Ornithology Commons^™

Spring Field Report, March 2010 To May 2010, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

There was much of interest this spring. Early and late dates, early breeding, even a few rarities, are scattered through the species accounts. A few highlights are mentioned here. Mark Brogie found 6 species of Gallinaceous birds in one hour in Knox Co—quite a feat. Glossy Ibis reports continue to increase, and Mississippi Kites were found in new areas. Cranes made news: a leucistic Sandhill, another Common, and good numbers of Whoopings. Piping Plovers may be spreading out a bit, given the disappearance of the expanses of sand at L McConaughy, and amazing finds are being made by the team …

Nebraska Bird Review (June 2010) 78(2), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Correction ... 38

Spring Field Report, March 2010 to May 2010 ... 38

Annual Meeting at Chadron ... 63

An Unfortunate Name—With a Nebraska Twist ... 68

English and Scientific Alpha Codes for the Birds of Nebraska ... 70

Subscription and Organization Information ... 83

Natural Selection On Testosterone Production In A Wild Songbird Population, Joel W. Mcglothlin, Danielle J. Whittaker, Sara E. Schrock, Nicole M. Gerlach, Jodie M. Jawor, Eric A. Snajdr, Ellen D. Ketterson

Faculty Publications

Because of their role in mediating life-history trade-offs, hormones are expected to be strongly associated with components of fitness; however, few studies have examined how natural selection acts on hormonal variation in the wild. In a songbird, the dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis), field experiments have shown that exogenous testosterone alters individuals' resolution of the survival-reproduction trade-off, enhancing reproduction at the expense of survival. Here we used standardized injections of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) to assay variation in the testosterone production of males. Using measurements of annual survival and reproduction, we found evidence of strong natural selection acting on GnRH-induced …

Evaluating Captive-Breeding Techniques And Reintroduction Success Of The California Condor (Gymnogyps Californianus), Amy C. Utt

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

In this dissertation, I present two original research studies on the behavior and survival of the critically endangered California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus). I also provide a comprehensive review of the role of captive-rearing to the conservation of birds.

The first study examined the behavioral differences of puppet- and parent-reared condor juveniles reared in captivity. This study further defined and examined the behaviors of adult conspecific mentors and their interactions with juveniles. Dominance hierarchy analyses for two cohorts of juveniles and their adult mentors indicated the establishment of a linear hierarchy. Although puppet-reared juveniles engaged in fewer social behaviors in …

Lidar Remote Sensing Variables Predict Breeding Habitat Of A Neotropical Migrant Bird, Scott J. Goetz, Daniel Steinberg, Matthew G. G. Betts, Richard T. Holmes

Dartmouth Scholarship

A topic of recurring interest in ecological research is the degree to which vegetation structure influences the distribution and abundance of species. Here we test the applicability of remote sensing, particularly novel use of waveform lidar measurements, for quantifying the habitat heterogeneity of a contiguous northern hardwoods forest in the northeastern United States. We apply these results to predict the breeding habitat quality, an indicator of reproductive output of a well-studied Neotropical migrant songbird, the Black-throated Blue Warbler (Dendroica caerulescens). We found that using canopy vertical structure metrics provided unique information for models of habitat quality and spatial patterns of …

Winter Ecology Of Buggy Creek Virus (Togaviridae, Alphavirus) In The Central Great Plains, Charles R. Brown, Stephanie A. Strickler, Amy T. Moore, Sarah A. Knutie, Abinash Padhi, Mary Bomberger Brown, Ginger R. Young, Valerie A. O'Brien, Jerome E. Foster, Nicholas Komar

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

A largely unanswered question in the study of arboviruses is the extent to which virus can overwinter in adult vectors during the cold winter months and resume the transmission cycle in summer. Buggy Creek virus (BCRV; Togaviridae, Alphavirus) is an unusual arbovirus that is vectored primarily by the swallow bug (Hemiptera: Cimicidae: Oeciacus vicarius) and amplified by the ectoparasitic bug’s main avian hosts, the migratory cliff swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) and resident house sparrow (Passer domesticus). Bugs are sedentary and overwinter in the swallows’ mud nests. We evaluated the prevalence of BCRV and extent of …

Kentucky Warbler (Vol. 86, No. 2), Kentucky Library Research Collections

The Kentucky Warbler

No abstract provided.

