Златозар Боев [Zlatozar Boev]
28 February 1989 ·
volume 1 · pp. 36–43 ·
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Abstract: [no abstract available originally]
[Summary]: A study was carried out on 227 adult specimens from the 9 species presented in the Bulgarian ornithofauna (Botaurus stellaris L., Ixobrychus minutus L., Nycticorax nycticorax L., Ardeola ralloides Scop., Bubulcus ibis L., Egretta garzetta L., Egretta alba L., Ardea purpurea L., and Ardea cinerea L.) with respect to the dimensions of their wings, thus establishing: the length of the wing in both folded and unfolded states; the length of its proximal part; its width at the base and at the wrist joint; the length of the winglet; the length of the longest (the third) primary feather. It was established that the differences in the wing length in folded state for the herons from Bulgaria and for those from Western Europe reach up to 4-5 per cent. However, further studies are necessary for the clarifying of these differences. The index of wing length shows the greatest stability. However, the length of the third primary feather showed also high stability for all studied species. Therefore, it could be used as a new index for the biometrical studies of the herons. Maximal flexibility for the 9 species was established with respect to the length of the proximal part of the wing.