Shrike Egg Measurements and Clutch Data from Historical Collections

Egg measurements and clutch-level summaries for four shrike species (Lanius collurio, L. senator, L. minor, and L. excubitor) collected from 1888 to 1973. Paweł Pstrokoński compiled this dataset from museum oological collections to support analyses of interspecific patterns and temporal change in reproductive traits. The dataset is 228.2 KB in size.

Use Cases

• Analyze interspecific differences in egg length and egg width among the four shrike species.
• Model temporal trends in clutch size and derived egg morphology traits using the year of collection.
• Investigate spatial variation in reproductive traits using locality or country information.
• Correlate shell weight with other egg morphology traits or collection year.
• Compare clutch-level summaries across species and time periods.

Strengths

• Data spans an 85-year temporal range from 1888 to 1973.
• Includes multiple measured and derived variables: egg length, width, shell weight, clutch size, and collection metadata.
• Compiled from authoritative historical museum collections.

Limitations

• The dataset is small in scale at 228.2 KB, indicating a limited number of records.
• Data collection ended in 1973, making it temporally stale for studying recent changes.
• Geographic coverage is unclear and may be biased by collection locations.

Provenance

Source

Historical oological collections from museums.

Collection Method

Compiled from physical museum collections examined for manuscript research.

Time Range

1888–1973

Freshness

Static historical dataset; last updated date reflects platform metadata, not data collection.

Geography

Locality or country information is included, but specific coverage is not detailed.