Abstract
Prenuptial moult was studied on 48 Water Pipits trapped during spring migration in central Belgium : 38 birds showed some signs of moult. The sample included only a few females. Prenuptial moult generally included renewal of all tertials and of the central pair of rectrices. The majority of birds also replaced some inner greater coverts, and some median coverts were moulted in nearly half of the birds. The extent of body moult was variable among individuals as well as among feather areas: on average prenuptial moult included roughly 100%, 90%, 75%, 35% and 45% of all feathers in the “capital”, “pectoral”, “abdominal”, “femoral” and “dorsal” areas, respectively. Prenuptial moult was ahead in males, but there was still an overlap between moult and migration in both sexes.
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