Ciclo de muda de passeriformes do sub-bosque de um trecho de mata de encosta na Serra dos Órgãos, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

Abstract

Molt is an essential process to birds, mainly because of its importance to the maintenance of plumage. Several aspects of molt in undergrowth passerines, such as molting period, sequence of feather replacement, and rate were studied using a system of scores with banded birds from July 1995 to June 1997 in a section of Atlantic forest in the foothills of Serra dos Órgãos, Rio de Janeiro. Nonaccidental molt was recorded 358 times among 940 captures or 56 species. The molting period was from January to May with little molt recorded outside this period and without difference in the molt of predators, omnivorous or frugivorous species. No individual was captured with flight feathers molt anel brood patch existing simultaneously, showing a lack of overlap between molting anel breeding in the same individual. However, this overlap was recorded in the community. The molt had a variable duration, being much slower in the advanced stage of molt. The sequence of flight feathers replacement followed the known pattern for passerines with anomalous molts being recorded rarely.