Fitness in common buzzards at the cross-point of opposite melanin-parasite interactions
Melanin is one of the major pigments of vertebrates and has many suggested functions. Although it is supposed to have an antipathogenic effect, its relationship to infection with ecto- and endoparasites largely remains to be examined. The common buzzard Buteo buteo occurs in three eumelanin morphs which differ in their lifetime reproductive success. We examined the distribution of the blood-suckin