Waterfowl Of North America, Revised Edition [Complete Work], Paul A. Johnsgard

Waterfowl of North America, Revised Edition (2010) by Paul A. Johnsgard

“We cannot expect to learn from or communicate directly with waterfowl; they speak separate languages, hear different voices, know other sensory worlds. They transcend our own perceptions, make mockery of our national boundaries, ignore our flyway concepts. They have their own innate maps, calendars, and compasses, each older and more remarkable than our own. We can only delight in their flying skills, marvel at their regular and precise movements across our continent, take example from their persistence in the face of repeated disaster. They are a microcosm of nature, of violent death and abundant rebirth, of untrammeled beauty and instinctive …

Nebraska Bird Review (March 2010) 78(1), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union Treasurer's Report, December 31, 2009 ... 2

Winter Field Report, December 2009 to February 2010 ... 3

2009-2010 Christmas Bird Counts ... 17

Observations of Piping Plovers (Charadrius melodus) Color Banded in Nebraska and Re-sighted on the United States Gulf Coast ... 30

Subscription and Organization Information ... 35

Observations Of Piping Plovers (Charadrius Melodus) Color Banded In Nebraska And Re-Sighted On The United States Gulf Coast, Mary Bomberger Brown, Joel G. Jorgensen

Nebraska Bird Review

Threatened and endangered migratory birds present a challenge to conservation efforts because they use different habitats during different times of the year. As a result, successful efforts in one part of their range may be nullified by negative events taking place in other parts of their range. In many cases, information that links individual birds or populations to specific breeding, non-breeding, and migratory areas across the species' range is not available. Without these links, it can be difficult to coordinate conservation efforts across the species' range, and species recovery efforts may be less effective. The observation of uniquely marked individuals …

Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union Treasurer’S Report, December 31, 2009

Nebraska Bird Review

One-page spreadsheet constituting the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union treasurer's report at year end (December 31) of 2009. The grand total is $56,791.88.

2009–2010 Christmas Bird Counts

Nebraska Bird Review

Fourteen Christmas Bird Counts were held in Nebraska in the 2009–2010 season. The Ames count was cancelled due to weather, the Beaver Valley count returned after a year's absence, and the North Platte count was reinstated after not being officially run since the 1985–86 season. Although the average high and low temperatures were not exceptional, heavy snow cover affected most, if not all, of the counts. Roads were closed due to snow drifts, open water was limited, and at least three counts had to be rescheduled. The total number of species (116) was the lowest since 103 in 1997.

Interesting …

Winter Field Report, December 2009 To February 2010, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

This was a long, cold winter, but effects on birds were not particularly noticeable. Perhaps the relative blandness of the reports reflected the "normal" behavior of most birds when confronted with a cold winter and the seriousness of survival: birds were in places they should have been. Carolina Wrens may have been hit (more on that in the Spring Report), but a few species were present in higher numbers than might have been expected. Rusty and Red-winged Blackbirds and Brown-headed Cowbird were notable for higher winter numbers, as were Snow Buntings. Even more so, there were lots of Fox Sparrows, …

Subscription And Organization Information [March 2010]

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): $15 in the United States, $18 in Canada, and $30 in all other countries, payable in advance.

Single copies are $4 each, postpaid, in the United States, $5 in Canada, and $8 elsewhere. Send orders for back issues to Anita Breckbill, NOU Librarian, c/o Music Library, WMB 30, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588-0101 (or at the email address listed below).

Memberships in the NOU …

Conserving Migratory Land Birds In The New World: Do We Know Enough?, John Faaborg, Richard T. Holmes, Angela D. Anders, Keith L. Bildstein

Dartmouth Scholarship

Migratory bird needs must be met during four phases of the year: breeding season, fall migration, wintering, and spring migration; thus, management may be needed during all four phases. The bulk of research and management has focused on the breeding season, although several issues remain unsettled, including the spatial extent of habitat influences on fitness and the importance of habitat on the breeding grounds used after breeding. Although detailed investigations have shed light on the ecology and population dynamics of a few avian species, knowledge is sketchy for most species. Replication of comprehensive studies is needed for multiple species across …

Foraging-Related Activity Of Bald Eagles At A Washington Seabird Colony And Seal Rookery, James L. Hayward, Joseph G. Galusha, Shandelle M. Henson

Faculty Publications

From 1980 to 1998, Washington's Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) population increased at an annual rate of 10. Over the same time period, foraging activity of Bald Eagles at marine bird breeding colonies also increased. From 1993 to 2008, we observed foraging-related behavior of Bald Eagles on Violet Point, Protection Island. This island hosts more than 70 of the breeding seabirds in Washington's inner seaways and serves as an important rookery for harbor seals (Phoca vitulina). We found that (1) eagles landed more frequently in seal haul-out (beach) areas than in gull-nesting (non-beach) areas of Violet Point, and that subadult eagles …

Kentucky Warbler (Vol. 86, No. 1), Kentucky Library Research Collections

The Kentucky Warbler

No abstract provided.

