Zoology Commons^™

1983 Nebraska Nesting Survey, Esther V. Bennett

Nebraska Bird Review

Data on the 1983 nesting season in Nebraska were received from 24 observers, reporting on 69 species from 49 counties. Counties in the tabulation are listed in a west to east order, with the northernmost of approximately equal locations given first. Numbers represent Nest Record Cards: N represents nests observed for which no Nest Record Card was submitted; and Y represents young observed. GPC in the following paragraph represents Nebraska State Game and Parks Commission. Fifty-four species were reported on 595 North American Nest Record Cards. The counties, with column numbers on the tabulation shown in parentheses, and the contributors …

Spring 1984 Whooping Crane Records In Nebraska

Nebraska Bird Review

The Pierre, S.D., office of the Fish and Wildlife Service has released their records of sightings of the Wood Buffalo flock of Whooping Cranes, and those that pertain to Nebraska are given below.

There are three classes of sightings:

Confirmed Sightings. Observation made by a State or Federal Biologist or officer or by other known qualified observer (trained ornithologist or birder with experience in identification of Whooping Cranes). A photograph may also be used to confirm sightings.

Probable Sighting. No confirmation made by State or Federal Biologist or officer or by other known qualified observer, yet details of the sighting …

Masthead From Nebraska Bird Review (September 1984) 52(3)

Nebraska Bird Review

Published quarterly in March, June, September, and December by the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union, Inc., as its official journal and sent free to all members who are not in arrears for dues. Subscriptions (on calendar year basis only) are $7.00 per year in the United States and $9.00 per year in all other countries payable in advance. Single copies are $2.25 each, postpaid.

Memberships (on a calendar year basis only): Student, $.3.00; Active, $7.00; Sustaining, $15.00; Family Active, $10.00; Family Sustaining, $20.00; Life, $100.00.

All dues and subscriptions should be remitted to the Treasurer, Mrs. Jack Shafer, RR2, Box 61, Wood …

Review Of Mammals Of The Northern Great Plains By J. Knox Jones, Jr., David M. Armstrong, Robert S. Hoffmann, And Clyde Jones. University Of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, 1983, 379 Pages., Alan B. Sargeant

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

This book is a welcome addition to the general references available on the mammalian fauna of the Northern Great Plains, a region encompassing North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska. No similar book about the mammals of these states has been published since Vernon Bailey's 1926 (not 1927 as shown on pages 2 and 361) publication of the mammals of North Dakota.

Mammals ofthe Northern Great Plains is a handsome 18.5 x 26 cm book printed on high-quality glossy paper and illustrated with 206 black-and-white photos and drawings. Although the text is easy to read and intended for a varied audience, …

Results Of The Alcoa Foundation-Suriname Expeditions. Ix. Bats Of The Genus Tonatia (Mammalia: Chiroptera) In Suriname, Hugh H. Genoways, Stephen L. Williams

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Five species of Tonatia (bidens, brasilense, carrikeri, schulzi, and silvicola) are known to occur in Suriname. Tonatia bidens and silvicola are the largest in overall size (forearm length over 50 mm and greatest length of skull over 27.0 mm). However, T. bidens has a broader postorbital region (5.0 mm or more) and narrower mastoid region (less than 13.0 mm). The lower incisors of T. bidens are also noticeably broader than those of T. silvicola. These two species were found throughout most of the forested areas of Suriname. T. bidens displayed no secondary sexual …

“Notes” From Nebraska Bird Review (June 1984) 52(2)

Nebraska Bird Review

DIPPER. In late September or early October 1982 I saw a Dipper on wood stacked in my yard, near the business center of Stanton.—Bruce P. Jundt, Stanton

NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD. On 17 September 1983 I saw a Mockingbird in the shelter belt on our farm.—Mike Erickson, Wayne

BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER. On 8 October 1983 I saw a female Black-throated Blue Warbler in our shelter belt.—Mike Erickson, Wayne

WORM-EATING WARBLER. On 26 April 1984 Layne Johnson, John Chase, Paul Pearson, and I saw a Worm-eating Warbler in the shelter belt on our farm 8 miles north and 1 mile west of Wayne.—Mike …

