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In Memorium: Charles G. Sibley, Paul A. Johnsgard

Papers in Ornithology

Dr. Charles Sibley, who passed away in April 1998, is recalled and appreciated by a former student, lab assistant, co-worker, and colleague, who first encountered him at Cornell University in 1955, beginning a 43-year working relationship.

Cooperative Whooping Crane Tracking Project (February 1998-May 1998)

Nebraska Bird Review

Whooping crane spring and fall migrations are monitored each year. Sighting reports are forwarded to the Ecological Services Field Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service, Grand Island, Nebraska, by private organizations, State and Federal conservation agencies, and the Canadian Wildlife Service. Cooperation throughout the whooping crane flyway continues to be excellent. Special thanks go out to each participant.

Between 1977 and 1988, 132 juvenile whooping cranes were color marked on the breeding grounds; of these 40 were accounted for during the winter of 1997–98. One color-marked crane was observed during the spring migration. All sightings of color-marked whooping …

Nebraska Bird Review (June 1998) 66(2), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Spring Field Report, March to May, 1998, Introduction … 30

Species Accounts … 32

Cooperative Whooping Crane Tracking Project Report … 55

Confirmed Whooping Crane Sightings in the USA … 58

NOU Fall Field Days Count, 1997; May NAMC Count, 1998 … 60

Table for NOU Fall Count and NAMC Count … 61

In Memorium: Charles G. Sibley … 68

Three Poems by Twyla Hansen … 70

Table Of Contents And Masthead [June 1998]

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Bird Review is published quarterly in March, June, September, and December by the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union, Inc., as its official journal, and is sent to members not in arrears of dues. Annual subscription rates (on a calendar-year basis only): $14.00 in the United States; $18.00 for all foreign countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $4.00 each, postpaid, in the United States, and $5.00 elsewhere. Send orders for back issues to Mary Lou Prichard, NOU Librarian, University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln, NE 68588-0514.

Memberships in NOU (on a calendar year basis only): Active, $15.00; Sustaining, $25.00; Student, …

Confirmed Spring 1998 Whooping Crane Sightings In The Usa

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Bird Review Volume 66 No. 2

Confirmed

Spring 1998 Whooping Crane Sightings in the U.S.A.

State/Obs. Date No. Location

NE 98A-1 2/15-3/25/98 1 Hall Co., Platte River, 3 mi

KS 98A-2 2/19/98 1 Meade Co., 2 mi west of Fowler.

NE 98A-3 3/23-2/9/98 1 Hall/Hamilton Cos., 4 mi.

NE 98A-4 3/27-28/98 1+ Hall Co., 4 mi. south of the

NE 98A-5 3/28-4/1/98 2 Brown Co., 1 mi. South and 1 west

NE 98A-6 3/30/98 1 Hall Co., Platte River, 1 3/4

NE 98A-7 04/03/98 1 Hall Co., 3 mi east and 2 north

NE 98A-8 04/07/98 4 +1 …

Three Poems By Twyla Hansen, Twyla Hansen

Nebraska Bird Review

Twyla Hansen was raised on a farm in northeast Nebraska on land her grandparents farmed as immigrants from Denmark in the late 1800's. And since 1982, she has worked as a horticulturist and arboretum curator at Nebraska Wesleyan University. Twyla Hansen, in the words of Bill Kloefkorn, Nebraska's State Poet, "connects": "Her truths are in those taproots without which poetry would surely expire for lack of nourishment."

She received her B.S from the University of Nebraska. Twyla and her husband Tom live in Lincoln where their yard is maintained as an urban wildlife habitat. In 1989, the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum …

In Memoriam: Charles G. Sibley, Paul A. Johnsgard

Nebraska Bird Review

On April 12 this year, Dr. Charles Sibley passed away in California. Although a Nebraskan by neither birth nor occupation, his work on hybrid zones among various passerines in the Platte Valley of central Nebraska during the 1950s became a model for modern studies in field approaches to both evolutionary biology and species-level taxonomy. His study also identified for the first time the Platte Valley as a major evolutionary "suture zone" between eastern and western avifaunas. When I arrived at Cornell in 1955, all of Dr. Sibley's graduate students were doing their fieldwork in Nebraska, collecting specimens of the various …

Nou Fall Field Days Count, 1997; May Namc Count, 1998

Nebraska Bird Review

The NOU count during Fall Field Days, September 26-28, focused on areas in and around the Nebraska National Forest and includes reports from 6 counties: Blaine, Thomas, Cherry, Brown, Custer, and Logan. This year's count of 122 species is a record for NOU Fall Field Days; last year, the count registered 116 species. Especially notable sightings included a Red-necked Grebe at Willow Lake in Brown County; a Broad-winged Hawk in the Forest; a Rough-legged Hawk in Thomas County; and a LeConte's Sparrow also at Willow Lake in Brown County.

