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1 January 2004 MORE EGGS THE BETTER: EGG FORMATION IN CAPTIVE BARN OWLS (TYTO ALBA)
Joël M. Durant, Sylvie Massemin, Yves Handrich
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Abstract

We studied rapid yolk deposition (RYD) in Barn Owls (Tyto alba) on the basis of the analysis of 26 eggs laid by “dye-dosed” captive female Barn Owls in five different broods. Pictures of yolks were examined to assess daily rates of yolk deposition. We used those data in combination with data from the dissection of ovaries of another five breeding females. We found that the total duration between initiation of RYD and laying of the corresponding egg was only 13.6 days, with an interval between yolk completion and oviposition of 2.4 days. The total number of follicles that may have given eggs was found to be 25. That high number of follicles and the short RYD period explain the particularly high reproductive potential of this nocturnal raptor species.

Joël M. Durant, Sylvie Massemin, and Yves Handrich "MORE EGGS THE BETTER: EGG FORMATION IN CAPTIVE BARN OWLS (TYTO ALBA)," The Auk 121(1), 103-109, (1 January 2004). https://doi.org/10.1642/0004-8038(2004)121[0103:METBEF]2.0.CO;2
Received: 22 January 2003; Accepted: 15 September 2003; Published: 1 January 2004
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