Birds Of Lake Mcconaughy And The North Platte River Valley, Oshkosh To Keystone, Richard C. Rasche, Paul A. Johnsgard

Nebraska Bird Review

Cedar Point Biological Station was established in 1975 at a site approximately one mile below Kingsley Dam in Keith County, Nebraska. Since that time, summer ornithology classes have been periodically offered beginning in 1977 when it was taught by Dr. Stephen Fretwell. A variety of ornithologists have kept records of the summer birds of the area. Beginning in 1970, when he first visited the area, the senior author has accumulated a large amount of data covering all seasons of the year, which form the primary basis for the seasonal information in this paper. In addition, much information was contributed by …

“Book Review” From Nebraska Bird Review (June 1984) 52(2)

Nebraska Bird Review

How Birds Work: A Guide to Bird Biology, Ron Freethy, 232 pp., 6 x 9¼, Blandford Press, England, Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., New York, bibliography, indexed, hardbound $19.95, paperback $8.95.

“How Birds Work is a straightforward introduction to the science of ornithology and provides basic information enabling the amateur birdwatcher to understand his ‘quarry’ more easily. As a direct result of reading this book, the behavior of birds will be more readily understood, and in particular the complexities of migration.” Which is a fair summary of the book, although it may over-stress migration. The chapter headings are The …

Nebraska Bird Review (June 1984) 52(2), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Birds of Lake McConaughy and the North Platte River Valley, Oshkosh to Keystone … 26

Some 1983 Summer Birds of the Missouri National Recreation River, Nebraska … 36

The Eighty-third Annual Meeting … 41

Lesser Goldfinch Recorded in Nebraska … 42

Notes … 42

Book Review … 44

Lesser Goldfinch Recorded In Nebraska, Phil Swanson

Nebraska Bird Review

I photographed this Lesser Goldfinch (Carduelis psaltria) at Gilbert-Baker Wildlife Area (north of Harrison, Nebraska) about 9:00 a.m. on 20 May 1984. The bird was in the campground area with American Goldfinches. I watched the Lesser Goldfinch with binoculars for a few minutes before I took the photograph and easily noted the field marks. The bird was the black-backed variety (C. p. psaltria).

The Eighty-Third Annual Meeting

Nebraska Bird Review

Almost perfect weather greeted the 59 who registered for the eighty-third Annual Meeting, held at Camp Norwesca, near Chadron State Park, 19 and 20 May 1984. There was a slide show (including a bird identification quiz) Friday night. Saturday there were bird trips to Sowbelly Canyon and Gilbert-Baker Wildlife Area, north of Crawford, and on over to the Wyoming border; to Soldiers Creek, near Fort Robinson; to Beaver Valley, north of Hay Springs; and a shorter, morning only, visit to the Jeanne Dueker home, south of Chadron. At the paper session and Annual Meeting, Saturday afternoon, Mrs. Joyce Brashear read …

Masthead From Nebraska Bird Review (June 1984) 52(2)

Nebraska Bird Review

Published quarterly in March, June, September, and December by the Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union, Inc., as its official journal and sent free to all members who are not in arrears for dues. Subscriptions (on calendar year basis only) are $7.00 per year in the United States and $9.00 per year in all other countries payable in advance. Single copies are $2.25 each, postpaid.

Memberships (on a calendar year basis only): Student, $3.00; Active, $7.00; Sustaining, $15.00; Family Active, $10.00; Family Sustaining, $20.00; Life, $100.00.

All dues and subscriptions should be remitted to the Treasurer, Mrs. Jack Shafer, RR2, Box 61, Wood …

Functional Cranial Analysis Of Large Animalivorous Bats (Microchiroptera), Patricia W. Freeman

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Large animalivorous bats include carnivorous, piscivorous and insectivorous microchiropterans. Skull proportions and tooth morphology are examined and interpreted functionally. Four wide-faced bats from four families are convergent in having wide skulls, large masseter muscle volumes and stout jaws, indicating a powerful bite. Three of the four also have long canine teeth relative to their maxillary toothrows. Carnivorous bats have more elongate skulls, larger brain volumes and larger pinnae. The wide-faced bats are all oral emitters and have heads positively tilted relative to the basicranial axis. The carnivorous species are nasal-emitting bats and have negatively tilted heads. The orientation of the …