Bilateral Multi-Electrode Neurophysiological Recordings Coupled To Local Pharmacology In Awake Songbirds, Liisa A. Tremere, Thomas A. Terleph, Jin Kwon Jeong, Raphael Pinaud

Biology Faculty Publications

Here we describe a protocol for bilateral multielectrode neurophysiological recordings during intracerebral pharmacological manipulations in awake songbirds. This protocol encompasses fitting adult animals with head-posts and recording chambers, and acclimating them to periods of restraint. The adaptation period is followed by bilateral penetrations of multiple electrodes to obtain acute, sensory-driven neurophysiological responses before versus during the application of pharmacological agents of interest. These local manipulations are achieved by simultaneous and restricted drug infusions carried out independently for each hemisphere. We have used this protocol to elucidate how neurotransmitter and neuroendocrine systems shape the auditory and perceptual processing of natural, learned …

2010 Interior Least Tern And Piping Plover Monitoring, Research, Management, And Outreach Report For The Lower Platte River, Nebraska, Mary Bomberger Brown, Joel G. Jorgensen

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

This document reports on our monitoring, research, management, and outreach activities during the past 12 months (2010). We prepared it to inform our partners, cooperating agencies, funding sources, and other interested parties of our activities and to provide a preliminary summary of our results.

The Tern and Plover Conservation Partnership (TPCP), based at the University of Nebraska–School of Natural Resources, and the Nongame Bird Program (NBP), based at the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) work cooperatively on Interior Least Tern and Piping Plover monitoring, research, management, and outreach activities. While the focus of our work is the Lower Platte, …

Waterfowl Of North America: The Biology Of Waterfowl, Paul A. Johnsgard

Waterfowl of North America, Revised Edition (2010) by Paul A. Johnsgard

The term waterfowl, at least as it is applied in North America, is generally restricted to the ducks, geese, and swans of the bird family Anatidae. About 140 species of this group of swimming and diving birds have survived throughout the world to the present day, and four more have become extinct during historical times. Many more species have existed in the past; the fossil record of this family extends back roughly fifty million years to very early Cenozoic times, although very little is known of the actual appearance and structure of the earliest form of waterfowl. Presumably these ancestral …

Annual Review Of The World Pheasant Association, 2009/2010, World Pheasant Association

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Reports and Other Materials

Chairman of Trustees' report.Tim Lovel

Treasurer's report for the year ended April 30, 2010, Ian Hoggarth

WPA around the world highlights from the chapters

Overview of the year's conservation activities, Philip J. K. McGowan

Making the Most of Resources

The IUCN-SSC/WPA Galliformes Specialist Group: A global network of technical excellence,Peter J. Garson and Ilse Storch

Highlights from the European Conservation Breeding Group, Heiner Jacken

Rejuvenating the United Kingdom Gaillformes census

Keeping count of Europe's Galliformes,Siro Serena

Developing conservation science leaders, Huw Lloyd

Planning to save our most threatened species, Philip J. K. McGowan

Just how important are Galliformes to humans? …

Ducks, Geese, And Swans Of The World: Sources Cited, Paul A. Johnsgard

Ducks, Geese, and Swans of the World by Paul A. Johnsgard

350+ citations

About Turkeys, The Humane Society Of The United States

Agribusiness Collection

John James Audubon, a well-known bird expert and nature enthusiast, described wild turkeys as birds of great beauty. The history and origin of wild turkeys is uncertain, yet many share Audubon’s sentiment that the wild turkey is “one of the most interesting of the birds indigenous to the United States of America.” Today, wild turkeys can be found throughout the nation. Following the selection of the bald eagle as the American symbol, Benjamin Franklin remarked that the turkey was more “respectable”, and a “true original native”.

