Zoology Commons^™

"Book Reviews" From Nebraska Bird Review (June 1982), Neva Pruess

Nebraska Bird Review

Stories About Birds and Bird Watchers, Edited by Mary Beacum Bowers, 234 pp., illustrated, Antheneum. $12.95.

This very readable collection of short, general interest articles could be subtitled "The Best of Bird-Watchers' Digest". The 38 pieces included all appeared in that journal during its first years, and since BWD is itself a reprint publication, almost everything initially saw print elsewhere. The editor has chosen well and has arranged the stories covering a considerable range of topics and styles, into six general categories. Six double page drawings and a number of smaller ones, by artist Bob Hines, make it an …

The Eighty-First Annual Meeting

Nebraska Bird Review

The first two thirds of May 1982 were much wetter than usual in Nebraska, and many of the people coming to the meeting drove in rain Friday until they got to within 150 miles or so of Chadron, and after they got home after the meeting encountered rainy weather again. But 21 and 22 May were dry and sunny in the meeting area. There was the usual get-together Friday night, at the meeting headquarters at Camp Norwesca, just south of Chadron State Park. At the business meeting Saturday afternoon the following officers were elected: Mrs. Ruth Green, Bellevue, president; Mr. …

A Checklist Of The Birds Of Mormon Island Crane Meadows, Gary R. Lingle, Miriam A. Hay

Nebraska Bird Review

Mormon Island Crane Meadows (MICM) was purchased in December 1979 through a cooperative effort of The Nature Conservancy and The Platte River Whooping Crane Critical Habitat Maintenance Trust. This 2,000 acre preserve provides excellent habitat for spring staging migratory water birds and numerous species of other wildlife, In order to determine sound management practices for the area it was necessary to conduct an intensive inventory of the flora and fauna occurring there. This checklist represents the results of the bird inventory.

Notes on the occurrence of avifauna observed on MICM were recorded from 24 March 1980 to 28 July 1981. …

1981 Nebraska Nesting Survey, Esther V. Bennett

Nebraska Bird Review

Data on the 1981 nesting season in Nebraska were received from 14 observers, reporting on 62 species from 25 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; Y represents young observed; C represents Cowbird eggs found in other nests; N represents nests observed for which no Nest Record Card was submitted; and E represents eggs or egg fragments observed.

Fifty-five species were reported on North American Nest Record Cards. The counties, with column numbers on the tabulation shown in parentheses, and …

A Hoary Redpoll In Dodge County, Rick Manning

Nebraska Bird Review

On 5 February 1982 I observed and photographed a Hoary Redpoll (Carduelis hornemanni) at the bird feeders of Mike Manning. Mike lives approximately 3 miles north of Ames, Dodge Co., Nebraska (R-7-E, T18-N, sec. 28). This bird was first seen, by Mike, on 3 February, in a mixed flock of approximately 300 American Goldfinches (Carduelis tristis), 50 Pine Siskens (Carduelis pinus), and 6 Common Redpolls (Carduelis flammea). The bird was seen repeatedly by me, Mike Manning, Bob Manning, and John Manning. Normally the flock would start feeding about 7:30AM and feed on …

Masthead From Nebraska Bird Review (June 1982) 50(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 amy) 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.

Wilson Tout, Secretary, Doris Gates

Nebraska Bird Review

Wilson Tout was secretary of the North Platte Bird Club from 1940 to 1944, and members looked forward to his reading of the minutes. They were hardly the kind most organizations would expect. Recently I was able to get copies of Mr. Tout's minutes and two, selected more or less at random, are given below:

NOVEMBER 16, 1940

The North Platte Bird Club met at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Wilson Tout with 14 members present. Mr. Webster called the meeting to order upon a nod from Mrs. Webster. The minutes of the last meeting were read amid general …

Whole Issue Nebraska Bird Review (June 1982) 50(2).

