Thickness of 1967-69 whooping crane eggshells compared to that of pre-1910 specimens
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Abstract
Table 1 summarizes measurements of pre-1910 Whooping Crane (Grus americana) eggshells obtained from 10 North American museums and private egg collections. They include 30 eggs from Iowa, 5 from North Dakota, 13 from Manitoba, and 2 each from Saskatchewan and Alberta; 11 of the eggs were classified as subelliptical and 41 as oval according to the shapes described by Palmer (1962: 13). Mean clutch size of 29 sets averaged 1.83. We found no significant geographical variations (P < 0.20) among eggs from different portions of the former range (Allen, 1952: 19) of the Whooping Crane, although geographical variations in size and weight are known to occur in the eggshells of the Sandhill Cranes (G. canadensis), which are more widely distributed and more taxonomically diverse (Walkinshaw, 1949: 68-70). The average thickness and weight of the 52 eggshells were 0.60 mm and 20.1 g, respectively. These measurements are similar to those of Allen (1952: 180), citing M. Schonwetter, who gives the average thickness of Whooping Crane eggshells as 0.58 mm and the average shell weight as 20.75 g (n = 14 weights).
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Thickness of 1967-69 whooping crane eggshells compared to that of pre-1910 specimens |
| Series title | The Auk |
| DOI | 10.2307/4083896 |
| Volume | 88 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Year Published | 1971 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | American Ornithological Society |
| Contributing office(s) | Patuxent Wildlife Research Center |
| Description | 2 p. |
| First page | 433 |
| Last page | 434 |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |