Ornithology Commons^™

Optimal Foraging Theory And The Psychology Of Learning, Alan Kamil

Avian Cognition Papers

The development of optimization theory has made important contributions to the study of animal behavior. But the optimization approach needs to be integrated with other methods of ethology and psychology. For example, the ability to learn is an important component of efficient foraging behavior in many species, and the psychology of animal learning could contribute substantially to testing and extending the predictions of optimal foraging theory.

Proceedings, Second National Bobwhite Quail Symposium (September 13-15, 1982, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma), Frank Schitoskey Jr., Elizabeth C. Schitoskey, Larry G. Talent

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Conference Proceedings

Bobwhite quail and changing land use, W. D. Klimstra

Land use and bobwhite populations in an agricultural system in west Tennessee, J. R. Exum, R. W. Dimmick, and B. L. Dearden

Estimating bobwhite population size by direct counts and the Lincoln index, R. W. Dimmick, F. E. Kellogg, and G. L. Doster

Evaluation of bobwhite quail surveys in Kansas, R. Wells and K. Sexson

Efficiency of dogs in locating bobwhites, F. E. Kellogg, G. L. Doster, W. R. Davidson, and W. M. Martin

A 10-year study of bobwhite quail movement patterns, G. F. Smith, F. E. Kellogg, G. L. Doster, …

A Checklist Of The Birds Of Mormon Island Crane Meadows, Gary R. Lingle, Miriam A. Hay

Nebraska Bird Review

Mormon Island Crane Meadows (MICM) was purchased in December 1979 through a cooperative effort of The Nature Conservancy and The Platte River Whooping Crane Critical Habitat Maintenance Trust. This 2,000 acre preserve provides excellent habitat for spring staging migratory water birds and numerous species of other wildlife, In order to determine sound management practices for the area it was necessary to conduct an intensive inventory of the flora and fauna occurring there. This checklist represents the results of the bird inventory.

Notes on the occurrence of avifauna observed on MICM were recorded from 24 March 1980 to 28 July 1981. …

Whooper Recount: A Close Look At These Endangered Cranes Reveals That, While Their Numbers Are Increasing, Their Rate Of Increase Is Actually Declining, Paul A. Johnsgard

Papers in Ornithology

I have assembled figures for the 43-year period from 1938 through 1980, and have subjected them to various kinds of analysis. During this period, 220 young and 1,437 postjuvenile birds have appeared on the wintering grounds. This works out to an annual recruitment rate of 13.3 percent. (This is not exactly the same as the birthrate, of course, since the loss of eggs, chicks, and juveniles prior to arrival at Aransas is excluded.) The recruitment rate provides an estimate of the rate of maximum annual population increase. One hundred fifty-four birds that had been counted in any given year failed …

Maps Of Distribution And Abundance Of Selected Species Of Birds On Uncultivated Native Upland Grasslands And Shrubsteppe In The Northern Great Plains, Harold A. Kantrud

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

Many areas of the northern Great Plains (Fenneman 1931) remain poorly known ornithologically. Knowledge of species distribution in portions of this vast area has been advanced by recent State birds books (Stewart 1975; South Dakota Ornithologists' Union 1978) but many voids remain. Especially desirable for biologists and land managers is information concerning the relative abundance of plant and animal species over large land areas. This information can only be obtained from extensive surveys of the biota. The field of community ecology has been severely hampered by lack of information on species abundance (Dice 1930; Cain 1947; Partch 1962; Udvardy 1963). …

Spatial Learning As An Adaptation In Hummingbirds, Susan Cole, F. Reed Hainsworth, Alan Kamil, Terre Mercier, Larry L. Wolf

Avian Cognition Papers

An ecological approach based on food distribution suggests that hummingbirds should more easily learn to visit a flower in a new location than to learn to return to a flower in a position just visited, for a food reward. Experimental results support this hypothesis as well as the general view that differences in learning within and among species represent adaptations.