Nebraska Bird Review

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Eighty·first Annual Meeting .................26

A Check-list of the Birds of Mormon Island Crane Meadows .................27

Book Reviews .................36

A Hoary Redpoll in Dodge County .................37

1981 Nebraska Nesting Survey .................38

Possible Evidence of Fish-eating by a Wild Lesser Sandhill Crane from the Central Platte Valley, Nebraska .................42

Wilson Tout, Secretary .................44

Notes .................46

Morphometric And Geographic Relationships Of Short-Tailed Shrews (Genus Blarina) In Kansas, Iowa, And Missouri, Nancy D. Moncrief, Jerry R. Choate, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Shrews of the genus Blarina from Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri were studied morphometrically and karyologically. The ranges of two species, B. brevicauda and B. hylophaga, overlap in a broad zone across southern Iowa and northern Missouri. Morphometric analyses revealed an unexpectedly large amount of cranial variation in B. brevicauda, and confirmed the presence of that species in the Kansas River Valley of northeastern Kansas. Considerable mensural overlap was found in geographic areas in which B. hylophaga and B. brevicauda are sympatric, evincing the need for further karyotypic and morphometric studies in those areas. No formal taxonomic changes are …

Systematic Review Of The Antillean Bats Of The Natalus Micropus-Complex (Chiroptera: Natalidae), Jose Alberto Ottenwalder, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Nongeographic and geographic morphometric variation in Antillean populations of bats of the Natalus micropus-complex were analyzed using univariate and multivariate statistical techniques. Samples of males and females from Jamaica and the Dominican Republic revealed females to be significantly larger than males in three measurements and males were significantly larger than females in two measurements. Generally, low coefficients of variation were found in samples of both sexes. The highest value obtained was 5.7 for length of phalanx 1 (digit III) in the sample from Old Providence Island. Two species—Natalus micropus and N. tumidifrons—were recognized within this complex. The …

The Whales Of Cape Cod, John C. Jahoda

Bridgewater Review

In recent years, public concern for marine mammals has resulted in the rediscovery of our native New England whales. However, this time instead of hunting them for their oil, whale bone and flesh, we follow whales to learn more about the ecology and behavior of these, the largest of all mammals. Growing public interest in whales has resulted in several successful whale watching enterprises through which large numbers of people have a unique and unforgettable opportunity to view whales up close. Public trips have done more than allow large number of people to see whales. They have contributed to a …

Evidence For The Horizontal Acquisition Of Murine Akr Virogenes By Recent Horizontal Infection Of The Germ Line, Stephen J. O'Brien, Janet L. Moore, Malcolm A. Martin, James E. Womack

Biology Faculty Articles

Several recent reports have established the biological and molecular genetic similarity between the endogenous AKV virus of strain AKR, and an N-ecotropic endogenous virus found in the genome of feral Japanese mice, Mus musculus molossinus. The similarities are so striking as to suggest a common origin of these viruses, which are present in some, but not all, inbred mouse strains. The virogenes of AKR mice may have been acquired by either: (a) common descent of AKR (and other AKV⁺ strains) from a common ancestor of AKR and molossinus animals, or (b) horizontal germ line infection of the AKR …

Food Habits And Ecology Of Beavers In Southeastern Virginia, John Lennox Echternach Jr.

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

The food habits and ecology of three beaver colonies in James County, Virginia were studied. Vegetation surrounding the colonies was characterized as southern mixed hardwood forest or lowland swamp forest. Stream flow values ranged from 0.013 to 0.369 m³/sec. Water depth ranged from 0.5 60 4.0 m. Caloric value of 13 heavily used woody species ranged from 3305 to 6204 cal/g. Considerable seasonal variation was noted in most species with the lowest caloric values noted in summer. No relationship was found between caloric value and frequency of use. Fresh cutting was monitored on a weekly basis and a …

1981 Christmas Count

Nebraska Bird Review

Eighty-eight species (fourteen less than last year) were reported in the 1981 Christmas Count, and one species (two less than last year) was reported present during the count week but not recorded on the count day on any count. Seven localities reported this year, the same as last year, but Grand Island and Tri-state replaced Kearney and Hastings. Two additional races were reported, the same as last year. The individual count this year was 64,054, compared to 317,910 last year. The drop in the Snow Goose (178,719) and Mallard (81,291) counts more than accounts for the difference. Nineteen species were …

