Growth of Duck Bills

We analyzed growth in length and width of bill in Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), Pekin (Anas platyrhynchos f. domestica) and Muscovy (Cairina moschata f. domestica) Ducks with growth curve analysis. Bill growth is characterized by a relatively high proportion of growth realized prehatching and early...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Condor (Los Angeles, Calif.) Calif.), 1999-08, Vol.101 (3), p.710-713
Main Authors: Gille, Uwe, Salomon, Franz-Viktor
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adults
Age
Age groups
Allometry
Anas platyrhynchos
Aquatic birds
Asymptotic value
Average linear density
Biological and medical sciences
Birds
Cairina moschata
Development. Metamorphosis. Moult. Ageing
Ducks
Freshwater
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Hatching
Ornithology
Physical growth
Short Communications
Skull
Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems
Waterfowl
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Summary:We analyzed growth in length and width of bill in Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), Pekin (Anas platyrhynchos f. domestica) and Muscovy (Cairina moschata f. domestica) Ducks with growth curve analysis. Bill growth is characterized by a relatively high proportion of growth realized prehatching and early posthatching points of inflection. Individual variability of bill measurements limits its value for estimating age. Bill width is already further developed at hatching than length, a difference that is maintained throughout the posthatching period. Consequently, bill width has a lower allometric exponent than length. This delay in development of length vs. width probably reflects overall development of the skull. Skull development is in turn closely related to brain growth, thus bill dimensions correlated with brain mass with coefficients of determination of ca. 0.9.
ISSN:0010-5422
1938-5129
2732-4621
DOI:10.2307/1370207