Martins Molting

[DAKdude]

Hi,

The martins have left my colony and are not even visiting the house anymore since all the young have fledged. The Martin nesting season if over in Central Florida. Today I was driving along Lake Tohopekaliga which is the large lake here in Kissimmee FL. There were groups of 20 and 30 martins on wires and lamp posts along the lake shore. Some of them were still feeding chicks that were begging for food. Food seemed plentiful; the air was filled with dragonflys.

I noticed that many of the adult birds were obviously molting; they were missing feathers bilaterally at the bed of the wing where the primaries and secondaries meet. It would seem that the adults start to molt their flight feathers before the long trip South.

I was wondering if Steve K. or anyone else might have information on the molting patterns of Purple Martins?

Thanks
James

[Louise Chambers]

Hi James,

There is a specific order as to which feathers molt when, and molt begins here at the end of the nesting season, ceases during migration, then resumes once the martins are on their wintering grounds. They undergo a complete molt before heading north again. I recall some of the articles on martin roosts in Brazil mentioning that the ground under the roost trees was covered with feathers, as well as martin droppings

I found so many molted feathers under some of the housing here that I first thought a bird had been "et" - but on a closer look, all the feathers were molted, not plucked, and they were all the same feathers. Meaning a lot of the birds were shedding the same feathers (can't remember which number/type it is). Also they were clearly worn adult feathers rather than new feathers from nestlings or fledges. There is lots of neat stuff on the ground under martin housing - it's a good place for landlords to include in their daily inspections of housing and birds.

We still have some nestlings left, but the birds are getting restless, ready to move on.

Louise

[Laverne]

Hey James.

I have seen several ASYs with missing flight feathers. I thought they waited until completion of the southerly migration to begin molting. I was worried they were losing their feathers too soon. Apparently, I was wrong...

I went to PMCA Home Page and typed molting into the search window.

This is what I found:

2. Molted feather from an adult martin. In late summer, adult martins begin molting their flight feathers starting with the outermost secondary on each wing. An observant landlord will often find molted secondaries on the ground under martin housing just about the time nestlings are fledging. You will rarely find more than a single molted feather on the ground at any one time.

Here is the link to the entire article.

http://www.purplemartin.org/update/BecomSleuth.html

[Guest]

Hmmmmmmmmmmm,,,, I wonder if that's what's going on with one of my females? I have an adult female that is building a nest on the back of the house & she is missing all of her feathers from the top of her head to below her shoulders,,,,,,I wondered what was wrong with her,,,,,maybe she is molting?

[DAKdude]

Hi Louise and Laverne,

Thanks for the information. It is very interesting how different species of birds have different molt patterns that best fit their natural history. I suppose that it is good to have fresh flight feathers before a long trip. Most birds I know molt their flight feathers once a year (once every two years for some of the really large birds like condors). Do they molt their flight feathers again before the trip north or is it just the contour feathers?

Thanks again
Sincerely
James

[Guest]

DAKdude,

I was working out in the back yard today while the adults were trying to coax the little ones to fledge. While they were circling around the house, I noticed one ASY female that had a couple of feathers missing from about the middle her right wing.

JW