Testing chemical markers on granivorous birds

Title: Testing chemical markers on granivorous birds
Creator: Steele, G R
Creator: Whittington-Jones, Craig A
Creator: Craig, Adrian J F K
Date Issued: 1999
Date: 1999
Type: Article
Identifier: vital:6936
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011957
Description: We tested two substances (oxytetracycline and rhodamine B) that can be added to food or water of free-living birds, and serve as markers in their plumage for later identification. Oxytetracycline produced no detectable changes in the plumage of red bishops or redbilled queleas. Rhodamine B fed to captive birds produced fluorescence in the wing feathers when viewed under ultraviolet light. This fluorescence lasted for at least 14 weeks, and was retained until feathers were moulted. Rhodamine B may thus be useful in identifying birds using a specific feeding site, and for studies of moult and feather growth.
Format: 2 pages
Format: pdf
Language: English
Relation: Steele, G.R. and Whittington-Jones, C.A. and Craig, A.J.F.K. (1999) Testing chemical markers on granivorous birds. South African Journal of Science, 95 (2). pp. 79-80.

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Craig, Adrian JFK (Prof)

RU Department of Zoology and Entomology

SDG 15. Life On Land

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