Ornithology | Open Access Articles | Digital Commons Network™

Short-Eared Owls Make Appearance, Jessie Maye Smith

Jessie Maye Smith Birds and Watchers Columns Collection

No abstract provided.

Go to article

A Life History Study Of The Yellowthroat, Geothlypis Trichas, P. B. Hofslund

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Go to article

Comments On Species Recognition With Special Reference To The Wood Duck And The Mandarin Duck, William C. Dilger, Paul A. Johnsgard

Papers in Ornithology

It is well known that closely related, sympatric species have evolved species-specific features which serve to minimize the possibility of "wrong" choices being made during pair formation. The amount of evolution of such species-specific features is roughly proportional to the deleterious effects of the "wrong" choices made in species recognition. Of course, if upon initial contact, the forms interbreed too freely panmixia will occur and both will eventually lose whatever genetic identity they may have had. On the other hand if, by the time of contact, the forms have incidentally developed differences sufficient to serve automatically as isolating mechanisms from …

Go to article

Review Of A Coloured Key To The Wildfowl Of The World, Paul A. Johnsgard

Papers in Ornithology

The Wildfowl Trust, Slimbridge. Gloucestershire. 96 pp., 23 plates. 1957. Price. 9 s. 6d. This hand·guide to alI the species and subspecies of the Anatidae is an elaborated version of an earlier black and white guide. mainly for use in assisting in the identification of live birds in the incomparable waterfowl coIlection at the Wildfowl Trust, but also of great value as a guide in any zoo or even under field conditions. A total of 147 species, comprising 247 forms, are shown, including both sexes where they differ noticeably. as weIl as major color phases of the polymorphic forms such …

Go to article

Variability In The Electrophoretic Patterns Of Avian Serum Proteins, Charles G. Sibley, Paul A. Johnsgard

Papers in Ornithology

It has been known for more than 50 years that particular proteins characterize every species of plant and animal and that phylogenetic relationships are reflected in protein structure. The first application of this fact to taxonomic studies was by Nuttall ( 1901; 1904) who used the precipitin reaction of immune sera to test degrees of relationship in over 500 species of animals. With refinements in technique have come many more serological studies and the results have justified the statement by Landsteiner (1945) that “chemical differences parallel the variation in structure” and hence are useful in classification.

Go to article