Ornithology Commons^™

Contact Zone Of The Eastern And Western Marsh Wrens In Nebraska Revisited, Mark B. Robbins

Nebraska Bird Review

Across the northern and coastal United States and southern central Canada the Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris) is a widespread breeder in cattail-dominated marshes. Although it has long been considered to be polytypic based on subtle plumage characters (Parkes 1959; Phillips 1986), it was not until Kroodsma (1989, 2005) demonstrated that there was a dramatic break in the primary (song) vocalization in the northern Great Plains that anyone suggested more than one species was involved. In 1986, as part of the delineation of the breeding distribution of both vocal types, Kroodsma (1988; see map therein) audio recorded wrens at …

Nebraska Bird Review (September 2014) 82(3), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Summer Field Report, June–July 2014 ... 98

Stomach Content Analysis of Recent Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus) Specimens from Nebraska … 122

Contact Zone of the Eastern and Western Marsh Wrens in Nebraska Revisited ... 128

2013 (25th) Report of the NOU Records Committee ... 131

Subscription and Organization Information ... 147

Summer Field Report, June–July 2014, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

This summer was marked by the "unremarkability," if there is such a thing, of the status of almost all species, especially passerines. A stark exception, however, was the pair of summering hummingbirds in a yard a few miles southeast of Chadron: Juanita Whittecar sent a collection of very good photos of these birds, detailed enough to determine that the pair of supposed Ruby-throated Hummingbirds actually consisted of a female Ruby-throated and a hybrid Ruby-throated x Broad-tailed male. Another odd phenomenon was the number of shorebird species with late Jun records, usually the brief window within which these species are absent …

Subscription And Organization Information [September 2014]

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 …

2013 (25th) 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-three 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; 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) contain many taxonomic changes affecting North American birds.

The …

Stomach Content Analysis Of Recent Snowy Owl (Bubo Scandiacus) Specimens From Nebraska, Rachel L. Valenziano, Thomas E. Labedz

Nebraska Bird Review

The Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus) is a circumpolar bird of prey that breeds in extreme northern latitudes, including Canadian and Alaskan tundra. During winter months, some immature and non-breeding birds disperse south. North American birds may travel to southern Canada and northern parts of the United States, and in some extreme cases as far south as Oklahoma and Texas (Parmelee 1992). Although not fully understood, these irruptive events may be caused by the abundance of prey in northern Canada and Alaska (Parmelee 1992).

Prey typical of Snowy Owls are small mammals (e.g., lemmings and hares) of their home range and …

Música De Las Grullas: Una Historia Natural De Las Grullas De América, Paul A, Johnsgard, Enrique H. Weir, Karine Gil-Weir

Zea E-Books Collection

En un sábado mágico de marzo, maneje con un estudiante de postgrado hasta el valle central del Platte, al oeste de Grand Island, tanto para ver la migración primaveral de aves acuáticas como la de las grullas grises. Tal vez fue una suerte que yo no estuviera preparado emocionalmente para ver como innumerables grullas salpicaban el cielo de horizonte a horizonte, o girando grácilmente sus cabezas como si estuvieran atrapados en algún torbellino de ultra cámara lenta, su vibrato produce una cadencia descendente como la música de un coro aviar angelical. Desde los días de mi infancia, cuando, por primera …

Kentucky Warbler (Vol. 90, No. 3), Kentucky Library Research Collections

The Kentucky Warbler

No abstract provided.

The Birdman Of Colby: Eagle-Eyed Professor Herb Wilson Is Winging His Way Into The Hearts Of Students And Birders Alike, Robert Gillespie

Colby Magazine

Professor Herb Wilson's passion for ornithology is contagious- at Colby and in the community.

Wpa News 94 (2014), World Pheasant Association

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Newsletters

WPA News (Summer 2014), number 94

Published by the World Pheasant Association

Across-Year Social Stability Shapes Network Structure In Wintering Migrant Sparrows, Daizaburo Shizuka, Alexis S. Chaine, Jennifer Anderson, Oscar Johnson, Inger Marie Laursen, Bruce E. Lyon

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Migratory birds often form flocks on their wintering grounds, but important details of social structure such as the patterns of association between individuals are virtually unknown. We analysed networks of co-membership in short-term flocks for wintering golden-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia atricapilla) across three years and discovered social complexity unsuspected for migratory songbirds. The population was consistently clustered into distinct social communities within a relatively small area (~ 7 ha). Birds returned to the same community across years, with mortality and recruitment leading to some degree of turnover in membership. These spatiotemporal patterns were explained by the combination of space …

The Foraging Behaviors And Decision-Making Strategies Of Overwintering Red-Tailed Hawks (Buteo Jamaicensis) And American Kestrels (Falco Sparverius) In Relation To Prey Density And Patch-Site Characteristics In Northeastern Arkansas, Melissa Marie Bobowski