1981 Treasurer's Report

Nebraska Bird Review

1981 Treasurers Report

1981 (Twenty-Fourth) Fall Occurrence Report

Nebraska Bird Review

Two hundred seventy-seven species (plus free-flying Mute Swans) are listed in this report, from 14 localities. Comparable figures for previous years are: 281 species (and a possible Veery) from 12 localities in 1980, 284 from 11 in 1979, and 269 from 12 in 1978.

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 used are:

Jl, Au, Sp, Ot, No, and Om for the months

A as a column heading for …

Notes--Nebraska Bird Review (March 1982), David L. Jenson, R. G. Cortelyou, Harold Turner, Tanya Bray

Nebraska Bird Review

Notes contain stories of Cattle Egrets viewed on Prairie Dog Waterfowl Production Area near Axtell; Wood Duck broods on Carter Lake in Omaha; a first-year Thayer’s Gull on Lake North near Columbus; a variety of birds (Swamp Sparrow, Great Horned Owl, Cliff Swallows, Savannah Sparrows, Grasshopper Sparrows, Purple Martins, Carolina Wren, Great Blue Heron, Western Kingbird, Prairie Chicken, Sprague’s Pipits, and more) seen in and around the Minden area; and a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher at Verdon Lake in Richardson County.

Whole Issue Nebraska Bird Review (March 1982) 50(1)

Nebraska Bird Review

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1981 Treasurer's Report................... 2

1981 (Twenty-fourth) Fall Occurrence Report ...................3

Correction to 1981 Spring Migration Report ...................9

White-tailed Kite in Garden County................... 10

Notes................... 12

1981 Christmas Count ...................16

Correction To 1981 Spring Migration Report

Nebraska Bird Review

CORRECTION TO 1981 SPRING MIGRATION REPORT

The last line for Northern Shrike did not print (NBR 49:49). The missing final records are: Scottsbluff Ja 16, Garden Mr 3, Boone Fe 19, and Lancaster Ja 11.

White-Tailed Kite In Garden County, Ruth C. Green

Nebraska Bird Review

On 19 August 1981 Evelyn Conrad and I had left Crescent Lake NWR for Lakeside, when quite some distance away we saw a large bird, with a white head and tail, flying in front of us. We temporarily lost sight of it, but I was determined to find it if possible, so I stopped my car where I thought it might have landed. I scoped all the power poles, as there are no other perches there except haystacks. In a matter of seconds I discovered a large raptor, with an all-white head, breast, and belly, with obvious black shoulder patches, …

Masthead From Nebraska Bird Review (March 1982) 50(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 a calendar year basis only) are $6.00 per year in the United States and $7.00 per year in all other countries, payable in advance. Single numbers are $1.75 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.

The Suriname Small Mammal Survey: A Case Study Of The Cooperation Between Research And National Conservation Needs, Hugh H. Genoways, Henry A. Reichart, Stephen L. Williams

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

A cooperative program between the Foundation for Nature Preservation in Suriname and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History to survey the small mammals of Suriname is reviewed. The program has proven to be mutually beneficial and it is presented as a model for development of similar programs in the future. The technical assistance requested by the Foundation for Nature Preservation in Suriname concerned the distribution and natural history of small mammals, especially those occurring in the Nature Parks and Reserves. The Government of Suriname has established an excellent system of Reserves and Parks throughout the country. They are trying to …

Earthworms Of Two Minnesota Forest Areas, R. O. Morgenweck, W. H. Marshall

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

This paper reviews Lumbricidae records for Minnesota and reports on two collections in northern areas of the state. The first site, Itasca State Park, lies to the northwest with "Maple-basswood representative of climax forest to the south and southeast" and " Spruce-fir stands representative of climax forest to the north and northeast" (Buell and Gordon 1945). The Cloquet Forestry Center (CFC); site of the other collection, is near Duluth, 150 miles to the east, where the forests are largely coniferous. Here seven forest types, as described by Wenstrom (1973), and known to be used by American woodcock (Philohela minor), were …

