Ornithology Commons^™

Occupancy Analysis And Density Estimation Of Kori Bustards (Ardeotis Kori) And Helmeted Guineafowl (Numida Meleagris) For Use In Landscape Conservation Planning In The Northern Tuli Game Reserve, Botswana, Kathryn R. Mccollum

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

For understudied species, more informed conservation planning and decision-making on both the local and landscape levels may be attained through the use of occupancy and abundance estimations. Here, we focus on two iconic bird species in eastern Botswana, kori bustards (Ardeotis kori) and helmeted guineafowl (Numida meleagris). The overall goal of this project was to better understand the hierarchy of factors that influence occupancy (ψ) and density of kori bustard and helmeted guineafowl populations within the Northern Tuli Game Reserve and how these factors may interact to affect landscape conservation and usage. We performed distance sampling …

Displaying To Females May Lower Male Foraging Time And Vigilance In A Lekking Bird, Sarah A. Cowles, Robert M. Gibson

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Males of many species use courtship behavior to attract mates. However, by doing so males may face the associated costs of increased energetic expenditure, reduced foraging time, and elevated predation risk. We investigated the costs of display in lekking male Sharp-tailed Grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus). We used lek-wide scan sampling to study how males allocated time among courtship display (‘‘dancing’’), agonism, foraging, and inactivity in relation to female numbers both within and across days. We also addressed the limited attention hypothesis and estimated visual attentiveness by videotaping 13 males and scoring head turns during these different activities. We found that the …

Subscription And Organization Information [September 2015]

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Bird Review is published quarterly 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): $25 in the United States and $35 in all other countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $7 each, postpaid, in the United States and $9 elsewhere. Send orders for back issues to Anita Breckbill, NOU Librarian, c/o Music Library, WMB 30, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588-0101.

Memberships in the NOU (on a calendar-year basis only): Active Household (one or more people) $25; Sustaining …

In Memory Of Roland E. Barth, Neal Ratzlaff

Nebraska Bird Review

On September 21, 2015, the NOU and the conservation community lost a good friend with the passing of Roland Barth. Barth served 30 years as a meteorologist in the US Air Force, achieving the rank of Colonel. Retirement allowed Roland to pursue his interest in nature and use his considerable leadership and organizational skills for the benefit of a number of conservation groups. He was a member of the Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union for over 20 years and served a term as Director from 2008 to 2011.

Nebraska Bird Review (September 2015) 83(3), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Summer Field Report, June–July 2015 ... 102

2014 (26th) Report of the NOU Records Committee ... 125

First Nesting Record and Status Review of the Glossy Ibis in Nebraska … 139

In Memory of Roland E. Barth … 149

Subscription and Organization Information ... 151

First Nesting Record And Status Review Of The Glossy Ibis In Nebraska, Joel G. Jorgensen, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) is believed to be a recent colonist from the Old World whose numbers have increased and range has expanded in North America over the past two centuries (Patten and Lasley 2000). Glossy Ibis range expansion has been described as involving periods of relative stability followed by periods of rapid increase (Patten and Lasley 2000). Prior to the 1980s, Glossy Ibis were primarily found in the southeastern United States and along the Atlantic Coast (Patten and Lasley 2000). In the mid to late 1980s, Glossy Ibis began to rapidly increase and expand into Texas. By …

2014 (26th) Report Of The Nou Records Committee, Mark A. Brogie

Nebraska Bird Review

The "Official List of the Birds of Nebraska" was first published in 1988 (NOU 1988) and has been updated three times (NOURC 1997, 2004, 2009). The "Official List" has been appended twenty-four times: (Mollhoff 1989; Grenon 1990, 1991; Gubanyi 1996a, 1996b, 1996c; Brogie 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009a, 2009b; 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014; Jorgensen 2001, 2002, 2003).

