Bullfinch Research Articles

Characterization of Two Novel Polyomaviruses of Birds by Using Multiply Primed Rolling-Circle Amplification of Their Genomes

Polyomaviruses are small nonenveloped particles with a circular double-stranded genome, approximately 5 kbp in size. The mammalian polyomaviruses mainly cause persistent subclinical infections in their natural nonimmunocompromised hosts. In contrast, the polyomaviruses of birds--avian polyomavirus (APV) and goose hemorrhagic polyomavirus (GHPV)--are the primary agents of acute and chronic disease with high mortality rates in young birds. Screening of field samples of diseased birds by consensus PCR revealed the presence of two novel polyomaviruses in the liver of an Eurasian bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris) and in the spleen of a Eurasian jackdaw (Corvus monedula), tentatively designated as finch polyomavirus (FPyV) and crow polyomavirus (CPyV), respectively. The genomes of the viruses were amplified by using multiply primed rolling-circle amplification and cloned. Analysis of the FPyV and CPyV genome sequences revealed a close relationship to APV and GHPV, indicating the existence of a distinct avian group among the polyomaviruses. The main characteristics of this group are (i) involvement in fatal disease, (ii) the existence of an additional open reading frame in the 5' region of the late mRNAs, and (iii) a different manner of DNA binding of the large tumor antigen compared to that of the mammalian polyomaviruses.

UNUSUAL SPERM MORPHOLOGY IN THE EURASIAN BULLFINCH (PYRRHULA PYRRHULA)

Abstract The sperm of the Eurasian Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) differs markedly in gross morphology from that of all other passerines examined to date. In other passerines, the sperm head is pointed and helical, and the midpiece comprises a mitochondrial helix extending along the flagellum; whereas in the Eurasian Bullfinch, the sperm acrosome is rounded, not helical, and the midpiece is extremely short. In a pairwise study, using principal component analysis (PCA), we combined quantitative and qualitative sperm morphology traits and conducted a phylogenetic correlation to compare the sperm morphology of Eurasian Bullfinch and Beavan's Bullfinch (P. erythaca) with nine other pairs of congeneric passerines. The analysis revealed that Eurasian Bullfinch was a dramatic outlier in sperm morphology and that Eurasian and Beavan's bullfinches are more different than any other pair of species. Excluding Eurasian Bullfinch from the analysis showed that most variation in sperm morphology in the other species was ...

Long-term Study of Chlamydophilosis in Slovenia

Immune reactivity for Chlamydophila (C.) psittaci in Slovenia was monitored in parrots, canaries, finches and nine species of recently captured free-living birds (house sparrows, Eurasian goldfinches, tree sparrows, chaffinches, European greenfinches, European serines, Eurasian siskins, Eurasian linnets and Eurasian bullfinches) in the period from 1991 to 2001. In subsequent years, specific IgG antibodies were found using immunofluorescence in parrots (0.7-53.6%), canaries (0.0-3.5%), finches (0.0-5.7%) and in captured free-living birds (33.3% of Eurasian goldfinches in 1994). An experimental infection with C psittaci was performed in order to study clinical signs and pathological changes in canaries and finches. The C. psittaci strain used for experimental infection was isolated from a cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus). Chlamydial DNA was extracted from clinical material followed by RFLP-PCR analysis. Infection of canaries and finches was confirmed in organ smears by direct immunofluorescence and a modified Gimenez staining method. In addition, serological tests of indirect immunofluorescence and complement fixation were applied. However, in spite of positive immunological reaction there were no clinical signs three weeks after infection. The present study includes results of a serological survey of persons belonging to the most important risk groups (breeders, pet shopkeepers and veterinarians). The results of microimmunofluorescence to identify the presence of specific antibodies and correlation between appearance of infection in birds and important risk groups are presented. Out of 143 persons belonging to the high-risk group we found 10 (7%) persons who were immunologically positive. Testing of two successive samples was used to demonstrate an increase in IgG and IgA titres in human sera. However, IgM, which is indicative of acute infection, could not be detected.