Teton Wildlife: Observations By A Naturalist, Paul A. Johnsgard

Papers in Ornithology

The diversity of wildlife in Grand Teton National Park and its environs draws millions to the valley of Jackson Hole every year, but few are the visitors who are able to observe individual species over the course of several seasons. Paul Johnsgard, a noted naturalist who has written many books on the waterfowl of the world, here integrates his own observations with those who have studied Teton wildlife in the past. The result is a compassionate, simple reconstruction of the lives of a few individuals from spring through early autumn.

Teton Wildlife describes the migration of a herd of antelope …

Etho-Ecological Apects Of Hybridization In The Tetraonidae, Paul A. Johnsgard

Paul Johnsgard Collection

A review of records of intrafamilial hybridization in the Tetraonidae indicates that at least half of the potential natural hybrid combinations that could occur in this family on the basis of known distribution patterns actually have been reported at least once. These include 15 interspecific hybridization combinations that involve 12 species and all of the genera currently recognized by taxonomists. The three most commonly reported hybrid combinations all involve lek-forming species of grouse as parental types, while the remaining 12 combinations are all considerably rarer and involve lek-forming parental species in 7 cases, promiscuous but solitary species in 6 cases, …

Pheasants In Asia 1982: Proceedings Of The Second International Pheasant Symposium (September 1982 : Srinagar, Kashmir), Keith C. R. Howman, Christopher D. W. Savage, M. W. Ridley

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Conference Proceedings

Chapter 1: Pheasant Conservation in India and Nepal

Conservation of pheasants in India through biosphere reserves, N. D. Jayal

Pheasant conservation in Nepal, BISWA N. UPRETI

The Machhapuchare Wildlife Conservation Project in Nepal, James Roberts

Planning for the management of a Himalayan pheasant reserve, J. A. Forster

The role of mapping in future management and conservation of pheasants, Christopher D. W. Savage

Chapter 2: Population Studies of Himalayan Pheasants

Surveys, census, monitoring and research: Their role in pheasant conservation, A. J . GASTON

Popluation dynamics of the Koklas pheasant (Pucrasia macolopha) in Malkandi Forests, Pakistan, Wazir Mohammad Khan …

Key To Trematodes Reported In Waterfowl, Malcolm Edwin Mcdonald

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

This key is the second in a series for identification of the helminths reported in waterfowl (Family Anatidae, Order Anseriformes). The first was a key to nematodes (McDonald 1974).

The trematodes show the greatest variety of forms among the helminth parasites of waterfowl, including over half of all species reported; sometimes this group also includes the greatest part of the worms in a single bird. Over 500 species of trematodes have been reported in waterfowl. Almost all of these have been included in the present set of keys; it was not possible, however, to obtain the descriptions of a few …

Review Of The Island Waterfowl By Milton W. Weller, And The Hawaiian Goose: An Experiment In Conservation By Janet Kear And A. J. Berger, Paul A. Johnsgard

Paul Johnsgard Collection

Both of these books deal with insular species of waterfowl. The volume by Weller concentrates on the ecological forces that have shaped the compar- ative ecologies and morphologies of some 30 forms of Anatidae that are confined to the islands of the world; the Kear and Berger book deals with the interesting history of the ill-fated Hawaiian goose, or nene, which has at least temporarily been saved from extinction by heroic conservation measures of the Wildfowl Trust and Hawaiian wildlife personnel.

Die Erforschung Der Herpetofauna Der Mongolischen Volksrepublik: Situation Und Perspektiven, Günther Peters

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

First paragraph:

Die Landschaften der Mongolei sind arm an Reptilien- und Amphibienarten. Dieser Umstand mag die Frage aufwerfen, ob herpetologische Untersuchungen in Beschränkung auf das Territorium der MVR eine nennenswerte Perspektive haben könnten, nachdem Artenspektrum und Verbteitung der Species annähernd vollständig erkundet sind. Ein Herpetologe wird zweifellos für seine Arbeit auch in diesem Land eine Zukunft sehen, doch muß wohl von vornherein eingestanden werden, daß das Volumen der Probleme dieses Faches hinter denen der übrigen Disziplinen der Vertebratenzoologie und der Entomologie in einem bescheidenerem Rahmen verbleibt. Dies gilt sowohl im rein wissenschaftlichen als erst recht auch im angewandten Bereich ihrer …

