Ornithology Commons^™

Patterns Of Seasonal Variation In Diet, Abundance, And Movement Of The Scarlet Macaw (Ara Macao) In Southern Belize, Mark Stephen Mcreynolds

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study was conducted in 2008 and 2009 to determine if Scarlet Macaws (Ara macao), in subtropical southern Belize, Central America, are seasonal and elevational migrants and if their movement is influenced by seasonally abundant food. Reports from southern Belize indicated strongly seasonal sightings of macaws (N ≈ 200) in two separate areas of considerable difference in elevation. I monitored plant phenology plots (2 m x 500 m) in low (N = 6) and high (N = 6) elevation areas for a year to compare fruit abundance with macaw sightings in point counts on the plots and nearby. My point …

Brooding, Provisioning, And Compensatory Care In The Cooperatively Breeding Acorn Woodpecker, Walter D. Koenig, Eric L. Walters

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

We analyzed reproductive investment in parental care (brooding and the provisioning of nestlings) in the acorn woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus), a cooperatively breeding species in which both polygynandry and helping-at-the-nest are common. As predicted based on the strategies pursued by birds of different sex and status, breeders generally invested more in parental care than helpers, and breeder females invested more than breeder males. Contrary to expectations, however, the degree to which individuals reduced their effort with increasing group size (i.e., patterns of load lightening or compensatory care) did not match overall investment. Instead, as group size increased, there was …

Do Clark’S Nutcrackers Demonstrate What-Where-When Memory On A Cache-Recovery Task?, Kristy L. Gould, Amy J. Ort, Alan C. Kamil

Avian Cognition Papers

What-where-when (WWW) memory during cache recovery was investigated in six Clark’s nutcrackers. During caching, both red- and blue-colored pine seeds were cached by the birds in holes filled with sand. Either a short (3 day) retention interval (RI) or a long (9 day) RI was followed by a recovery session during which caches were replaced with either a single seed or wooden bead depending upon the color of the cache and length of the retention interval. Knowledge of what was in the cache (seed or bead), where it was located, and when the cache had been made (3 or 9 …

Quail Vii: Proceedings Of The Seventh National Quail Symposium (January 9-12, 2012 : Tucson, Arizona), Clait E. Braun, Thomas V. Dailey

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Conference Proceedings

In memoriam: Walter Rosene, Jr., 1912-2005

In memoriam: John A. Crawford, 1946-2010

PLENARY

On some founding ideas of quailology and their propounders, Fred S. Guthery

One hundred years of quail management in Arizona, David E. Brown

Adaptive management and structured decision making: Is it really that easy? James (Barry) Grand

The Western Quail Management Plan, Larry Riley

Quail VII, a director’s perspective, Jonathan Gassett

BOBWHITE HABITAT MANAGEMENT

Impacts of invasive, exotic grasses on quail of southwestern rangelands: A decade of progress? William P. Kuvlesky Jr., Leonard A. Brennan, Timothy E. Fulbright, Fidel Hernández, Steven J. DeMaso, Joseph P. Sands, Robert …

Heritable Choice Of Colony Size In Cliff Swallows: Does Experience Trump Genetics In Older Birds?, Erin A. Roche, Charles R. Brown, Mary Bomberger Brown

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The variation in breeding colony size seen in populations of most colonial birds may reflect heritable choices made by individuals that are phenotypically specialized for particular social environments. Although a few studies have reported evidence for genetically based choice of group sizes in birds, we know relatively little about the extent to which animals potentially rely on experience versus innate preferences in deciding how many conspecifics to settle with at different times of their lives. We conducted a cross-fostering experiment in 1997–1998 on cliff swallows, Petrochelidon pyrrhonota, in southwestern Nebraska, USA, in which some individuals were reared in colonies …

Population Status, Habitat Dependence, And Reproductive Ecology Of Bahama Orioles: A Critically Endangered Synanthropic Species, Melissa R. Price, Valerie A. Lee, William K. Hayes