The American Ornithologists' Union Checklist of North American Birds, Seventh Edition (1998) and its following supplements: (AOU: 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014), contain many taxonomic changes affecting North American …

Summer Field Report, June–July 2015, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

This summer was very wet over most of the state. Breeding Bird Survey operators noted impassible roads, especially in the western Sandhills. The benefits to water birds in the Rainwater Basin were obvious, however, with notable breeding records for Ruddy Duck and White-faced Ibis, as well as the first documented breeding in the state of Glossy Ibis, and the first Rainwater Basin breeding for Double-crested Cormorant and third for Eared Grebe.

Additional notable breeding records were led by Osprey; after 7 years of trying at various locations, success came with a bang, as at least 3 nests successfully fledged young, …

At Home And At Large In The Great Plains: Essays And Memories, Paul A. Johnsgard

Zea E-Books Collection

This volume presents fourteen essays (some updated) that originally appeared in Prairie Fire, a monthly free newspaper that for seven years (as of 2015) has carried important messages of social, environmental, and economic issues in a mature and nonpartisan manner to tens of thousands of residents of Nebraska, western Iowa, eastern Colorado, and southern South Dakota, and by mail to subscribers in the rest of the world. These essays discuss the North American east-west ecological boundaries, spring migration events, birds at the bird feeder, feathered survivors of a glacial past, the threatened sharp-tailed grouse of Nebraska and South Dakota, and …

Parent-Offspring Resemblance In Colony-Specific Adult Survival Of Cliff Swallows, Charles R. Brown, Erin A. Roche, Mary Bomberger Brown

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Survival is a key component of fitness. Species that occupy discrete breeding colonies with different characteristics are often exposed to varying costs and benefits associated with group size or environmental conditions, and survival is an integrative net measure of these effects. We investigated the extent to which survival probability of adult (≥ 1-year old) cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) occupying different colonies resembled that of their parental cohort and thus whether the natal colony had long-term effects on individuals. Individuals were cross-fostered between colonies soon after hatching and their presence as breeders monitored at colonies in the western Nebraska …

Wpa News 97 (2015), World Pheasant Association

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Newsletters

WPA News (Summer 2015), number 97

Published by the World Pheasant Association

Nou Spring Field Days And Annual Meeting, Valentine, May 15–17, 2015, Janis Paseka

Nebraska Bird Review

The annual meeting of the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union was held in Valentine May 15–17, 2015, and ably organized by Dave Heidt and Betty Grenon. Although muddy roads from a Friday night storm prevented travel to several planned field trip destinations on Saturday and rain cut short field trips on Sunday morning, the 58 attendees were able to locate and identify 180 species. Most of the birding took place in Cherry County, and many birders commented happily on the good number of species they were able to add to their Cherry Co. lists.

On Friday evening Wayne Mollhoff told the group …

Oriole Consumption Of Grape Jelly, Gary Lingle

Nebraska Bird Review

It is well known that several species of orioles are attracted to grape (Vitis sp.) jelly. A few years ago I began “feeding” grape jelly to orioles in my yard in Buffalo County. Both Baltimore Orioles (Icterus galbula) and, to a lesser extent, Orchard Orioles (Icterus spurius) frequented my feeder upon their arrival in early May and fed daily until the red mulberries (Morus rubra) ripened and nesting had commenced prior to mid-June. At that time visitation to my feeder plummeted from a high of 1.5 birds per minute to 0 .1 birds …

Subscription And Organization Information [June 2015]

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Bird Review is published quarterly 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): $25 in the United States and $35 in all other countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $7 each, postpaid, in the United States and $9 elsewhere. Send orders for back issues to Anita Breckbill, NOU Librarian, c/o Music Library, WMB 30, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588-0101.

Memberships in the NOU (on a calendar-year basis only): Active Household (one or more people) $25; Sustaining …

Spring Field Report, March 2015 To May 2015, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

This was a largely uneventful spring in terms of major events, as most species stayed within their ranges and movement timing parameters. There are always a few stochastic exceptions, but no clear pattern of, for example, early arrival dates was discernible. However, several interesting situations came to light, and there were a few rarities detected. A Couch’s Kingbird in Sarpy Co was well described but awaits a determination by the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union Records Committee as to whether the evidence is strong enough to add this species to the Official State Bird List. Other exciting finds were a wintering Brown …

