A classic example of a sexually selected trait, the deep fork tail of the barn swallow Hirundo rustica is now claimed to have evolved and be maintained mainly via aerodynamic advantage rather than sexually selected advantage. However, this aerodynamic advantage hypothesis does not clarify which flight habits select for/against deep fork tails, causing diversity of tail fork depth in hirundines....

Cryptococcus neoformans is an encapsulated yeast that can cause cryptococcosis, a life-threatening infection that mainly occurs in immunocompromised patients. The major environmental sources of C. neoformans have been shown to be soil contaminated with avian droppings. In the present study, we evaluated the isolation of C. neoformans from swallow (Hirundo rustica) excreta in two northern cities...

1. Recent studies in Scotland suggest that the outermost tail feathers of Barn Swallows ( Hirundo rustica Linnaeus) may be around 10–12 mm longer than the aerodynamic optimum, with sexual selection for long tails accounting for this extra length. 2. To test this hypothesis, we shortened the outermost tail feathers in male and female Barn Swallows in southern Spain by cutting 1, 11 or 21 mm from...