Ornithology Commons^™

Observations On A 40-Year January Bird Census In Boone County, Nebraska, 1978–2017, Wayne Mollhoff

Zea E-Books Collection

For 40 years Wayne Mollhoff conducted a personal bird census every January. He explains: "After having run several Breeding Bird Survey routes, and participated in several Christmas Bird Counts, I became curious to see what might be found on a winter count under the more tightly controlled parameters of a census, as contrasted with Christmas counts done with variable numbers of observers."

The count was set up similarly to the USGS Breeding Bird Survey routes with 50 stops, one-half mile (800 meters) apart, all birds counted for 3 minutes, with birds counted at one stop not counted again at following …

Random Mating In The Face Of Balancing Selection At The Major Histocompatibility Complex Class I In Song Sparrows (Melospiza Melodia), Scout R.L Thompson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is a large group of genes encoding cell-surface proteins that recognize and bind pathogens to initiate an adaptive immune response. MHC loci experience intense pathogen-mediated selection which may be directional, where specific alleles provide the best disease protection, or balancing, where rare alleles or diverse combinations are most protective. However, balancing selection (specifically heterozygote advantage) is more common and often accompanied by disassortative mating. I sought to use genetic and behavioural information to evaluate whether balancing selection and disassortative mating occur at MHC class I (MHCI) in a population of song sparrows (Melospiza melodia …

The Role Of Serotonin In The Estradiol-Dependent Selectivity Of Auditory Regions In Songbirds, Calista J. Henry

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Breeding-typical levels of estradiol in songbirds has been shown to lead to selective auditory processing and induce a release of serotonin in auditory regions of the forebrain. These findings triggered the question of whether auditory discrimination is driven by estradiol directly, or by the associated release of serotonin. I treated non-breeding female white-throated sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis) with either blank implants, 17β-estradiol, serotonin enhancer and blank implants, or serotonin antagonist and 17β-estradiol implants. Birds then heard male conspecific songs or control tones, and ZENK-immunoreactivity was quantified in the caudomedial nidopallium (NCM) and caudomedial mesopallium (CMM). While I did not …

Characterization Of Antimicrobial Properties Of Excrement And Functional Microbiome Of Black Vultures (Coragyps Atratus), Bridgette Gray

Theses

Black vultures, Coragyps atratus, are obligate scavenging birds that consume and dispose of decaying carcasses and carrion. They fulfill a key ecological niche in the environments in which they live. It has been observed that these vultures sometimes excrete bodily waste onto their legs. This adaptive behavior could help aid them in controlling bacteria and other microbes they encounter while stepping into a carcass to eat. This study directly examined the antimicrobial properties of the excrement of black vultures across various bacterial species utilizing a zone of inhibition test and a nematode species utilizing a survival assay. The black vulture …

Habitat Use And Winter Site Fidelity Of Lincoln’S Sparrow (Melospiza Lincolnii) In The Lower Rio Grande Valley Of Texas, Timothy Brush, Hugh E. Conway, Catherine C. Brush

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Statistical And Biological Analyses Of Acoustic Signals In Estrildid Finches, Moises Rivera

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Acoustic communication is a process that involves auditory perception and signal processing. Discrimination and recognition further require cognitive processes and supporting mechanisms in order to successfully identify and appropriately respond to signal senders. Although acoustic communication is common across birds, classical research has largely disregarded the perceptual abilities of perinatal altricial taxa. Chapter 1 reviews the literature of perinatal acoustic stimulation in birds, highlighting the disproportionate focus on precocial birds (e.g., chickens, ducks, quails). The long-held belief that altricial birds were incapable of acoustic perception in ovo was only recently overturned, as researchers began to find behavioral and physiological evidence …

Post-Breeding Survival Of Adult And Hatch-Year Bank Swallows (Riparia Riparia) In The Great Lakes Region: A Radio Telemetry Study, Christian M.M Buchanan-Fraser

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The post-breeding period poses significant threats to newly fledged birds due to predation, starvation, exposure to inclement weather, and collision risk prior to their first southward migration. I used automated radio telemetry to track 100 adult and 100 hatch-year Bank Swallows (Riparia riparia) in the Great Lakes ecoregion during the 2021 post-breeding period. Additionally, 74 hatch-year birds tracked in 2018 by Mitchell et al. were included. In 2021, daily apparent survival probability was higher for adults compared to hatch-years; we estimated that ~10% of hatch-year birds die within two weeks post-fledging but high rates of tag loss in …