A Vertebrate Survey Of Kasota Prairie, Kenneth Hessenius

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

Kasota Prairie is a 30-acre tract of near-virgin prairie in Le Seur County, Minnesota. The vertebrate population at the prairie was studied to determine its significance as habitat for those species. Several species of birds which require prairie or prairie-like habitat were found to be nesting there. Many other avian species also utilize the area for feeding purposes. Small mammal populations were highly influenced by annual prairie maintenance burning.

Utilization Of Wood Duck Nest Boxes By Wildlife Near Cohasset, Minnesota, Robert T. Bohm

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

Twenty-seven wood duck boxes located along the Mississippi River near Cohasset, Minnesota were monitored for winter and spring wildlife use from 198o-1982. During these three yearn, overall nest box use was 84 percent, 72 percent, and 82 percent, respectively; winter utilization was 44 percent, 56 percent, and 68 percent; spring utilization was 48 percent, 44 percent, and 37 percent. Most winter use was by red squirrels, gray squirrels, and starlings. Principal spring use was by wood ducks and common goldeneyes, During the course of the study, wood duck use decreased and common goldeneye use Increased. Aspects of the nesting season …

Aquatic Macroinvertebrates Of Three Acid Bogs On Crowley's Ridge In Northeast Arkansas, Jerry L. Farris, George L. Harp

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Qualities and quantities of parameters composing the bog systems in Northeast Arkansas are not entirely reflective of those defining bogs of the northern United States. While pH is restricting to the organisms of each bog studied (4.8-6.9), the major limiting factor is the amount of available water. Three acidophilic bogs with shallow water depths (2-30 cm) yielded a total of 75 aquatic macroinvertebrate taxa. The bog with greatest surface area supported 67 taxa and a mean numerical standing crop of 14 organisms/2 hr sampling period. The bog with the smallest surface area had 13 taxa and a mean standing crop …

Effect Of Stocking Density On Channel Catfish Growth, Survival And Food Conservation Efficiency In Cages, Walter R. Robison, Scott H. Newton

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Macroinvertebrate Utilization Of Leaf Detritus In A Riffle Of The Illinois River, Arkansas, Arthur V. Brown, Janet P. Ricker

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Small (5 g) leaf packs were placed in a shallow riffle area of the Illinois River in western Benton County, Arkansas, and sequentially retrieved after various exposure times during the winter and spring of 1980. Oak leaves (Quercus shumardii) were utilized more rapidly (9.2% remaining after 91 days), followed by oak/sycamore (Q. shumardii/Platanus occidentalis) leaf packs (31.8% remaining after 91 days). Sycamore {P. occidentalis) was the slowest processed type (32.2% remaining after 91 days). The initial colonization by shredders as characteristic of northern U S. streams did not occur in this study. Collector organisms were present in the leaf packs …

Leaf Detritus Processing In An Ozark Cave Stream, Arthur V. Brown, Mark D. Schram

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Detritus processing rates and mechanisms were investigated in an Ozark cave stream using post oak (Quercus stellata) leaf packs. The 5 g leaf packs lost ca. 30% of their dry weight within 84 days, resulting in a calculated K value of 0.05. This was an unexpectedly high rate of utilization. Diversity of invertebrates associated with the leaf packs was very low. Stygobromus ozarkensis (Amphipoda) was the only shredder. The two isopods, Caecidotea stiladactyla and Lirceus sp. were the only collectors observed other than a single species of oligochaete worm. Our data indicated that leaf detritus processing rates are virtually independent …

Continuation Of Spider Research In Arkansas: East Central Ozark Mountain Area, Mary L. Beck, Peggy Rae Dorris

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

A preliminary study of spiders concentrated in the eastern section of the Ozark Mountain Area was made for the purpose of determining spider fauna in an on-going research effort to elucidate the total spider fauna of the entire state. At present, 247 species of spiders have been reported.