Lavender, A Chick Melanocyte Mutant With Defective Melanosome Translocation: A Possible Role For 10 Nm Filaments And Microfilaments But Not Microtubules, Paula Mayerson, John Brumbaugh

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Lavender is a mutation of chick neural-crest-derived melanocytes showing dilute feather pigmentation. This defect, previously attributed to a lack or attenuation of dendrites, was found to be due to a defect in melanosome translocation. The mutant phenotype, of melanin-congested perikarya and pigmentless dendrites is expressed both in vivo and in vitro. Studies with colcemid and cytochalasin B suggest that the avian melanocyte resembles a dispersing amphibian melanophore in its requirement for microfilaments but not microtubules.

Ultrastructural analysis revealed a normal complement of intracellular filaments. Microtubules, however, are scarce. Intermediate (10 nm) filaments surround and are closely associated with intracellular organelles, …

Review Of Observations Of Wildlife, Paul A. Johnsgard

Papers in Ornithology

Nearly everybody has a childhood hero, but only rarely do those heros survive the test of time to stand even taller in the mind's eye when approaching a halfcentury of one's own lifetime. Sir Peter Scott is a man of such stuff; his enormous artistic abilities and capacity for converting those talents into the environmental education of several generations of Britons, and toward the conservation of the earth's natural resources, cause him to stand uniquely alone in the international environmental scene. His book is an informal retrospective look at his own life, his artwork, and his concerns for conservation and …

Pseudogymnophallus Alcae Gen. N. Et Sp. N. (Trematoda: Gymnophallidae) From Alcids (Charadriiformes) In Subarctic Seas, Eric P. Hoberg

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Pseudogymnophallus alcae gen. n. et sp. n. is described for trematodes from alcids (Charadriiformes: Alcidae) from the North Pacific region (Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea, and Chukchi Sea): horned puffin, Fratercula corniculuta; tufted puffin, Lunda cirrhuta; parakeet auklet, Cvclorrhvnchus psittacula, and least auklet, Aethia pusilla; and from the western North Atlantic Ocean, (Gulf of St. Lawrence): razorbill, Alca torda. Pseudogymnophallus is distinguished from other genera of Gymnophallidae by the intertesticular position of the ovary; a cylindrical, undivided seminal vesicle; and by an intestinal diverticulum dorsal to the arch of each cecum.

An Analysis Of Migration Schedules Of Passerine Birds In Nebraska, Paul A. Johnsgard

Nebraska Bird Review

An Analysis of Migration Schedules of Passerine Birds in Nebraska

The format of this paper follows my earlier one on non·passerine species (NBR 48:26-36). Eastern Kingbird. Seventy-three initial spring sightings range from 24 March to 29 May with a median of 3 May. Half of the records fall within the period 1-7 May. The range of 126 final fall sightings is from 4 August to 14 October, with a median of 9 September. Half of the records fall within the period 116 September.

Western Kingbird. The range of 117 initial spring sightings is from 30 April to 26 May, …

Where Have All The Curlews Gone?, Paul A. Johnsgard

Papers in Ornithology

After a period of limited optimism, ornithologists are again in a state of uncertainty and doubt as to the existence of the elusive Eskimo Curlew. In spite of the ever increasing activities of bird watchers, no sightings have been reported from the Texas coast in the last decade, and the present status of this ill-fated bird is impossible to judge. Most of the persons who have summarized its sad story have come to the conclusion that uncontrolled hunting, particularly spring hunting in the Great Plains, was the single most important factor in its demise. Richard C. Banks of the U.S. …

An Analysis Of Migration Schedules Of Non-Passerine Birds In Nebraska, Paul A. Johnsgard

Nebraska Bird Review

One of the major components of the Nebraska Bird Review since its inception has been the annual spring migration and occurrence report, and in more recent years the fall occurrence report has become equally important. Yet, other than an uncompleted effort by W. F. Rapp, Jr. to summarize the first 25 years of spring migration data, these records apparently have not been analyzed by anyone. Part of the problem is the sheer mass of data to be assimilated, and a second issue is the question of how to classify certain species, for the analysis of a winter visitor required different …

A Ground Dove At Desoto Nwr, Loren Padelford, Babs Padelford

Nebraska Bird Review

A Ground Dove was sighted at DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge on 18 November 1979, for about ten minutes around 11 AM, in the hedgerows opposite the entrance to the nature trail, south of the swimming beach.

