Ardea
Official journal of the Netherlands Ornithologists' Union

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Tsachalidis E.P., Liordos V. & Goutner V. (2005) Growth of White Stork Ciconia ciconia nestlings. ARDEA 93 (1): 133-137
The growth of White Stork Ciconia ciconia nestlings was studied during the breeding season of 1997 in Serres Prefecture, northern Greece. Body mass and bill length of 29 nestlings were measured at irregular time intervals, a total of 192 measurements for each growth variable. Nestling growth was best described by a logistic equation for body mass and by a simple linear equation for bill length. Body mass growth (K = 0.149 per day) levelled off at about 45 days and reached an asymptotic value of 3 436 g; it took some 30 days to increase from 10 to 90% of the asymptotic value. Bill length showed a linear mode of increase within the first 51 days of nestling life. Relative growth rates showed that both variables grew fastest when nestlings were 0 – 10 days old.


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