"1983 Christmas Count," From Nebraska Bird Review (March 1984) 52(1)

Nebraska Bird Review

Ninety-two species (nine less than last year) were reported on the 1983 Christmas Count, and three species (compared to one last year) were reported as present during the count period but not recorded on the count day on any count. The same eight localities reported both years. Two additional races (a Harlan's Hawk on the Tri-state count is not shown separately) were reported, the same as last year. Thirteen species were reported on all the counts this year, compared to sixteen last year. The total individual count this year was 43,652; in 1982 it was

1983 (Twenty-Sixth) Fall Occurrence Report, From Nebraska Bird Review (March 1984) 52(1)

Nebraska Bird Review

1983 (TWENTY -SIXTH) FALL OCCURRENCE REPORT

Two hundred sixty-two species, from 10 locations, are listed in this report. Comparable figures for previous years are 269 species from 10 localities in 1982, 277 species from 14 localities in 1981, and 218 (and a possible Veery) from 12 localities in 1980.

The information is presented in a rough west (left) to east (right) order, with locations of about the same longitude listed with the northernmost first. Two dates indicate the first and last records for the period. The symbols are:

JI, Au, Sp, Ot, No, and Dm for the months.

P to …

Masthead From Nebraska Bird Review (March 1984) 52(1)

Nebraska Bird Review

Published quarterly in March, June, September, and December by the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union, Inc. as its official journal and sent free to all members who are not in arrears for dues. Subscriptions (on calendar year basis only) are $7.00 per year in the United States and $9.00 per year in all other countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $2.25 each, postpaid.

Record Count For Whooping Cranes On The Platte River

Nebraska Bird Review

Since 1942, there have been eight confirmed Whooping Crane (Grus americana) sightings on the Platte River (Whooping Crane Recovery Team. 1983. List of confirmed whooping crane migration sightings of the Wood Buffalo - Arkansas population. U.S. Fish and Wild\. Serv., Washington, D.C. 18 pp.). The largest number of birds on the Platte was five although seven were seen flying along the Platte near Kearney in April 1980. On 27 October 1983, five adult Whooping Cranes were reported feeding in an idle cornfield 3.5 mi. NE of Denman in Hall County and later, these 5 individuals were observed landing …

1983 Treasurers Report Nebraska Bird Review (March 1984) 52(1)

Nebraska Bird Review

1983 Treasurer's Report

"Book Review," From Nebraska Bird Review (March 1984) 52(1).

Nebraska Bird Review

Cranes of the World, Paul A. Johnsgard, 258 pp. 8 1/2 x 11, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, Indiana, bibliography, indexed, hardbound, $37.50.

The Sandhill Crane, the Whooping Crane, and the Eurasian (Common) Crane, in that order, receive the most attention in the species accounts in this book, reflecting the relative amounts of information available in the literature. Luckily, those are the three cranes which have been recorded in Nebraska (and North America), and so are of most interest to us. The book discusses cranes in general under the following headings: Classification and Evolution, Individualistic and Social Behavior, Vocalizations, Ecology and …

"Notes," From Nebraska Bird Review (March 1984) 52(1).

Nebraska Bird Review

CORRECTION TO NBR 51:86 (CHUCK-WILL'S-WIDOW'S NEST) The upper picture in "A New Nesting Species for Nebraska" is inverted, and the picture captions were omitted. The upper picture shows the "nest" with a hatchling in front and to the right of the egg; the lower picture shows the adult.

AND TO NBR 51:96 (HOUSE FINCH NEST). The first date should be 24 April, not 24 May.

Nebraska Bird Review (March 1984) 52(1), Whole Issue.

Nebraska Bird Review

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Treasurer's Report 2

1983 (Twenty-sixth) Fall Occurrence Report 3

1983 Christmas Count 13

Book Review 18

Record Count for Whooping Cranes on the Platte River 19

Location and Habitat Size of Lakes in the Nebraska Sandhills Utilized by Trumpeter Swans 19

Notes 22

The Effects Of Mowing On The Rodent Community Of A Native Tall Grass Prairie In Eastern Nebraska, Cliff A. Lemen, Mary K. Clausen

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Our results indicate that mowing, like burning, greatly reduces the use of an area by Microtus and increases the density of Peromyscus maniculatus until the grass can grow back. Depending on the rate of growth of the grass this process can take more than a year. If the prairie is mowed every year to maximize the production of hay, populations of Microtus cannot be maintained at high densities.

