characteristics, like composition, species diversity and evolution, in the city of Kinshasa. The study was conducted from 2006 to 2014, using observation, photography and Japanese nets. Results of the study indicate that there are 131 species of birds, which represents 40 families and 16 orders. Avifauna of Kinshasa represents 11% of species of the all country. Among those species, 12 are new. Passerines are the most, representing 86 species and 21 families, and are the most diversified. Few species have extended their geographical distribution and some are migratory. Overtime, avian fauna of Kinshasa region has undergone a lot of changes in its composition and diversity. Horizontal extension of the city associated with the consecutive various changes of the habitats seems to be the principal factors which modulate those characteristics. However, the study found that the majority of these species were under precarious statute of conservation.

由《三礼图》中的雀杯爵推论“爵名三迁，爵有四形”

宋人聂崇义《三礼图》中所见酒爵,作雀鸟背负酒杯之形,可称“雀杯爵”。“爵”这个器名,曾三次由一种器物迁移或扩展到另一器物上去。是为“爵名三迁”。这个历程留下了四种不同形状的爵,它们分别是周初期以前的三足爵,继之而起的斗形爵,春秋饮酒礼上使用的筒形爵,以及可能始于汉代、并见于宋《三礼图》的雀杯爵。是为“爵有四形”。雀杯爵是综合了饰雀斗形爵与筒形爵二者形象,而被构造出来的。筒形爵的外形也曾发生过变化,先后呈觚形、卮形及“锐下有足”之形。

古代的酒杯

古代题材的影视作品中,常有饮酒的场面。然而,剧中人用的酒杯,往往驴唇不对马嘴,颇煞风景。我们今天说的'酒杯',实是泛指用以喝酒的各种容器,形状各异。古人的'酒杯'自然也是多种多样的。不过,不同的历史时代,主要的饮酒器形式是不同的,不可不辨。大体上说,战国时代以前,饮酒器的形式和现在有很大的不同。

I smell a rat： Can New Zealand birds recognize the odor of an invasive mammalian predator？

Although it is well known that birds can assess predation risk through visual and auditory cues, there has been little research into whether similar processes occur with olfactory cues. We examined the role of odor cues in assessing nest predation risk in four species of passerine birds in New Zealand. We compared the ability of two introduced European species （common starling Sturnus vulgaris and song thrush Turdus philomelos） and two native New Zealand species （rifleman Acanthisitta chloris and South Island robin Petroica australis） to respond to the scent of rat urine placed in the nest. Rats are an introduced predator in New Zealand and we expected the native birds, which did not co-evolve with any mammalian predators, to lack behavioral adaptations to the scent of rats at their nest. As expected, both riflemen and robins failed to show any change in their behavior at their nest when rat urine was present compared to a control period in which no scent was present. However, a similar lack of re- sponse was observed in the introduced song thrush; only the common starling changed its behavior in the presence of the rat urine Starlings with rat urine at the nest box were more likely to hesitate before entering and they also approached the nest, but refused to enter more often in the presence of rat scent. Both responses suggest they detected the presence of a predator and changed their behavior to minimize risk to themselves. Although based on a small number of species, our results suggest that responses to pre- dator scent may be less common in New Zealand species, and may be a factor contributing to the vulnerability of native birds to introduced mammalian predators [Current Zoology 61 （1）： 34-41, 2015].

Is there evidence of selection in the dopamine receptor D4 gene in Australian invasive starling populations？

Although population genetic theory is largely based on the premise that loci under study are selectively neutral, it has been acknowledged that the study of DNA sequence data under the influence of selection can be useful. In some circumstances, these loci show increased population differentiation and gene diversity. Highly polymorphic loci may be especially useful when studying populations having low levels of diversity overall, such as is often the case with threatened or newly established inva- sive populations. Using common starlings Sturnus vulgaris sampled from invasive Australian populations, we investigated se- quence data of the dopamine receptor D4 gene （DRD4）, a locus suspected to be under selection for novelty-seeking behaviour in a range of taxa including humans and passerine birds. We hypothesised that such behaviour may be advantageous when species encounter novel environments, such as during invasion. In addition to analyses to detect the presence of selection, we also esti- mated population differentiation and gene diversity using DRD4 data and compared these estimates to those from microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA sequence data, using the same individuals. We found little evidence for selection on DRD4 in starlings. However, we did find elevated levels of within-population gene diversity when compared to microsatellites and mitochondrial DNA sequence, as well as a greater degree of population differentiation. We suggest that sequence data from putatively non- neutral loci are a useful addition to studies of invasive populations, where low genetic variability is expected

To forage or hide？ Threat-sensitive foraging behaviour in wild, non-reproductive passerine birds

Because antipredator behaviours are costly, the threat-sensitive predator avoidance hypothesis predicts that individual animals should express predator-avoidance behaviour proportionally to the perceived threat posed by the predator. Here, we experimentally tested this hypothesis by providing wild passerine birds supplemental food （on a raised feeding platform） at either 1 or 4 m from the edge of forest cover （potential refuge）, in either the presence or absence of a nearby simulated predation threat （a sharp-shinned hawk Accipiter striatus model）. Compared with the control treatment, we observed proportionally fewer bird visits to the food patch, and the birds took longer to re-emerge from forest refuge and return to feed at the food patch, after the hawk presentation than before it. The observed threat-sensitive latency-to-return response was stronger when the food patch was further away from the nearest refuge. Overall, our results are consistent with the predictions of the threat-sensitive predator avoidance hypothesis in that wild passerine birds （primarily black-capped chickadees Poecile atricapillus） exhibited more intense antipre- dator behavioural responses with increasing level of apparent threat. The birds were thus sensitive to their local perceived threat of predation and traded-off safety from predation （by refuging） and foraging gains in open habitat in a graded, threat-sensitive manner [Current Zoology 60 （6）： 719-728, 2014].

Breeding bird density does not drive vocal individuality

Many species produce individually specific vocalizations and sociality is a hypothesized driver of such individuality. Previous studies of how social variation influenced individuality focused on colonial or non-colonial avian species, and how so- cial group size influenced individuality in sciurid rodents. Since sociality is an important driver of individuality, we expected that bird species that defend nesting territories in higher density neighborhoods should have more individually-distinctive calls than those that defend nesting territories in lower-density neighborhoods. We used Beecher＇s information statistic to quantify individu- ality, and we examined the relationship between bird density （calculated with point-counts） and vocal individuality on seven spe- cies of passerines. We found non-significant relationships between breeding bird density and vocal individuality whether regres- sions were fitted on species values, or on phylogenetically-independent contrast values. From these results, we infer that while in- dividuality may be explained by social factors, breeding bird density is unlikely to be generally important in driving the evolution of individually-specific vocalizations [Current Zoology 58 （5）： 765-772, 2012].

Body attributes of both parents jointly affect offspring sex allocation in a socially monogamous, size-monomorphic passerine

Theory predicts that because males are more variable in reproductive success than females, a mother should produce more sons to maximize fitness return from the sex allocation if she is of high-quality （the female quality hypothesis） or mates with a high-quality male （the male quality hypothesis）. While most previous studies have looked at each hypothesis, we tested both of them simultaneously in the white-rumped snowfinch Montifringilla taczanowskii, a socially monogamous, sexually monomorphic passerine where body size is a potential indicator of individual quality in intrasexual competition and territory de- fense. Brood sex ratios at the population level did not deviate from random expectation. Among individual broods, the proportion of sons did not depend on body size of either male or female parent, but on interaction of this trait of both parents. Further analy- ：~es revealed that brood sex ratios were independent of body size of male or female parents when their mates were smaller, but positively related with body size of male or female parents when their mates were larger. These results suggest that mechanisms underlying the two hypotheses may act jointly on offspring sex allocation. The mechanisms are expected to evolve through size-assortative mating which is often reached by sexual selection [Current Zoology 59 （2）： 271-277, 2013].