It was a small dove, only slightly longer but chunkier than Tree Sparrows sitting in the same small tree. There was gray scalloping on the head and breast, the eye was dark, the beak light colored at the base, with the rest appearing dark. The wing was grayish with black speckling from shoulder to tip. We noticed a short tail when the bird was …

Copulatory Behavior Of The American Bittern [Short Communications], Paul A. Johnsgard

Papers in Ornithology

Describes the copulatory behavior of the American bittern, Botaurus lentiginosus, with line-drawings.

Pheasants In Asia 1979: Proceedings Of The First International Symposium On Pheasants In Asia (November 21-23, 1979 : Kathmandu, Nepal), Keith Howman, Christopher Savage

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Conference Proceedings

Message from His Majesty King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev

Inaugural Address by the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister

Welcome Address by the Chief Conservator of Forests

Reply by Keith Howman, Chairman of the Conference

Keynote Papers

Forestry, National Parks and Conservation in Nepal, B. N. Upreti

Pheasant Conservation: A Minimum Programme? Christopher D.W. Savage

Reports on the Status of Pheasants

Nepal (1) Introductory Paper, Karna Sarkya

Nepal (2) Status of the Pheasants of Nepal, J. O. M. Roberts

Status of the Pheasants in Pakistan, Z. B. Mirza

Status of the Pheasants, Malaysia and Indonesia, G. W. H. Davison

The Himalayas: …

Proceedings Of Perdix Ii: Gray Partridge Workshop, Forest, Wildlife And Range Experiment Station, University Of Idaho, The Wildlife Society, Idaho Cahpter, Wildlife Management Institute

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Conference Proceedings

Proceedings of Perdix II: Gray Partridge Workshop (March 18-20, 1980, Moscow, Idaho, United States)

The proceedings for this symposium have been divided into three parts: professional papers, a continent-wide management/research plan, and a bibliography. All of the papers were refereed by two or three people working in the field.

Papers Presented

The Distribution and Density of Gray Partridge in Northern New York, David E. Austin

Habitat Utilization by Gray Partridge (Perdix perdix L.) Prenesting Pairs in East-Central Wisconsin, Kevin E. Church, Hallett J. Harris, and Richard B. Stiehl

An Evaluation of Gray Partridge (Perdix perdix) Aging Criteria, …

The Breeding Birds Of Nebraska, Paul A. Johnsgard

Paul Johnsgard Collection

This brief annotated list of Nebraska's breeding birds is the direct outgrowth of the work involved in the preparation of a forthcoming book titled "The Birds of the Great Plains," which will include range maps for all species except extinct or extirpated ones, and will also provide information on breeding habitat, nest location, clutch size, incubation period, and breeding biology. The purpose of the present compilation is to provide a convenient summary for Nebraska alone, amplifying some of the more general statements of that book, and pointing out uncertain or interesting situations needing further attention from field ornithologists. It includes …

Review Of Endangered Birds. Management Techniques For Preserving Threatened Species, Ed. Stanley A. Temple, Paul A. Johnsgard

Paul Johnsgard Collection

In 1977 an international symposium brought together scientists having expertise in the conservation and management of the world's endangered species of birds. The resulting publication includes 50 papers that were presented at the symposium, together with some concluding remarks. Although this is certainly an impressive assemblage of papers and topics, it should be noted that only about 40 species are mentioned in the proceedings, as compared with a total of 265 species and 140 subspecies worldwide that are currently believed to be threatened.

The American Wood Quails Odontophorus, Paul A. Johnsgard

Paul Johnsgard Collection

It is ironic that the genus of New World quails that not only has the greatest collective geographic range (from central Mexico to northeastern Argentina) but also the largest number of species (12 or more, varying with the authority), is one of the least known groups of American gallinaceous birds. This is in large measure the result of the fact that all of the species are forest-adapted, and generally are associated with tropical to sub-tropical communities, where opportunities for easy observation are virtually absent.

