Biometry data to reveal geographic variation in Bramblings Fringilla montifringilla

Abstract

The Brambling Fringilla montifringilla has a large breeding distribution across the entire Palaearctic taiga region. Birds in the Far East are more brightly coloured and formerly separated as subspecies subcuneolata (S. Cramp & C. M. Perrins 1994; Handbook of the Birds of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. The Birds of the Western Palearctic, Vol. 8. Oxford University Press, Oxford). To reveal possible geographical variation in the size of the wing, primary feathers, bill, and in the extent of the partial post-juvenile moult, we present measurements taken from 579 skins of the Natural History Museum, Tring UK, Natural History Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen, The Arctic University Museum of Norway, Tromsø, Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig, Bonn, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, and Finnish  Museum of Natural History, Helsinki.

I thank I. C. J. Galbraith for allowing us to measure the birds in the collection of the Natural History Museum, Tring UK, and the following museums and their curators for sending Brambling specimens to Switzerland more than 35 years ago: Natural History Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen (Jon Fieldså), The Arctic University Museum of Norway, Tromsø (Hans-Petter Mannvik and Wim Vader), Natural History Museum, University of Oslo (Tore Slagsvold), Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig, Bonn (Renate van den Elzen), Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm (Bo Fernholm), and Finnish  Museum of Natural History, Helsinki (Ann Forstén). I thank Raffael Winkler, Natural History Museum Basel for managing these specimen exchanges. I thank Susanne Jenni-Eiermann for help with measuring the large collection of the Natural History Museum at Tring).

I thank Mark Adams (Natural History Museum, Tring UK), Peter A. Hosner (Natural History Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen), Geir Rudolfsen (The Arctic University Museum of Norway, Tromsø), Jan T. Lifjeld (Natural History Museum, University of Oslo), Till Töpfer (Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig), Ulf Johansson (Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm), and Hanna Laakkonen (Finnish Museum of Natural History, Helsinki) for updating the collection numbers of the specimens and giving permission to present these data here.

Explanations of the variables can be found in the Excel-file.