Faculty Works

Recent elevation of critically endangered Bahama Orioles (Icterus northropi) to species status prompted us to evaluate their population status, habitat use, and breeding ecology. From surveys, we estimated that at least 141 to 254 individuals remain globally, with 90 to 162, 24 to 44, and 27 to 48 individuals remaining on North Andros Island, Mangrove Cay, and South Andros Island, The Bahamas, respectively. Orioles were observed nesting exclusively in anthropogenic habitat (residential and agricultural land), but home ranges also included nearby pine forest and coppice (dry broadleaf forest). Most nests (40 of 46, or 87%) were in nonnative coconut palm …

The Feathers Of Winter, Paul A. Johnsgard

Paul Johnsgard Collection

For many Nebraska birders, the last big event of the year is the Audubon Christmas Bird Count, which is held annually during the last week of December. It is an occasion to join with friends in a day out to try see as many species as possible in a single day. More importantly, it provides a database that, combined with those of more than 50,000 other observers, provides a highly documented population sample of early-winter birds throughout North America, Latin America and the Caribbean region. The tradition began in 1900, and as of 2011 there have been 111 national counts. …

Smith’S Longspur In Knox County, Nebraska, Mark A. Brogie

Nebraska Bird Review

Smith's Longspur (Calcarius pictus) is considered to be an uncommon casual spring migrant and is limited in spring to the southeast comer of Nebraska (Sharpe et al. 2001). This note provides the only known record for Smith's Longspur for spring in northeast Nebraska.

Subscription And Organization Information [December 2011]

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.

Memberships in the NOU (on a calendar-year basis only): Active Household …

Kearney Fall Field Days

Nebraska Bird Review

The 2011 NOU Fall Field Days were held at the Iain Nicolson Center at the Audubon Rowe Sanctuary southeast of Kearney on September 23–25, and 55 members and friends were in attendance. The meeting was organized by Kent Skaggs.

Field trip destinations included Harlan County Reservoir, led by Kent Skaggs; the Rainwater Basin, led by Paul Dunbar; Bittern's Call WPA and Johnson Lake, led by John Murphy; and Sherman Reservoir, led by Robin Harding and Lanny Randolph. A final tally of 143 species was recorded Highlights included the Neotropic Cormorants at Harlan County Reservoir and Sherman Reservoir and the numerous …

First Discovery Of A Four-Egg Clutch For Mountain Plover (Charadrius Montanus) In Nebraska, Bartholomew L. Bly, Travis Wooten

Nebraska Bird Review

On 27 May 2010, the first documented Mountain Plover nest in Nebraska to contain a clutch of four eggs was documented in a fallow strip of a dryland crop field in southern Kimball County. Mountain Plover typically have a clutch size of 3 eggs, though clutches with 1 and 2 eggs are observed in approximately 15% of nesting attempts (Knopf and Wunder 2006). Clutches with 4 eggs are rare and have been reported to occur in less than 1% of the population (Knopf and Wunder 2006). Five 4-egg clutches have been reported in Colorado and one in Montana (see Knopf …

Nebraska Bird Review (December 2011) 79(4), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Fall Field Report, August–November 2011 ... 118

First Documented Nebraska Sighting of Brown-headed Nuthatch (Sitta pusilla) ... 136

First Discovery of a Four-Egg Clutch for Mountain Plover (Charadrius montanus) in Nebraska ... 139

Smith's Longspur in Knox County, Nebraska ... 141

Fall 2011 Bird Banding at Wildcat Hills Nature Center ... 142

Kearney Fall Field Days ... 143

Index to Volume 79 ... 148

Subscription and Organization Information ... 159

Index To Volume 79

Nebraska Bird Review

Ahlschwede, Carla 71

Allen, Edward 83

Allison, Scott 32

Alsop, FJ 36

American Ornithologists' Union 109–110

Anderson, BW 36

Arkansas Audubon Society 36

Avocet, American 55, 68, 73, 89, 125

First Documented Nebraska Sighting Of Brown-Headed Nuthatch (Sitta Pusilla), Larry Einemann

