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Wintering White-Throated Sparrows (Zonotrichia Albicollis): Home Ranges, Aggression And Corticosterone, Marissa Ann Buschow

Online Theses and Dissertations

White-throated sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis) are songbirds that spend the non-breeding season in southeastern North America, where they form philopatric territorial flocks. Flocks exhibit dominance hierarchies, with dominance rank associated with an individual's age and prior residence in the territory. Although social behaviors within flocks are well studied, few studies have described winter home ranges. I tagged white-throated sparrows (n = 12) in Madison County, Kentucky, with 0.9-g radio transmitters during the winter of 2010-2011. Locations were entered into ArcGIS and home range sizes were estimated with 50% and 95% kernel analysis for individuals with at least five locations. Mean core …