Nebraska Bird Review (June 2015) 83(2), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Spring Field Report, March 2015 to May 2015 ... 54

NOU Spring Field Days and Annual Meeting, Valentine, May 5–17, 2015 … 86

Oriole Consumption of Grape Jelly ... 93

Book Review of At Home and at Large in the Great Plains: Essays and Memories by Paul A. Johnsgard ... 98

Subscription and Organization Information ... 99

Book Review [Of At Home And At Large In The Great Plains: Essays And Memories], Janis Paseka

Nebraska Bird Review

Nebraska birders may remember reading some of the 14 essays published in this book, since they appeared previously in Prairie Fire, the monthly Great Plains public policy newspaper. Topics of the short and engaging essays range from changing bird life to outstanding birding areas to conservation in the Great Plains. We read about sediment deposits, the “gifts of glaciers past,” which were left by retreating rivers of ice thousands of years ago and resulted in the creation of the prairie potholes so important now to our waterfowl and wading birds. One essay marvels at the variety of animal skeletons, including …

Variation In Avian Vocalizations During The Non-Breeding Season In Response To Traffic Noise, Amy I. Oden, Mary Bomberger Brown, Mark E. Burbach, James R. Brandle, John E. Quinn

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Low-frequency traffic noise that leads to acoustic masking of vocalizations may cause birds to alter the frequencies or other components of their vocalizations in order to be heard by conspecifics and others. Altering parts of a vocalization may result in poorer vocal performance or the message contained in the vocalization being received incorrectly. During the winters of 2011–2012 and 2012–2013, we recorded and measured the “chick-a-dee” call of Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) and the “po-ta-to-chip” call of American Goldfinches (Spinus tristis) to determine whether components of the calls produced in areas of high traffic noise and …

Habitat And Site Selection Of Pheasants And Their Hunters During The Hunting Season, Lindsey Messinger

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

Predator-prey interactions are dynamic and complex with implications for predators, prey, and entire ecological communities. Though predation has obvious mortality costs for prey, equally strong non-consumptive impacts of predation have been the focus of recent studies. Not only are prey affected by their predators through both consumption and fear of predation, but predators are driven by selection to respond to prey behavior. Here, we show how habitat decisions made by highly mobile predators and prey are dynamically linked. In our study system, recreational hunters (predators) make decisions about where to hunt based on a variety of resources (potential prey abundance, …

Shorebird Migratory Stopover Responses To Local And Regional Change: Habitat Decisions In A Vanishing Landscape, Caitlyn Gillespie

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

Understanding the consequences of anthropogenic change for migratory species is challenging because although they have evolved to cope with environmental uncertainty, migrants still rely on predictable relationships within and among habitats to make informed decisions. Calidris shorebirds rely on ephemeral wetlands during northward migration through mid-continental North America, where favorable habitat conditions are annually and regionally unpredictable and increasingly altered by land-use change. During spring 2013 and 2014, we assessed Calidris habitat use in the Rainwater Basin (RWB) and the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) at both local and landscape scales. Although anthropogenic change has altered the wetland landscape in both …

Interspecific Egg Rejection As Ecological Collateral Damage From Selection Driven By Conspecific Brood Parasitism, Bruce E. Lyon, Daizaburo Shizuka, John M. Eadie

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Distinguishing between interspecific and intraspecific coevolution as the selective driver of traits can be difficult in some taxa. A previous study of an avian obligate brood parasite, the black-headed duck, Heteronetta atricapilla, suggested that egg rejection by its two main hosts (two species of coot) is an incidental by-product of selection from conspecific brood parasitism within the hosts, not selection imposed by the interspecific parasite. However, although both species of coot can recognize and reject eggs of conspecific brood parasites, which closely resemble their own, they paradoxically also accept a moderate fraction of duck eggs (40–60%), which differ strikingly …

Wpa News 96 (2015), World Pheasant Association

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Newsletters

WPA News (Spring 2015), number 96

Published by the World Pheasant Association

Nebraska Bird Review (March 2015) 83(1), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union Treasurer’s Report, December 31, 2014 … 2

Winter Field Report, December 2014 to February 2015 … 3

In Memory of William F. Rapp, Jr. … 21

Color Photo Section (Birds in flight) … 23

A Hybrid Cliff × Barn Swallow from Western Nebraska … 31

2014–2015 Christmas Bird Counts … 36

Subscription and Organization Information ... 51

Subscription And Organization Information [March 2015]

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Bird Review is published quarterly 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): $25 in the United States and $35 in all other countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $7 each, postpaid, in the United States and $9 elsewhere. Send orders for back issues to Anita Breckbill, NOU Librarian, c/o Music Library, WMB 30, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588-0101.

