Feather Corticosterone and Growth Metrics for Temperate and Tropical Passerines

Original 2026 data from Ondřej Kauzál and the Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, examines corticosterone levels in tail feathers. The dataset includes individual measurements for 46 birds across 25 species, combining field-collected fCORT, body mass, and feather metrics with literature-derived life-history traits. It supports analysis of stress physiology in relation to feather growth rate, fault bar occurrence, and migration distance.

Use Cases

• Test for correlations between feather corticosterone (cort.abs) and feather growth rate (g.rate.final) or fault bar occurrence (fb.occ) across species.
• Model the influence of migration distance (migr.dist.lat) and capture elevation (capture.elevation) on absolute corticosterone levels (cort.abs).
• Analyze species-level variation using phylogenetic data (animal, species) alongside traits like body mass (mass.field) and feather dimensions (rhachis.length, rhachis.mass).
• Compare physiological metrics between tropical and temperate passerines using the rectrix variable (breeding/moulting latitude combination).

Strengths

• Includes 46 individual bird records across 25 passerine species for comparative analysis.
• Combines original LC-MS/MS corticosterone measurements with multiple literature-sourced life-history variables.
• Provides detailed feather morphology data including length, mass, growth rate, and growth time per individual.

Limitations

• Small sample size of 46 individuals limits statistical power for broad generalizations.
• Geographic bias present as elevation data (capture.elevation, ebird.midpoint) is only available for tropical species.
• Temporal coverage is not explicitly stated, limiting longitudinal analysis.

Provenance

Source

Ondřej Kauzál, Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences.

Collection Method

Original field data collection for corticosterone and morphology, supplemented by literature data for life-history traits and phylogeny.

Freshness

Data was last updated in March 2026.

Geography

Covers both temperate and tropical regions; specific locations not detailed.