Popis: |
We studied the return rate, apparent survival, and probability of recapture of the Saffron Finch ( Sicalis flaveola pelzelni ), a thraupid with sexual dichromatism and age-related male feather phenotypes; the second-year males are dull and indistinguishable from females to humans and conspecifics alike, whereas the after second year males are golden yellow. The study spanned six breeding seasons. We found that adult plumaged males and females did not differ in the return rate, but immature plumaged males had lower return rates than older plumage males. Return rates did not vary with previous nesting success. Apparent survival rate of all males combined and females was almost equal, but we found important differences when we compared both types of males, as older males had a higher apparent survival rate than younger ones. The recapture probability was sex and age related with females having higher probability of recapture than males, and older males a higher probability of recapture than young males. Finally, we compared the apparent survival of Saffron Finches to those of published studies on thraupids and found it to be close to the family average. |