About Chickens, The Humane Society Of The United States

Agribusiness Collection

The chicken is the world’s most numerous domesticated bird, with over 52 billion farmed worldwide in 2008, rivaling the dog as the most ubiquitous domestic animal globally. These birds have fascinated scholars and researchers since the dawn of Western civilization, and recent studies are beginning to reveal the depths of their complexity and cognitive ability. According to Andrew F. Fraser, professor of veterinary surgery at Memorial University of Newfoundland, and Donald M. Broom, professor of animal welfare at University of Cambridge: “Those who have studied the behaviour of the domestic fowl in detail…, especially those who have looked at feral …

North America’S Ducks, Geese And Swans In The 21st Century: A 2010 Supplement To Waterfowl Of North America, Paul A. Johnsgard

Waterfowl of North America, Revised Edition (2010) by Paul A. Johnsgard

Since the 1975 publication of Waterfowl of North America, a great deal of ornithological literature has appeared concerning North American ducks, geese & swans. The most significant of these are the species accounts in the American Ornithologists’ Union The Birds of North America (B.O.N.A.) series, 46 of which were published between 1993 and 2003, and which include all the species known to breed in the United States and Canada (see references).

Population data of wild species are constantly changing, and sometimes of limited accuracy, but long-term averages or trends are often significant. National population surveys such as the annual U.S. …

Waterfowl Of North America: Color Photographs (Following Page 50), Paul A. Johnsgard

Waterfowl of North America, Revised Edition (2010) by Paul A. Johnsgard

Trumpeter Swan, Adult (drinking)
Lesser Snow Goose (Blue Phase), Adult and young
Lesser Canada Goose, Adults
Atlantic Brant, Adult
Barnacle Goose, Adults
Wood Duck, Adult Male
American Wigeon, Pair
Gadwall, Pair
Green-winged Teal, Pair
Mexican Mallard, Adult Male
Florida Mallard, Pair
Northern Pintail, Pair
Blue-winged Teal, Pair
Cinnamon Teal, Pair
Shoveler, Pair
Canvasback, Pair
Redhead, Pair
Ring-necked Duck, Pair
Greater Scaup, Pair
King Eider, Pair
Steller Eider, Adults
Harlequin Duck,Male
Surf Scoter, Male
Bufflehead, Pair
Barrow Goldeneye, Pair
Common Goldeneye, Pair
Hooded Merganser, Displaying Male
Red-breasted Merganser, Male
Common Merganser, Pair
Ruddy Duck, Male

Waterfowl Of North America: Sources, Paul A. Johnsgard

Waterfowl of North America, Revised Edition (2010) by Paul A. Johnsgard

Approximately 500 citations.

See also the updated bibliography in the 2010 supplement: "North America’s Ducks, Geese and Swans in the 21st Century"

Waterfowl Of North America: Whistling Ducks, Tribe Dendrocygnini, Paul A. Johnsgard

Waterfowl of North America, Revised Edition (2010) by Paul A. Johnsgard

Whistling ducks comprise a group of nine species that are primarily of tropical and subtropical distribution. In common with the swans and true geese (which with them comprise the subfamily Anserinae), the included species have a reticulated tarsal surface pattern, lack sexual dimorphism in plumage, produce vocalizations that are similar or identical in both sexes, form relatively permanent pair bonds, and lack complex pair-forming behavior patterns. Unlike the geese and swans, whistling ducks have clear, often melodious whistling voices that are the basis for their group name. The alternative name, tree ducks, is far less appropriate, since few of the …

Ducks, Geese, And Swans Of The World: Tribe Anseranatini (Magpie Goose), Paul A. Johnsgard

Ducks, Geese, and Swans of the World by Paul A. Johnsgard

Other vernacular names. Semipalmated goose, pied goose, black-and-white goose; Spaltfussgans (German); oie pie (French); gans overo o pintado (Spanish).

This is the only species of true waterfowl with only partially webbed feet. Adults of both sexes are black on the head, neck, wings, rump, and tail, and white elsewhere. The bill is long and straight, with a well-developed nail at the tip; as in swans, the head is featherless back to the eyes. Females resemble males but are somewhat smaller, lack an enlarged bony crown, and have a higher-pitched voice. Adult males have an elongated trachea that loops downward between …

Ducks, Geese, And Swans Of The World: Contents, Preface, & Introduction, Paul A. Johnsgard

Ducks, Geese, and Swans of the World by Paul A. Johnsgard

Inasmuch as the primary purpose of this book is to provide information on each of the species of the waterfowl family in a standardized format and easily accessible manner, it is important that the reader have some knowledge of the basis for my sequential organization of these species. A variety of attempts to provide a "natural" classification, or one that best reflects actual evolutionary relationships, of the family Anatidae have been made in recent years, with most of them being minor variations on a scheme first proposed by Jean Delacour and Ernst Mayr in 1945. In this landmark classification, emphasis …