North American Migration Counts (NAMC) for Lincoln and Sarpy Counties are …

Spring Field Report, March To May 1998, W. Ross Silcock, Joel G. Jorgensen

Nebraska Bird Review

In most respects, this was a routine spring. While a few rarities and several interesting reports appeared, perhaps most interesting was the arrival of the electronic age. Foremost was the start-up of "NEBIRDS," the Nebraska Birding Listserver set up and operated by Robert Price at Kearney. This resource should greatly enhance communication and collective learning amongst birders in the state. We have culled several reports from observations submitted to NEBIRDS, and several reporters now contact us by email. We urge observers to forward their email addresses; if we have questions on their reports, communication would be easy! Submit reports and …

Genetic Parameters For Sex-Specific Traits In Beef Cattle, R. K. Splan, Larry V. Cundiff, L. Dale Van Vleck

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Data from 3,593 beef heifers and 4,079 of their steer paternal half-sibs were used to estimate genetic parameters of and among female growth and reproductive traits and male carcass traits. Estimates of heritability for adjusted 205-d weight, adjusted 365-d weight, age at puberty, calving rate, and calving difficulty measured on females were .16, .38, .47, .19, and .18, respectively; estimates for calving rate and calving difficulty were expressed on a normal scale. Estimates of heritability for hot carcass weight; retail product percentage; fat percentage; bone percentage; rib eye area; kidney, pelvic, and heart fat percentage; adjusted fat thickness; marbling score; …

Two New Subspecies Of Bats Of The Genus Sturnira, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

The last systematic review of the yellow-shouldered bats of the Neotropical genus Sturnira in the Lesser Antilles was in 1976 (Jones and Phillips, 1976). At that point in time, two species--Sturnira lilium and Sturnira thomasi--were known from these islands. Sturnira lilium was represented by five subspecies, beginning with Trinidad and moving northward, these subspecies were lilium on Trinidad (Goodwin and Greenhall, 1961), paulsoni on St. Vincent (de Ia Torre and Schwartz, 19661, luciae on St. Lucia (Jones and Phillip, 19761, zygomaticus on Martinique (Jones and Phillips, 1976), and angeli on Dominica (de la Tom, 1966).

Inventory For Endangered, Threatened And Rare Plant And Animal Species Within The Floodplain Corridor Of The Middle Loup River Basin In Nebraska, Michael I. Fritz, Gerry Steinauer

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

This survey was conducted by Nebraska Natural Heritage Program of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission with funding received from the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Grand Island office. This agreement was entered into on April 16, 1996. The objective of the agreement was to conduct a survey of a portion of the Loup River basin floodplain corridor for rare plant communities and plant and animal species. This is the final report of that survey. This report includes not only data collected directly as a result of field survey work associated with the project but also previous …

Addendum To The G. M. Sutton Bibliography, Paul A. Johnsgard

Paul Johnsgard Collection

Since the publication of "The George Miksch Sutton Bibliography" (Nebraska Bird
Review 65(2): 46-58), the following additional titles have come to light:
Sutton, G. M. 1921. "Night Voices." Bird Lore 21:108-110.
__ 1933. "Fifty years of progress in American bird art." pp 181-197 in: Fifty Years'
Progress of American Ornithology: 1883-1933. American Ornithologists Union, Lancaster, PA.
__ 1962. Is bird art art? Living Bird 1 :73-78.
__ 1977. A wood duck portrait. Living Bird 16:5-6.
__ 1978. Three pine grosbeaks. Living Bird 17:5-6.
__ 1980. A yellow rail sketch. Living Bird 18:5-6.
__ 1981. A boreal owl portrait. Living …

Nebraska Bird Review (March 1998) 66(1), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

NOU Treasurer's Annual Report ... 2

Nebraska's First Curlew Sandpiper ... 3

Addendum to G. M. Sutton Bibliography ... 3

Mystery Duck at Sinninger Waterfowl Production Area ... 4

Bald Eagle Nest Monitoring - Nebraska, 1997 ... 5

Winter Field Report, Dec 1997-Feb 1998 ... 6

Nebraska Christmas Bird Count for 1997 ... 18

Note from the New Editors ... 27

A Note From The New Editors, Bill Clemente, Tom Klubertanz

Nebraska Bird Review

Special thanks go to Dr. Rosiland Morris for her many years of service to the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union, especially for her exceptional editorship of The Nebraska Bird Review. I can only hope that the journal will continue to reflect Rosiland's attention to detail and her devotion to excellence.