Student Theses and Dissertations

I observed the wintering foraging behaviors of Red-tailed Hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) and American Kestrels (Falco sparverius) to determine the efficiency of their foraging strategies in relation to prey density and patch-site characteristics. The three cover-types (i.e., short rice stubble, soybean stubble, and fallow areas and roadsides) differed in densities of small mammals and vegetation cover. Cover-type was the most important predictor for the probability of making an attempt at prey for both species with the greatest probability at attempting was in fallow roadsides. Perch-type only influenced the probability of being successful at capturing a prey item for Red-tailed hawks with …

Naïve Hosts Of Avian Brood Parasites Accept Foreign Eggs, Whereas Older Hosts Fine-Tune Foreign Egg Discrimination During Laying, Csaba Moskát, Miklós Bán, Mark E. Hauber

Publications and Research

Background: Many potential hosts of social parasites recognize and reject foreign intruders, and reduce or altogether escape the negative impacts of parasitism. The ontogenetic basis of whether and how avian hosts recognize their own and the brood parasitic eggs remains unclear. By repeatedly parasitizing the same hosts with a consistent parasitic egg type, and contrasting the responses of naïve and older breeders, we studied ontogenetic plasticity in the rejection of foreign eggs by the great reed warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus), a host species of the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus).

Results: In response to experimental parasitism before the …

Assessing Landscape Constraints On Species Abundance: Does The Neighborhood Limit Species Response To Local Habitat Conservation Programs?, Christopher F. Jorgensen, Larkin A. Powell, Jeffrey J. Lusk, Andrew A. Bishop, Joseph J. Fontaine

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Landscapes in agricultural systems continue to undergo significant change, and the loss of biodiversity is an ever-increasing threat. Although habitat restoration is beneficial, management actions do not always result in the desired outcome. Managers must understand why management actions fail; yet, past studies have focused on assessing habitat attributes at a single spatial scale, and often fail to consider the importance of ecological mechanisms that act across spatial scales. We located survey sites across southern Nebraska, USA and conducted point counts to estimate Ring-necked Pheasant abundance, an economically important species to the region, while simultaneously quantifying landscape effects using a …

In Memoriam [June 2014]

Nebraska Bird Review

In memoriam: Alice Rushton, Gertrude Wood, and Mitzi Fox

Double-Crested Cormorant And American White Pelican Abundance At Sandhills Lakes During Fall Migration, Lauren R. Dinan, Joel G. Jorgensen

Nebraska Bird Review

Double-crested Cormorants (DCCO, Phalacrocorax auritus) and American White Pelicans (AWPE, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) are migratory piscivorous birds that breed in North America. Both species are abundant spring and fall migrants in Nebraska. DCCOs are also common, albeit local, breeders in northwestern Nebraska (Sharpe et al. 2001 ). DCCO and AWPE numbers have increased throughout their range in recent decades (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [USFWS] 2003, Sauer et al. 2013). Both species, but primarily DCCOs, have become increasingly controversial because of increased numbers and also because their principal food source is fish, a resource humans value. Concentrations of DCCOs, and to …

Subscription And Organization Information [June 2014]

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 …

Nebraska Bird Review (June 2014) 82(2), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Spring Field Report, March–May 2014 ... 46

Double-crested Cormorant and American White Pelican Abundance at Sandhills Lakes during Fall Migration … 73

What Are Blue Ross’s Geese? ... 81

2014 NOU/IOU Joint Meeting in Bellevue ... 86

In Memoriam: Alice Rushton, Gertrude Wood, and Mitzi Fox … 93

Subscription and Organization Information ... 95

What Are Blue Ross's Geese?, Paul A. Johnsgard

Nebraska Bird Review

The existence of blue morph ("phase") Ross's Geese (Chen rossii) was first well documented by McLandress & McLandress (1979). They reported on several blue-morph birds seen and collected in California and Canada that morphologically appeared to be pure Ross's Geese and on others with intermediate traits that appeared to be hybrids with Lesser Snow Geese (Chen caerulescens caerulescens). They also noted that in the California wintering grounds counts held during 1976–77 there were only 3 blue morphs (0.008 percent) among the 38,825 Ross's Geese counted. At that time, only 0.02 percent of the Lesser Snow Geese …

2014 Nou/Iou Joint Meeting In Bellevue, Clem Klaphake

Nebraska Bird Review

The May 16–18 combined meeting of the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union and the Iowa Ornithologists' Union at Fontenelle Forest Nature Center in Bellevue, Nebraska, was a gigantic success. Over 160 birders from Nebraska, Iowa, and 6 other states attended the 3 day event. Everyone I talked to, from novice to expert, was more than delighted with all of the activities scheduled for this event.

