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Paweł Pstrokoński
Paweł Pstrokoński

Public Documents 1
(Laniidae) from historical oological collections: interspecific patte...
Paweł Pstrokoński
Katarzyna Roguz

Paweł Pstrokoński

and 10 more

April 09, 2026
Avian eggs reflect life-history trade-offs, yet shrikes (Laniidae) lack a modern cross-species synthesis of egg morphology. Using historical oological collections spanning 1888–1973, we quantified inter- and intraspecific variation in egg morphology and clutch size in four shrike species: red-backed shrike (Lanius collurio), woodchat shrike (L. senator), lesser grey shrike (L. minor), and great grey shrike (L. excubitor). Clutch size increased over time only in the lesser grey shrike, whereas no robust temporal change was detected in the other species. Where temporal trends in egg morphology occurred, size-related traits generally declined, whereas shape descriptors, including sphericity and shape index, remained comparatively stable. Among species, the great grey shrike laid the largest eggs but the smallest clutches, whereas the red-backed shrike laid the smallest eggs, consistent with a broad size–number trade-off in reproductive allocation. Within species, spatial variation in egg-size traits was evident, particularly in the red-backed shrike and woodchat shrike, whereas evidence for a size–number relationship was weak. Overall, temporal change in shrike reproductive traits was limited and species-specific, while museum collections proved valuable for reconstructing long-term patterns of reproductive variation.

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