Use and Validation of a Molt Score Index Corrected for Primary-Feather Mass

Abstract In European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), mass of new primary feathers increases linearly with time for most of the duration of molt (Dawson 2003). Here, we had two aims: (1) to confirm that mass of new primary feathers increases linearly in other species, and (2) to use that linear increase as the basis of a system to score the progress of molt. Increase in length of primary feathers during molt was recorded for captive Eurasian Magpies (Pica pica), Carrion Crows (Corvus corone), European Greenfinches (Carduelis chloris), and Eurasian Bullfinches (Pyrrhula pyrrhula). Wing shape differs among those species. Feather lengths during molt were converted into mass by using information on final feather length and mass and the distribution of mass from tip to base of feather. Rate of increase in total mass of new primary feathers was largely linear in all four species. A molt scoring method is described in which individual feather scores are weighted to account for the contribution of each particular primary feather's mass toward total primary-feather mass. When the method was tested on eight captive starlings, the increase in mass-corrected molt score was almost linear, unlike the increase shown by the standard scoring system, which exaggerated molt rate during the early part of molt and underestimated it later. In the four species studied here, mass-corrected molt score likewise closely tracked the actual increase in mass, unlike the standard molt score. Because it is based on feather mass, the method presented here is of greater physiological and energetic relevance than the standard method. Because the mass-corrected score increases more linearly with time, it has the additional advantage of enabling less complicated, and potentially more accurate, estimations of molt start dates and molt durations.

USE AND VALIDATION OF A MOLT SCORE INDEX CORRECTED FOR PRIMARY-FEATHER MASS

Abstract In European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), mass of new primary feathers increases linearly with time for most of the duration of molt (Dawson 2003). Here, we had two aims: (1) to confirm that mass of new primary feathers increases linearly in other species, and (2) to use that linear increase as the basis of a system to score the progress of molt. Increase in length of primary feathers during molt was recorded for captive Eurasian Magpies (Pica pica), Carrion Crows (Corvus corone), European Greenfinches (Carduelis chloris), and Eurasian Bullfinches (Pyrrhula pyrrhula). Wing shape differs among those species. Feather lengths during molt were converted into mass by using information on final feather length and mass and the distribution of mass from tip to base of feather. Rate of increase in total mass of new primary feathers was largely linear in all four species. A molt scoring method is described in which individual feather scores are weighted to account for the contribution of each particular pr...

Protein Costs of the Prebasic Molt of Female Mallards

The nutritional requirements and physiological mechanisms of avian molt and the relationship of molt to other ecological requirements in birds are poorly understood. Relative to other nutritionally costly events in the annual cycle (e.g., reproduction and migration), the efficiency of feather synthesis is extremely low (King 1981, Murphy and King 1984a). Gavrilov and Dolnik (1974) suggested that this inefficiency was caused by an regulation of food intake which allows acquisition of sufficient cysteine and cystine for construction of feather keratins. Recent investigations failed to confirm this aminostatic hypothesis, however, and instead suggested that overall nitrogen retention (of the correct amino acid spectrum), not specific sulfur amino acid (SAA) concentrations, may be a more important constraint on feather synthesis, and that both protein and SAA requirements can be met through dietary intake without depleting tissue proteins (Murphy and King 1984a, 1984b, 1984c, 1985). Also, studies of wild Eurasian Bullfinches (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) (Newton 1968), the Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) (Raveling 1979, Mainguy and Thomas 1985), the Lesser Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens) (Ankney 1979), Brant (Branta bernicla) (Ankney 1984), and Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) (Heitmeyer 1985) indicate that molting birds typically obtain protein and SAA required for feather synthesis from food. The actual protein intake needed to synthesize feathers is not known for any bird in the wild, and only White-crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys) have been intensively studied in the laboratory in an attempt to calculate protein costs (Murphy and King 1982, 1984a, 1984b). Studying molt with captive birds has been hampered, however, because captive birds often do not undergo a typical molt if (1) photoperiod, temperature, food quantity and quality, and social settings are artificial, (2) birds are unnaturally constrained, or (3) locations are distant from the site where molt would occur naturally (West 1968, Blackmore 1969, King 1974, Chilgren 1978). In contrast to laboratory investigations, studying the cost of molt in the wild is hampered because variables affecting the bird and its environment are not controlled, and the intake and output of nutrients are not measured. Despite these problems bioenergetic costs can be accurately estimated from birds collected in the wild if sufficient data exist on the pattern, timing, and duration of synthesis, and composition of the synthesized product (e.g., estimates of bioenergetic costs of reproduction, Ricklefs 1974, Drobney 1980). Herein, I estimate the protein cost of the prebasic molt of adult female Mallards in late winter using birds collected in the wild.

Food-handling by bullfinches in relation to the risks associated with dropping seeds

Food-handling by bullfinches in relation to the risks associated with dropping seeds

Bullfinches' Mythology

Bullfinches' Mythology

Distributional History of Eurasian Bullfinches, Genus Pyrrhula

Distributional History of Eurasian Bullfinches, Genus Pyrrhula

Extermination of the Azorean Bullfinch

Extermination of the Azorean Bullfinch

Riley on a New Bullfinch from China

Riley on a New Bullfinch from China

IX.–On the Bullfinches of Siberia and Japan.

IX.–On the Bullfinches of Siberia and Japan.

Bullfinches and Primroses

Bullfinches and Primroses