The study site, Nine Mile Prairie, is one of the few natural tallgrass prairies remaining in eastern Nebraska. It covers about 240 acres and is located 5 km north and 9 km …

Phylogeny And Paleobiogeography Of Short-Tailed Shrews (Genus Blarina), Cheri A. Jones, Jerry R. Choate, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Dental measurements of Pleistocene and Holocene shrews of the genus Blarina were analyzed in a multivariate assessment of phylogeny and paleobiogeography of the genus. Blarina brevicauda, or an indistinguishable precursor, apparently was the ancestral form. Two semispecies, brevicauda and talpoides, are recognizable early in the fossil record; these two phena probably appeared as a result of increasing diversity'in the environment of the late Irvingtonian. Evidently, repeated fluctuations of climate and the subsequent changes in range have not been sufficient to cause the cessation of gene flow necessary to complete speciation.

A second species, B. carolinensis, appeared in …

Brachyphylla Nana, Pierre Swanepoel, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Brachyphylla nana Miller, 1902
Greater Antillean Fruit-eating Bat
Brachyphylla nana Miller, 1902:409. Type locality El Guami, Pinar de Rio, Cuba.
Brachyphylla pumila Miller. 1918:39. Type locality Port-de-Paix, Haiti.

Brachyphylla Cavernarum, Pierre Swanepoel, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Brachyphylla Gray, 1834
Fruit-eating Bats

Masthead From Nebraska Bird Review (December 1983) 51(4)

Nebraska Bird Review

Published quarterly in March, June, September, and December by the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union, Inc. as its official journal and sent free to all members who are not in arrears for dues. Subscriptions (on calendar year basis only) are $7.00 per year in the United States and $9.00 per year in all other countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $2.25 each, postpaid.

Memberships (on a calendar year basis only); Student, $3.00; Active. $7.00; Sustaining, $15.00; Family Active, $10.00; Family Sustaining. $20.00; Life, $100.00.

A Mississippi Kite In Hall County, Nebraska, Gary Lingle, Kari L. Haugh, Lee Morris, Babs Padelford, Loren Padelford

Nebraska Bird Review

The Mississippi Kite (lctinia mississippiensis) is considered extremely rare in Nebraska, with only 8 spring records and 2 fall records (Johnsgard, P.A., 1980, A revised list of the birds of Nebraska and adjacent Plains States, Occasional papers of the N.O.U., No.6, Lincoln, Nebraska, 114 pp.). On 10 July 1983, at 12:30 CDT, we sighted an adult Mississippi Kite circling above a flooded native hay meadow on Shoemaker Island, Hall Co. (Sec. 1, T9N R11W). The bird was identified by its frosted head and secondaries, pearly gray back and underside, and black retrices. It is believed this Kite was …

Index To Volume 51

Nebraska Bird Review

Index A-Z

8 pages

Pine Siskin Nests At Wayne State College, A. Jewell Schock

Nebraska Bird Review

On 29 April 1976 I observed a number of Pine Siskins in the elm and blue spruce trees on the Wayne State College campus, Wayne, Nebraska. They were actively flying back and forth between the trees so I could not determine the exact number of them, but they would have numbered less than a dozen.

On 30 April I saw that a Pine Siskin appeared to be building a nest in a blue spruce tree, about five feet above the ground. I continued to watch from a safe distance for the next few days. By 5 May the nest appeared …

Whole Issue Nebraska Bird Review (December 1983) 51(4)

Nebraska Bird Review

A New Nesting Species for Nebraska ... 86
Book Reviews ... 87
A Second Black-shouldered Kite in Nebraska,
with Notes on Its Food Habits ... 88
Pine Siskin Nests at Wayne State College ... 89
1983 Fall Field Day ... 89
A Mississippi Kite in Hall County, Nebraska ... 90
Notes ... 91
Index of Volume ... 97