Complex postbreeding molt strategies in a songbird migrating along the East Asian Flyway, the Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler Locustella certhiola.

Molt strategies have received relatively little attention in current ornithology, and knowledge concerning the evolution, variability and extent of molt is sparse in many bird species. This is especially true for East Asian Locustella species where assumptions on molt patterns are based on incomplete information. We provide evidence indicating a complex postbreeding molt strategy and variable molt extent among the Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler Locustella certhiola, based on data from six ringing sites situated along its flyway from the breeding grounds to the wintering areas. Detailed study revealed for the first time that in most individuals wing feather molt proceeds from the center both toward the body and the wing-tip, a molt pattern known as divergent molt (which is rare among Palearctic passerines). In the Russian Far East, where both breeding birds and passage migrants occur, a third of the adult birds were molting in late summer. In Central Siberia, at the northwestern limit of its distribution, adult individuals commenced their primary molt partly divergently and partly with unknown sequence. During migration in Mongolia, only descendantly (i.e., from the body toward the wing-tip) molting birds were observed, while further south in Korea, Hong Kong, and Thailand the proportion of potential eccentric and divergent feather renewal was not identifiable since the renewed feathers were already fully grown as expected. We found an increase in the mean number of molted primaries during the progress of the autumn migration. Moderate body mass levels and low-fat and muscle scores were observed in molting adult birds, without any remarkable increase in the later season. According to optimality models, we suggest that an extremely short season of high food abundance in tall grass habitats and a largely overland route allow autumn migration with low fuel loads combined with molt migration in at least a part of the population. This study highlights the importance of further studying molt strategy as well as stopover behavior decisions and the trade-offs among migratory birds that are now facing a panoply of anthropogenic threats along their flyways.

[Did the Diagnostic Profile in Psychosomatically Examined Patients Seen by Consultation/Liaison-Services (CL Services) of Berlin Hospitals Change?]. / Hat sich das Diagnoseprofil bei psychosomatisch untersuchten Konsiliarpatienten an Berliner Krankenhäusern verändert?

The aim of this study was to find out whether the diagnostic profile for patients seen in the psychosomatic Consultation-Liaison (CL) services in three Berlin hospitals in 1994 and 2001changed. All referrals to the psychosomatic CL service within 3 months in 1994 (N = 229) and within 3 months in 2001 (N = 196) were recorded and documented. It could be shown that the referred patients of the three Berlin hospitals more frequently had only mentally caused symptoms (without organ diseases) in the first data recording (1994) and more frequently organic diseases with concomitant mental comorbidity in the second data recording (2001). If this finding reflects a general tendency, it requires an adjustment in the competence of psychosomatic CL services and health policies that ensure the inclusion of mental aspects in hospital care.