Nebraska Bird Review

Monday, November 8, 2010, was an unusually warm (upper 70s) autumn day for Lincoln, Nebraska, with no clouds and a wind from the southwest. I went to Holmes Lake Park in southeast Lincoln to scan for late migrating waterfowl and then to check the stand of conifers for the arrival of winter migrants. Around 11 A.M. I was attracted to a feeding group of six Black-capped Chickadees and three Red-breasted Nuthatches in the 30- to 40-year-old pines and Douglas firs north of Hyde Observatory. I noticed a differently patterned nuthatch in the group. I had seen a Pygmy Nuthatch several …

Fall Field Report, August–November 2011, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

Overall, this fall migration was routine (waterfowl, warblers, sparrows), but there were a few unexpected highlights. The flooded Missouri River Valley provided habitat that led to some amazing fall counts: 3000 pelicans, 5700 coots, 338 American Golden-Plovers, and 1200 Pectoral Sandpipers. The 10,000 cormorants at Harlan County Reservoir may not have been affected by the Missouri River flooding, and were a record count also. While we're talking numbers, the martin roost in Omaha topped out at 50,000–55,000, and seasonal totals of 4 Red-necked Grebes and 15 Philadelphia Vireos for the state, 34 Mississippi Kites over Ogallala (it's often hard to …

Fall 2011 Bird Banding At Wildcat Hills Nature Center, Colin Woolley

Nebraska Bird Review

Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory has been operating a fall migration bird banding station at the Wildcat Hills Nature Center in Scotts Bluff Co. since 2007. In 2011, during our fifth year of banding, we captured a few new species, had new high totals for other species, and had a record number new high total of recaptures. Weather permitting, we banded on weekdays from August 31 through October 10 for five hours per day beginning soon after sunrise. We caught and banded 735 individual birds of 32 species. We banded two new species for the station in 2011: one Red-eyed Vireo …

Tick Infestations And Their Consequences For Migratory Songbirds During Spring Stopover, Johnny Michael Sellers Jr.

Master's Theses

Migratory birds face a number of challenges during their seasonal movement from tropical/sub-tropical Central and South America to more temperate North America. Maintaining health during migration is of particular concern. This study seeks to understand how haematophageous ectoparasites, such as ticks (Ixodida), impact host body condition as they feed on passerines during migration. We hypothesized that foraging location would impact tick acquisition by migrants and that tick burdens during migration would negatively impact body condition. We surveyed 2,064 birds during spring 2009 and 2010 and found that 2.4% of the surveyed birds were infested with one or more …

Kentucky Warbler (Vol. 87, No. 4), Kentucky Library Research Collections

The Kentucky Warbler

No abstract provided.

Raptors Of Nebraska, Paul A. Johnsgard

Paul Johnsgard Collection

Nebraska is a regular host to 17 species of hawks, as well as two eagles and eight owls. Collectively, all these impressive-looking birds are known as “raptors,” which refers to their strong, sharply decurved and pointed beaks, their sharp, curved talons and their associated predatory abilities. Hawk and eagles are often called “diurnal raptors,” since they all hunt during daylight hours, whereas most of Nebraska’s owls hunt at night and are described as nocturnal raptors. But few biological statements lack exceptions, and some owls such as the burrowing owl are daytime-hunters, and some such as the great homed owl hunt …

Review Of Rare: Portraits Of America's Endangered Species. By Joel Sartore., Jim Mason

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Short of being in the presence of a creature, a really good photograph of one can also make a lasting impression. That is something RARE does compellingly, with exquisite portrait photos of 68 North American species that are dwindling dangerously in numbers or have recently recovered from the brink of extinction. Included are such Great Plains natives as the lesser prairie chicken, the interior least tern, and the black-footed ferret. All creatures were photographed with either a pure white or black background, but unconventional poses surprise the reader with each turn of the page, while creative framing and layout engage …