Inter-Species Differences Between Lead Concentration in the Feathers of Pycnonotus leucogenys and Streptopelia seneglenses from Different Cities of Saudi Arabia

This investigation was conducted to determine lead accumulation in feathers of wild white-cheeked bulbul (Pycnonotus leucogenys) and wild palm dove (Streptopelia seneglenses) in order to find which is more suitable to monitor the lead environmental pollution. Feather samples of 270 of Pycnonotus leucogenys and 309 of Streptopelia seneglenses were collected from three different cities of Saudi Arabia (Jeddah, Riyadh and Al-Kharj) and were analyzed for lead by atomic absorption spectroscopy. The results obtained in this study revealed that the feathers of Streptopelia seneglenses have more capacity to retain lead than Pycnonotus leucogenys in Jeddah and Riyadh (p<0.001) and Al-Kharj (p<0.05). The results showed that the lead was concentrated significantly (p<0.001) more in vane vexillum as compared to quills and complete feather and was more concentrated in the bird feathers of Riyadh (p<0.01) than of the other two cities and least in Al-Kharj (p<0.001) in the order of Al-Kharj < Jeddah < Riyadh. These results demonstrate that Streptopelia seneglenses is more suitable as a biological monitor for environmental lead exposure than Pycnonotus leucogenys.