Our Friday evening speaker, Ty Smedes, had some wonderful photos, especially of warblers, and I heard nothing but positive comments about his program from the attendees. On Saturday afternoon Jerry Toll talked about his experiences banding Red-tailed …

Spring Field Report, March 2014 To May 2014, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

This spring period was generally uneventful for most species groups, but there were two major influxes in the east that were likely unprecedented in the memories of most Nebraska ornithologists. First was a major influx of gulls of 10 species at Carter Lake and N.P. Dodge Park in Omaha, including good numbers of California and Thayer's Gulls, as well as Iceland, and most surprisingly, a Glaucous-winged Gull. A bit later in the season was a strong influx of the rarer migrant warblers, such as Golden-winged, Blue-winged, Hooded, Cape May, Bay-breasted, and Black-throated Blue. For spice there was a Worm-eating Warbler …

New Species Records And Changes In Abundance Of Waterfowl In Northwest Greenland, K. K. Burnham, D. R. Sinnett, J. A. Johnson, J. L. Burnham, J. A. Baroch

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Breeding populations of Nearctic and Palearctic waterfowl have undergone significant changes in abundance and distribution over the past 50 years. The Avanersuaq District in northwest Greenland is home to an assemblage of waterfowl from both geographic areas; however, minimal historic or current information is available on species abundance. In 2008 and 2009, we conducted field surveys in Greenland from 76.00_ to 77.35_N for breeding and non-breeding waterfowl and have collected anecdotal field notes of avian observations over a 20-year period (1993–2012). During these periods, we documented the first observation of a Ross’s goose (Chen rossii) and the first confirmed breeding …

The Passive Perching Mechanism In Passeriformes Birds, Deena Ahmed Elsahy

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Passeriformes, or perching birds and songbirds, are an order of birds that includes crows, jays, starlings, wrens, cardinals, finches and many other species. It has been suggested that these birds are able to passively perch due to a tendon locking mechanism. This mechanism allows them to rest for hours in trees without falling. When the bird's foot is placed on a perch, the weight of the bird causes the tendons to pull, thus closing the toes around the perch. However, there is currently much debate about whether the mechanism is entirely passive. Recent studies argue that the mechanism must be …

Kentucky Warbler (Vol. 90, No. 2), Kentucky Library Research Collections

The Kentucky Warbler

No abstract provided.

The Integration Of Google Maps Into American Kestrel, Falco Sparvarius, Nest Trail Programs, Dylan M. Harper

Undergraduate Honors Theses

American Kestrel Nest Box Programs have been established since the mid 1960’s. The population of American Kestrels (Falco sparverius) along nest box trails has decreased by 47 percent since their original implementation. There are existing technologies that can help in the location of prime kestrel habitat (open fields with conspicuous perching locations) along highways, which reduces the amount of labor in searching for new box locations. These technologies can also help increase the efficiency of monitoring and maintaining kestrel nest trail programs. This study provides an example of how Google Maps can be implemented into a kestrel trail …

Survival, Abundance, And Geographic Distribution Of Temperate-Nesting Canada Geese (Branta Canadensis) In Arkansas, Margaret Eliese Ronke

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Temperate-nesting Canada geese in Arkansas have grown in abundance and range since reintroduction in the 1980s. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission uses harvest and other methods to maintain the population at desired levels. However, continued management of temperate-nesting geese requires knowledge of the population's demographics and current range to help establish quantifiable management goals.

To assess the need and effect of changing hunting regulations, survival and recovery rates and abundance were estimated for this population. Annual survival rates of temperate-nesting Canada geese banded and recovered in Arkansas from 2005 to 2011 were estimated using the Burnham joint live-dead recovery …

Host Responses To Interspecific Brood Parasitism: A By-Product Of Adaptations To Conspecific Parasitism?, Peter Samas, Mark E. Hauber, Phillip Cassey, Tomáš Grim

Publications and Research

Background: Why have birds evolved the ability to reject eggs? Typically, foreign egg discrimination is interpreted as evidence that interspecific brood parasitism (IP) has selected for the host’s ability to recognize and eliminate foreign eggs. Fewer studies explore the alternative hypothesis that rejection of interspecific eggs is a by-product of host defenses, evolved against conspecific parasitism (CP). We performed a large scale study with replication across taxa (two congeneric Turdus thrushes), space (populations), time (breeding seasons), and treatments (three types of experimental eggs), using a consistent design of egg rejection experiments (n = 1057 nests; including controls), in areas with …

Rare Trophy Varmint Bagged, Paul A, Johnsgard

Paul Johnsgard Collection

This beast was shot during a special hunting season on hummingbirds opened by the Game and Parks Commission after reports of possible threats to people and livestock.

It was taken in one shot at 15 yards with a high-powered Canon and special high-velocity electronic ammunition. The state is now safer for everyone.

P. (Dead-eye) Johnsgard

Barn Owl Sex Determination, Lillian Mckinley

College of Arts and Sciences Presentations

The goal of the study is to develop this model of sex determination in Barn Owls. The sex of birds of prey is usually determined using one of two methods: plumage or size. Plumage is often the most obvious way to tell the difference between male and female birds, because male birds often have bright and colorful plumage and female birds generally have drab and dull colored plumage. In species that do not have plumage variation, size difference is used for sex determination. The most common measurement of size is body mass, but other measurements can also be used including: …

Wpa News 93 (2014), World Pheasant Association

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Newsletters

WPA News (Spring 2014), number 93

Published by the World Pheasant Association