Memberships in the NOU (on a calendar-year basis only): Active Household (one or more people) $25; Sustaining …

In Memory Of William F. Rapp, Jr.

Nebraska Bird Review

Former NOU president and Nebraska Bird Review editor William F. Rapp, Jr., passed away on March 13, 2013, in Rochester, New York. Rapp was born in 1918 in Newark, New Jersey, and his interest in birds began during his junior high years. He attended Rutgers University and graduated in 1944 with a degree in entomology and geology. He was on the faculty of Doane College in Crete, Nebraska, where he taught various biology courses and ornithology for nonscience students. He attended his first Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union meeting in 1947. By the next year, he was the editor of the Nebraska …

2014–2015 Christmas Bird Counts, Don Paseka

Nebraska Bird Review

Fourteen counts were held during the 2014–15 Christmas Bird Count season, which is one less than last season. Although the Beaver Valley and Harrison counts were not done this season, the Harlan County count was resumed after a twelve-year hiatus and produced several noteworthy species counts. It also should be noted that the Grand Island count was held on December 13, which is one day before the official Audubon sanctioned count period begins, but its results are included in this discussion.

Following a very mild first week of November, the second week started with a sudden cold snap which persisted …

Winter Field Report, December 2014 To February 2015, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

As with last winter, this was a rather ordinary winter ornithologically speaking, if indeed there is such a thing. There were a couple of genuine rarities to spice it up, but most of the interest was in unusual phenomena shown by a range of species. Ducks and swans and native sparrows seem to be more in evidence in mid-winter than in previous years, but it is difficult to relate winter occurrence to weather in any given year, except for isolated extreme events. There are, however, some trends showing up, as suggested by the ducks, swans, native sparrows, and a few …

A Hybrid Cliff × Barn Swallow From Western Nebraska, Charles R. Brown, Catherine E. Page

Nebraska Bird Review

The Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) and the Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) occupy sympatric breeding ranges across much of North America, often nesting at colony sites that contain both species. Mixed-species nesting aggregations typically occur in box-shaped concrete culverts underneath roads or railways. Cliff Swallows’ enclosed mud nests can be as close as 1 m to Barn Swallows’ open mud nests, and at such sites Cliff Swallows regularly usurp both inactive and active Barn Swallow nests. The close proximity of these two ecologically similar species leads to at least occasional social interaction among them, such as during …

Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union Treasurer’S Report, December 31, 2014

Nebraska Bird Review

One-page spreadsheet constituting the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union treasurer's report at year end (December 31) of 2014. The grand total is $59,882.03.

Birds In Flight, Color Photo Section [March 2015, Pp. 23–30]

Nebraska Bird Review

Photographs of Ring-billed Gull with fish, Arctic Tern, Bonaparte’s Gull, and Least Tern (p. 23); American Golden-Plovers, Great Blue Heron, Lesser Yellowlegs, Dunlin and Stilt Sandpiper (p. 24); Great Egret, Sandhill Cranes, White-faced Ibis, and Glossy Ibis (p. 25); immature Bald Eagle with Snow Goose, Turkey Vulture, Common Goldeneye, Mute Swan and cygnet, and Red-tailed Hawk (p. 26); Upland Sandpiper, Northern Bobwhite, Eastern Meadowlark, female Dickcissel, and Grasshopper Sparrow (p. 27); Barn Owl chicks, adult Barn Owl, Short-eared Owl, and Northern Saw-whet Owl in nest box with eggs, chicks, deer mice, and voles (p. 28); adult Bald Eagle, Snow Geese, …