Duration of primary moult affects primary quality in Grey Plovers Pluvialis squatarola

Abstract

Feather wear is the natural degradation and breakage of feather structure during the interval between moults. Different rates of feather wear have been observed for primaries of free‐living populations of several species of passerines and waders, and this variability has been linked to different concentrations of melanins. In this study primary moult duration explained 59% of the variation in annual rates of primary abrasion (percentage wing length loss) of seven Grey Plover wintering populations, while migration distance explained 14%. The analysis suggests that primary moult duration plays a key role in determining primary durability and hence primary quality. Long distance migrants might evolve more durable primaries, despite the higher predation risks and energetic costs of a prolonged moult. Partial or complete pre‐breeding primary moults of first‐year waders and complete biannual moults of some passerines might have evolved under selective forces favouring migration with unabraded primaries.