Morphometric variation in Sitta tephronota dresseri populations along Zagros Mountains

Sitta tephronota has three subspecies in Iran: S. t. obscura، S. t. tephronota and S. t. dresseri، with the latter occurring with very gradual variation in plumage in Zagros Mountains. Despite our knowledge about plumage variation، morphometrical variation in this subspecies is little known. In this study، we investigated geographical variation of the subspecies with four populations from Zagros Mountain (Esfahan، Fars، Kermanshah and Markazi). We measured 14 primary variable and 10 calculated ratios for comparison in univariate and multivariate analyses using Minitab and Past programs. Univariate test revealed that nine characteristics were significantly different among the four populations (P<0. 05). Morphological matrices were analyzed by Principal Components Analysis (PCA)، CVA and MANOVA. Result indicated that Fars population is different from Markazi population.