Spatial Conservation Planning In The Southeastern United States: Alignments And Opportunities, Bradly Stewart Thornton

Theses and Dissertations

Conservation managers and planners need the ‘best available science’ to support robust and defensible decisions, ensuring that public resources are appropriately allocated. Spatial planning products and decision-support tools developed for this purpose should enable partner organizations to achieve focus, coordination, and increased effectiveness in their investments and actions. Whereas conservation partnerships have historically created distinct planning tools, there is increasing interest for improved coordination, communication, and unifying biological datasets to improve the cohesiveness of regional management activities. We sought to inform spatial conservation planning efforts in the southeastern United States through the development of species distribution models for focal avian …

Nesting Success Of American Robins (Turdus Migratorius) In Suburban Areas Of The Arkansas River Valley, Brandon Maiersperger

ATU Research Symposium

The American Robin (Turdus migratorius) is an abundant North American songbird species that thrives in suburban areas. Estimates of robin nesting success in suburban areas range from 31% to 90%. Robin nest site selection and success have not received much attention in the past few decades. Most passerines have a balanced sex ratio at fledging, but little is known about the fledgling sex ratio of robins. We located 44 robin nests in six public parks around Russellville, AR and on the Arkansas Tech University campus. Nest success was low; 27% (12/44) of nests fledged at least one young. Robins nested …

The History And Significance Of Taxidermy Bird Collections In North America: Bgsu's Own Undervalued Collection And Its Future, Kristin Burnside

Honors Projects

Taxidermy, despite its association with the bizarre and outlandish, has a rich history and culture that helped to define post-Civil War America and its pursuit of knowledge and reconnection with nature. With the widespread publication and availability of how-to guides, natural history collecting and taxidermy became accessible to any individual regardless of age, gender, or class. The hobby required physicality and courage to collect unique and interesting specimens, and intellect and creativity to conserve and display them, all of which inherently connected the avocation with respect. With varying levels of success, hobbyists experimented with different chemicals, such as arsenic, in …

Bird Diversity And Abundance In Relation To Habitat Complexity At Jack Mountain Wildlife Management Area, Grace Tidwell

Honors Theses

Since 1973, North America has lost 2.9 billion birds due to habitat loss and fragmentation. To assess the effects of habitat complexity on bird diversity and abundance, 96 locations were surveyed at Jack Mountain Wildlife Management Area (WMA) using ten-minute point counts. All birds seen and heard at each point were documented, and habitat complexity was assessed by examining the percentage of ground coverage, shrub coverage, midstory tree layer, and canopy coverage at each point. A habitat complexity index was generated from these plant surveys. Previous research at Jack Mountain has shown that habitats dominated by pine trees had the …

Increasing Capture Rates Of Grassland Birds Over Thirteen Years Indicates Successful Restoration, Katie Stumpf, Charles Muise

Georgia Journal of Science

Grassland bird populations are being lost at an alarming rate due to human modifications to grassland ecosystems. Grassland restoration has been shown to mitigate population declines for many species that use these habitats at some point in their annual cycles. We examined capture rates of adult, breeding, and hatch-year birds at a restored grassland site in the piedmont of central Georgia to determine whether colonization, breeding success, hatching success, and recruitment processes were impacting populations of grassland birds. We banded birds approximately twice per month from January 2009 through December 2021 at Panola Mountain State Park. Restoration efforts started in …

The Nebraska Bird Review Annual Color Photo Section

Nebraska Bird Review

Virginia Rail and chick, Washboard Road, North Platte, Lincoln Co., 28 June 2023. Photo by Boni Edwards.

American Coot, Eagle Scout Lake, Hall Co., April 2020. Photo by Colleen Childers.

Hudsonian Godwit, Marsh Wren Community Wetlands, Lancaster Co., 21 May 2022. Photo by Kirill Belashchenko.