Not only is this the largest genus of the subfamily Odontophorinae, but also the species tend …

Order Anseriformes: From Check-List Of Birds Of The World, Paul A. Johnsgard

Paul Johnsgard Collection

SUBORDER ANSERES
FAMILY ANATIDAE

SUBFAMILY ANSERANATINAE
GENUS ANSERANAS LESSON

SUBFAMILY DENDROCYGNINAE
GENUS DENDROCYGNA SWAINSON

GENUS THALASSORNIS EYTON

SUBFAMILY ANSERINAE
GENUS CYGNUS BECHSTEIN

GENUS ANSER BRISSON

GENUS BRANTA SCOPOLI

GENUS CEREOPSIS LATHAM

GENUS STICTONETTA REICHENBACH

SUBFAMILY TADORNINAE
GENUS CYANOCHEN BONAPARTE

GENUS CHLOEPHAGA EYTON

GENUS ALOPOCHEN STEJNEGER

GENUS TADORNA FLEMING

GENUS TACHYERES OWEN

SUBFAMILY ANATINAE
GENUS PLECTROPTERUS STEPHENS

GENUS CAIRINA FLEMING

GENUS PTERONETTA SALVADORI

GENUS SARKIDIORNIS EYTON

GENUS NETTAPUS BRANDT

GENUS CALLONETTA DELACOUR

GENUS AIX BOlE

GENUS CHENONETTA BRANDT

GENUS AMAZONETTA BOETTICHER

GENUS MERGANETTA GOULD

GENUS HYMENOLAIMUS GRAY

GENUS ANAS LINNAEUS

GENUS MALACORHYNCHUS SWAINSON

GENUS MARMARONETTA REICHENBACH

GENUS RHODONESSA REICHENBACH

GENUS NETTA …

The Ornithogeography Of The Great Plains States, Paul A. Johnsgard

Paul Johnsgard Collection

It has long been recognized that the Great Plains represent a major transition zone in the distribution patterns of North American birds; field guides traditionally have treated the 100° W. longitude meridian as a convenient dividing line between eastern and western faunas. Furthermore, this line rather neatly bisects the political subdivisions of the Great Plains, namely the "plains states" extending from North Dakota southward through South Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. Of these, Texas is the least typical, its climate and fauna is strongly influenced by the Gulf Coast on the east and the Chihuahuan desert on the west. As …

The Ornithogeography Of The Great Plains States, Paul A. Johnsgard

Paul Johnsgard Collection

It has long been recognized that the Great Plains represent a major transition zone in the distribution patterns of North American birds; field guides traditionally have treated the 100° W.longitude meridian as a convenient dividing line between eastern and western faunas. Furthermore, this line rather neatly bisects the political subdivisions of the Great Plains, namely the "plains states" extending from North Dakota southward through South Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. Of these, Texas is the least typical, its climate and fauna is strongly influenced by the Gulf Coast on the east and the Chihuahuan desert on the west. As a …

The Triumphant Trumpeter: Once Reduced To A Few Bevies, This Magnificent Swan Is On The Road To Recovery, Paul A. Johnsgard

Papers in Ornithology

Largest of all the swans and heaviest of North American birds, the trumpeter swan is on the increase. Once common and widespread over much of the western United States, the bird was a winter resident of the lower reaches of the Mississippi Valley, Louisiana, and Texas. During the last century, however, trade in swan-skins—-used to make powder puffs and writing and drawing quills—-and the sale of eggs to collectors had a heavy impact on the species. In the period from 1853 to 1877, for example, London sales of trumpeter swan-skins imported through the Hudson's Bay Company totaled nearly 18,000, an …

Review Of The Pheasants Of The World, Paul A. Johnsgard

Papers in Ornithology

This book, one of Delacour's three major monographs on avian families (the others being the Anatidae and, with Dean Amadon, The Cracidae), was originally published in 1951 but went out of print in the late 196Os, when it quickly became a collector's item. At the request of the World Pheasant Association, an avicultural organization concerned with galliform conservation, Delacour undertook a revision of the book, and a new colored plate has been prepared by R. David Digby. That Delacour, now in his late 80's, should undertake such a project at all is a testimony to the amazing vigor and enthusiasm …