As the Newsletter noted, I am an Associate Professor of English at Peru State College and an enthusiastic birder here in Nebraska—and during the summer in Ripon, Wisconsin, where my family lives; my wife is an Associate Professor of French at Ripon College. When Betty Allen notified me that NOU Board …

Nebraska Christmas Bird Count For 1997 Statewide Summary

Nebraska Bird Review

The official count period for the 98th National Audubon Society's Christmas Bird Count was from December 19, 1997, to January 4, 1998. Data were reported from ten locations throughout Nebraska (Fig. 1). Table 1 gives numeric data from the bird counts, with locations listed in alphabetical order. Unusual counts that were noted by the participants are in bold print. For counts of separate forms or subspecies, brackets are used to indicate that the entry is a part of the overall count given for the species. Counts also are given for identifications above the species level, such as "hawk sp." These …

Winter Field Report, Dec 1997 To Feb 1998, W. Ross Silcock, Joel G. Jorgensen

Nebraska Bird Review

As one observer (DH) noted, this was a "weird" winter. January and February were more like March, producing winter reports of species with few such previous reports; the species involved come from all parts of the taxonomic list, from loons to icterids. Almost certainly, a first (in recorded history) was a slam of all the Nebraska grebe species in January, even Red-necked and Clark's! Also in January, a Pacific Loon was reported. As shown in the species' accounts below, the list of rare midwinter species is long.

Another significant, related finding involved early-arriving spring migrants, also a long list. In …

Bald Eagle Nest Monitoring - Nebraska, 1997 Summary Report, John J. Dinan

Nebraska Bird Review

In 1997, 38 Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) nests in 22 counties were surveyed for breeding activity. Eagles occupied territories at 10 of these sites. These same 10 territories were occupied in 1996. Two separate, mid-July sightings of Bald Eagles along the Niobrara River, one of an adult and three juveniles in Knox County and one of an adult and a juvenile in Holt County, suggests the presence of additional nesting territories. All nest attempts in 1997 were successful, producing a total of 16 fledged young. The Lake Alice nest on the North Platte National Wildlife Refuge fell during …

Addendum To The G. M. Sutton Bibliography, Paul A. Johnsgard

Nebraska Bird Review

Since the publication of “The George Miksch Sutton Bibliography” (Nebraska Bird Review 65(2): 46-58), additional titles [eight] have come to light. Other additional titles [four] related to Sutton may be of additional interest.

Nebraska’S First Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris Ferruginea), Joel G. Jorgensen, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

During a birding trip on 19 July 1997, we stopped at Funk WPA, Phelps County. While viewing from the north-south road that runs through the marsh at the east end of the marsh, we caught glimpses of a large group of shorebirds behind cattails in an area on the south side of the main marsh and about a third of a mile west of the road. We eventually decided to walk out and get a closer look at the shorebirds. Once we were close enough we were able to see that there were approximately 250 shorebirds. We began sifting through …

Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union, Inc., Treasurer’S Annual Report, 31 December 1997, Elizabeth Grenon

Nebraska Bird Review

1/1/97 balance on cash basis per bank account: Cash $1,519.59 Investments $15,851.40 Total $17,370.99

Total Receipts: Cash $10,790.91 Investments $900.04 Total $11,690.95

Total Disbursements: Cash $7,546.26 Investments $0 Total $7,546.24

Balance 12/31/97: Cash $4,764.26 Investments $16,751.44 Total $21,515.70

Table Of Contents And Masthead [March 1998]

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Bird Review is published quarterly in March, June, September, and December by the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union, Inc., as its official journal, and is sent to members not in arrears of dues. Annual subscription rates are (on a calendar-year basis only): $12.50 in the United States; $15.00 in Canada and Mexico; and $17.50 for all other countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $4.00 each;postpaid, in the United States, and $5.00 elsewhere. Send orders for back issues to Mary H. Prichard, NOU Librarian, University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln, NE 68588-0514.

Memberships in NOU (on a calendar year basis …

Mystery Duck At Sinninger Waterfowl Production Area, York County, Joel G. Jorgensen

Nebraska Bird Review

On the evening of 8 May 1997, I was scanning the shorebirds and ducks at the cattleyard basin of Sinninger WPA, York County. Most of the 300 or so puddle ducks were Bluewinged Teals (Anas discors), but also present were Green-winged Teal (A. crecca), American Wigeon (A. americana), Gadwall (A. strepera), Northern Shoveler (A. clypeata), and a Cinnamon Teal (A. cyanoptera). I eventually noticed a male duck in breeding plumage that superficially resembled a Baikal Teal (A. formosa). All descriptive discussion that follows is of male …

Estimation Of Relative Economic Value For Herd Life Of Dairy Cattle From Profile Equations, S. Jagannatha, Jeffrey F. Keown, L. Dale Van Vleck

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Lifetime records of 122,679 cows from 7557 herds, obtained from Mid States Dairy Records Processing Center (Ames, IA), were used to determine net income and net income for the planning horizon. With a planning horizon of five lactations for each cow, the estimated profit from the replacements was credited to each cow not surviving until fifth calving. Net income was defined as lifetime income minus costs. Net income for the planning horizon was defined as net income plus profit from replacements within the planning horizon. Income was from the sale of milk, calves, and culled cows. Costs were included for …

