Life Sciences Commons^™

Kentucky Warbler (Vol. 65, No. 4), Kentucky Library Research Collections

Kentucky Warbler

No abstract provided.

Cassin’S Sparrow In Dundy And Chase Counties, Nebraska, W. Ross Silcock, Mark A. Brogie

Nebraska Bird Review

On 3 and 4 June 1989 Tanya Bray, Doug Rose, and I [W. Ross Silcock] traveled to Dundy Co. to look for two species: Chihuahuan Raven and Cassin's Sparrow. While we found no Ravens, we did find several Cassin's Sparrows.

All of the Cassin's Sparrows were found in sandy sage prairie habitat. At least six were found, in four different locations. The birds were located most easily by their skylarking behavior, although the song, once heard, is also useful for locating birds. Indeed, Doug Rose found the first Cassin's Sparrow by song. Once located, we were able to study individuals …

Notes [September 1989]

Nebraska Bird Review

“Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Nest in Cass County”: On 2 July 1989 Greg Hertel, Murray, Cass Co., reported an adult Scissor-tailed Flycatcher in his yard. He thought it had left the area, but Betty Allen and Ruth Green went down on 8 July to look for it, and they finally found it (a male) in Young Memorial Park. The next morning Betty took others down to see it and found a female on a nest on a 40-foot light pole used to floodlight the ball field.

“National Wildlife Federation Eagle Survey” (by Greg Wingfield, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission): The 1989 NWF …

Nebraska Bird Review (September 1989) 57(3), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Changes in the A.O.U. Check-list ... 58

1989 (Sixty-fourth) Spring Occurrence Report ... 59

Cassin's Sparrow in Dundy and Chase Counties, Nebraska ... 67

1986: A Nebraska Big Year ... 71

Notes [Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Nest in Cass County, National Wildlife Federation Eagle Survey, and Whooping Crane Report] ... 81

Book Reviews ... 83

1986: A Nebraska Big Year, Mark A. Brogie

Nebraska Bird Review

In January of 1986 my brother, Ed M. Brogie, and I were tallying our lists for Nebraska when the question arose: "How many species of birds do you think one could see in Nebraska in one year?" The previous year (1985) had been the first year we had made a serious attempt at seeing western Nebraska species and chasing rarities in the state. Our efforts had yielded such birds as Bean Goose, Green-tailed Towhee, Black-necked Stilt, Red Phalarope, Lewis' Woodpecker, Sprague's Pipit, Cassin's Finch, Cassin's Kingbird, and King Eider. When 1985 ended, my Nebraska life list stood at 290 and …

Kentucky Warbler (Vol. 65, No. 3), Kentucky Library Research Collections

Kentucky Warbler

No abstract provided.

1988 Nebraska Nesting Report, Esther V. Bennett

Nebraska Bird Review

Data on the 1988 Nesting season in Nebraska were received from 25 observers and 2 agencies, reporting on 94 species from 52 counties. Counties on the tabulation are listed in a west to east order, with the northernmost of the approximately equal locations given first. Numbers represent Nest Record Cards; underlined numbers represent nests reported on Colonial Bird Register Forms; C represents carrying food; E represents eggs; F represents feeding; H represents nest building (home); N represents nests observed for which no Nest Record Card was submitted; S represents fecal sacs; V represents feeding Brown-headed Cowbird (visitor); X is used …

The Eighty-Eighth (1989) Annual Meeting

Nebraska Bird Review

Clear skies and good weather greeted the participants (there were 66 registered) at the 1989 Annual Meeting, held at the 4-H Camp at Halsey Forest 19 to 21 May. There was a Board meeting Friday night; Saturday and Sunday mornings were open for birding; there was a tour of the tree nursery facilities Saturday morning, and a Records Committee meeting; Saturday afternoon Reid Miller, of the Agate Fossil Beds National Monument gave a talk on the Monument, followed by the business meeting. All present officers were re-elected: Thomas Labedz, President; Doug G, Thomas, vice-president; Ruth Green, Secretary; Alice Kenitz, Treasurer; …

Field Playback Of Male Display Attracts Females In Lek Breeding Sage Grouse, Robert M. Gibson

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Recent correlational studies of lekking sage grouse suggest that male vocal display attracts females. To test this hypothesis further, the natural displays of a territorial male were supplemented with the tape-recorded display of another reproductively successful individual. Significantly, more females approached the speaker's location on days when the recording was played, and also on nonplayback days immediately following a playback, than on other nonplayback days. Analysis of male displays indicated that females were responding to the playback itself rather than to changes in male behavior. The "after-response" following a playback suggests that some females present during a playback remembered its …