American Avocet, N.P. Dodge Park, Omaha, Douglas Co., 2 May 2023. Photo by Thane Dinsdale

Female Cape May Warbler, photographer's backyard, Bellevue, Sarpy Co., 10 May 2022. Photo by Loren Padelford.

Male Cape May Warbler, Ft. Niobrara NWR, Cherry Co., 13 May 2022. Photo by Gordon Warrick.

Tennessee Warbler, Fontenelle Forest Wetlands, Sarpy Co., 24 …

Annual Treasurer's Report For 2022, Jan Johnson

Nebraska Bird Review

No abstract provided.

2022-2023 Christmas Bird Counts, Don Paseka

Nebraska Bird Review

Sixteen counts were run in the 2022-2023 CBC season. Because of weather and rescheduling issues, the Crawford, Harrison, and Harlan County counts were cancelled. Eight of the counts were completed during the first week of the count period and the other eight were scattered throughout the remainder of the count period. An early December cold snap seemed to drive many of the birds south, but the weather on actual count days was fairly benign: mostly dry with an average high of 34˚F and an average low of 19˚F and with three circles reporting light snow. The total number of species …

Winter Field Report, Dec. 2022 - Feb. 2023, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

Since this is a Winter Seasonal Report, it seems appropriate to lead off with notable reports of occurrences that might be considered unexpected for midwinter, of which there were several. A range of species was involved, suggesting an encompassing cause such as climate change. Of interest were northerly wintering groups of waterfowl including Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Canvasback, Ringnecked Duck, and Hooded Merganser. Reports of wintering Tundra Swans, Whitewinged Doves, and Lesser Goldfinches continue to increase, and numerous Redwinged Blackbirds in the northeast in midwinter were unexpected. Also quite unexpected were two Sandhill Cranes wintering in the east, the state’s first …

The Nebraska Bird Review: A Magazine Of Ornithology Of The Nebraska Region. Volume 91, Number 1. March 2023, Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union

Nebraska Bird Review

Winter Field Report, Dec. 2022 - Feb. 2023 by W. Ross Silcock

Annual Color Photo Section

Annual Treasurer's Report for 2022 by Jan Johnson

Subscription and Organization Information

Remembering Paul Johnsgard, Linda R, Brown, Josef Kren

Zea E-Books Collection

Paul A. Johnsgard (1931–2021) was a friend of many, an artist, prolific author, teacher, and humble admirer of all living creatures. It was impossible to find someone at Nebraska Audubon Society or Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union meetings who did not know Paul Johnsgard. His more than 100 published books made him known not just in a community of ornithologists, birdwatchers, and bird lovers in the United States but also abroad. He was a world-renowned ornithologist and naturalist who remained deeply embedded in his local culture and its prairie environment.

We invited about 75 people to write a short memory of Paul. …

Sense-Able Hauntings: Ethics And Narratives In Ornithological Specimen Preservation At Yale's Peabody Museum, Elaina Foley

Kaplan Senior Essay Prize for Use of Library Special Collections

Until I was standing in between the rows of towering metal specimen cabinets, I didn’t understand how many birds the Yale Peabody Museum holds. Like most people, I had only experienced the display side of museums: its dioramas and glass cases. These displays, while made to embody a certain set of interests, priorities, and values, still serve an obscuring function—they vastly underrepresent the museum’s total collections. In their ornithology collection alone, the Peabody currently holds more than 152,000 bird skins, bones, eggs, nests, and other avian fragments. The Peabody staff members who maintain the ornithology specimen collections are distinct from …

Effects Of Forest Reclamation And Landscape Features On Avian Occupancy, Species Richness, And Abundance In Appalachia, Rebecca N. Davenport

Theses and Dissertations--Forestry and Natural Resources

The Forestry Reclamation Approach (FRA) is a recently developed coal mining reclamation method that emphasizes best management practices in forestry, such as the planting of native trees and shrubs. Although the FRA is expected to benefit wildlife, no studies have empirically examined the effects of the FRA on avian species. My study aimed to identify which reclamation approaches and/or landscape features promote breeding songbirds, particularly mature forest avian guilds and species of conservation need. I conducted point count surveys in the Appalachian Mountains of eastern West Virginia and assessed differences in avian occupancy, species richness, and species abundance between four …