Developmental And Hormonal Regulation Of Transforming Growth Factor- Β1 (Tgfβ1), -2, And -3 Gene Expression In Isolated Prostatic Epithelial And Stromal Cells: Epidermal Growth Factor And Tgfβ Interactions, Naoki Itoh, Urvashi Patel, Andrea S. Cupp, Michael K. Skinner

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Growth factors are postulated to mediate stromal-epithelial interactions in the prostate to maintain normal tissue physiology. Transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ) has been shown to influence the prostate and probably mediate stromal-epithelial interactions. TGFβ1 messenger RNA (mRNA) expression is stimulated after castration and can be suppressed by in vivo treatment with androgens. The hypothesis tested is that TGFβ is regulated not only by androgen, but also by a network of locally produced growth factors that influence prostatic growth and differentiation. Epithelial and stromal cells from 20-day-old rat ventral prostate were isolated and used to test this hypothesis. The expression of mRNA …

Natural History Of The Southern Short-Tailed Shrew, Blarina Carolinensis, Hugh H. Genoways, Jerry R. Choate

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

The southern short-tailed shrew, Blarina carolinensis, inhabits a broad range of ecological situations in the southeastern United States and, in many areas, is among the two or three most abundant species of small mammals. Nevertheless, its natural history is poorly known and much of what researchers assumed was fairly well understood about this species actually resulted from work on another species (Blarina brevicauda) and may not be correct in all instances. This problem resulted when modem systematic methods revealed that the wide-ranging and well-studied species known at that time as Blarina brevicauda actually consisted of three species …

Sex Effects On Breed Of Sire Differences For Birth, Weaning, And Yearling Weights, L. Dale Van Vleck, Larry V. Cundiff

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Weights of males and females can be considered to be correlated traits with different averages and variances. This study attempted to determine whether defining traits as expressed in males or in females would change estimates of breed of sire differences needed to calculate across-breed factors for adjustment of within-breed EPD to across-breed EPD. Records from the US Meat Animal Research Center of progeny of Hereford, Angus, and MARC III composite dams mated to 12 sire breeds that had been used to calculate breed of sire adjustments in 1996 were used. Breeds of sire were Hereford, Angus, Shorthorn, Brahman, Simmental, Limousin, …

Bayesian Analysis Of Twinning And Ovulation Rates Using A Multiple-Trait Threshold Model And Gibbs Sampling, C. P. Van Tassell, L. Dale Van Vleck, K. E. Gregory

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

The Multiple-Trait Gibbs Sampler for Animal Models programs were extended to allow analysis of ordered categorical data using a Bayesian threshold model. The algorithm is based on data augmentation, where a value on the unobserved underlying normally distributed variable (liability) is generated in each round of iteration for each categorical observation. The programs allow analysis of several continuous and ordered categorical traits. Categorical traits can have any number of response levels. Models can be different for each trait. The programs were used to analyze twinning and ovulation rates from a herd of cattle selected for twinning rate at the U.S. …

1997 Inventory For Spiranthes Diluvialis Sheviak In Western Nebraska: A Final Report, Volume Ii, Terri Hildebrand

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

This study resulted from an agreement between Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFW). After the 1996 discovery of Spiranthes diluvialis, in western Nebraska, NGPC was seeking to determine the extent of the Nebraska population. Information on the wet meadow community of orchid occurrence in Nebraska and eastern Wyoming was needed. This report includes descriptions of communities inventoried, Spiranthes diluvialis populations, and additional species monitored by Nebraska and Wyoming Natural Heritage programs.

Between May and September 1997, potential Spiranthes diluvialis habitat was inventoried for occurrences of the orchid. For all sites …

Block And Bridle Annual, 1998

Block and Bridle Student Organization

Table of Contents:

Emblem and Purpose
Historian's Welcome
Dr. Aberle's Letter
Treasurer's Report
Officers & Committee Chairs
Initiates
Advisors, Faculty, Secretaries & Staff
Liaison Committee, Graduate Student
Committee Chairs
Little AK-SAR-BEN
Active Member Poem
Christmas Luncheon
Beef Pit
Kid's Day, Spring & Fall
National Meeting
Nebraska Brands-Make Your Mark
1997 Honoree-Richard F. Shinn
Outstanding Student Awards
Big Red Beef Show
Little MAEC Contest- Market & Breeding
Little MAEC Contest- Meats
State Agricultural Education Contest
Balloon Sales
Meats Judging Teams
Meat Animal Evaluation Team
Livestock Judging Teams
1997-1998 Academic Scholarship Recipients
Index of Advertisers