The Use Of Banding Recovery Data To Estimate Dispersal Rates And Gene Flow In Avian Species: Case Studies In The Red-Winged Blackbird And Common Grackle, William S. Moore, Richard A. Dolbeer

Biological Sciences Faculty Research Publications

Dispersal resulting in gene flow strongly affects the evolution of genetic structure in populations. This report describes statistical estimators of dispersal parameters based on USFWS banding recovery records. Finite-area studies of avian species yield estimates of root-mean-square (RMS) dispersal along a transect of about 1 km per generation. In contrast, estimates of RMS dispersal for the Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) and Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula), based on USFWS banding recovery records, are 94.6 and 111.4 km per generation, respectively. Distributions for both species are extremely leptokurtic, and confidence intervals based on jackknife statistics are large because the estimators are sensitive …

Kentucky Warbler (Vol. 65, No. 2), Kentucky Library Research Collections

Kentucky Warbler

No abstract provided.

Habitat Use And Diet Analysis Of Breeding Common Barn-Owls In Western Nebraska, Joseph A. Gubanyi M.S.

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

I studied barn owl (Tyto alba) breeding biology in western Nebraska 1984-1986. I had greatest success capturing males (56% success) at night using trap doors at nest sites and females (91 % success) using hoop nets at nest sites during the day. Barn owls removed 16 of 23 tail-mounted radios. Eight birds were radio-tracked for 7-14.5 hours. The mean foraging range was 198 ha (32- 299 ha, n = 8) with < 1 % overlap among birds from adjacent nest sites. Field-tested telemetry error was high (mean displacements of radio-locations for 2 birds were 208 and 241 m). I found no relationship between percent cover in foraging habitat and reproductive success. I identified 10,140 prey items from 15 nest sites and found both annual and seasonal variation in barn owl diets. Microtus ochrogaster occurred most frequently (32.7%) and increased in the diet from 17.6 to 27.2 to 43.5% 1984-1986. M. ochrogaster and Perognathus hispidus annual frequencies were …

Williamson's Sapsucker In Omaha, Barbara L. Wilson

Nebraska Bird Review

On 13 May 1988 Dr. J. J. Baumel discovered a male Williamson's Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus thyroideus) lying dead below an elevated, glassed-in walkway between buildings on Creighton University's campus in downtown Omaha, Nebraska. The bird, beautiful in breeding plumage, was largely black from its awl-shaped bill to its stiff, acuminate central tail feathers. There was a white line beginning at the base of the lower mandible and extending over the face, while another ran back from the eye. The white wing coverts formed a broad white line on the wing. Also, there were white tips on the tertials, while …

Kentucky Warbler (Vol. 65, No. 1), Kentucky Library Research Collections

Kentucky Warbler

No abstract provided.

Social Behavior Of North American Owls, Paul A. Johnsgard

Paul Johnsgard Collection

Social behaviors in animals include a very wide range of interindividual communications, both within and between species. They include such rather generalized social responses as social flocking or roosting behavior, as well as much more individualized and complex interactions such as courtship, aggression, and parental behaviors. Regardless of their complexity, social interactions involve some level of communication or the transmission and interpretation of social signals. These signals can be transmitted in any of several sensory channels, which in owls are most likely to include visual, acoustic, and tactile modes of communication.

Most and perhaps all owls show distinctive postures when …

Nesting Dynamics Of The Eastern Bluebird (Sialia Sialis) In Southeastern Illinois, Susan E. Nelle

Masters Theses

Data collected from 1981 through 1988 from an Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) nesting box trail, involving 512 nests and 2176 eggs, in Crawford County, Illinois, were analyzed and compared to similar published works. The average nesting season lasted 167.4 days, ran from 17 March through 31 August, and was divided into three breeding peaks (or phases). Most breeding pairs were observed with either one or two clutches per season; however, triple-brooded pairs were also present, the clutches of which coincided well with the three peaks. Most data showed a decrease as the season progressed. For example, mean clutch …

Helminth Parasites Of Northern Spotted Owls (Strix Occidentalis Caurina) From Oregon, Eric P. Hoberg, G. S. Miller, E. Wallner-Pendleton, O. R. Hedstrom

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Helminth parasites are reported for the first time from northern spotted owls. Seventyone percent of a sample of Strix occidentalis caurina from western Oregon was infected. Nematodes (Porrocaecum depressum, Capillaria falconis, Microtetrameres sp. and Synhimantus hamatus) were the most prevalent parasites although cestodes (Paruterina rauschi) and acanthocephalans (Centrorhynchus conspectus) were also represented. There was an association between components of this helminth fauna and the diet of spotted owls which is dominated by small rodents. The occurrence of P. rauschi rather than P. candelabraria in this geographic region and host-species may provide additional …