Zoology Commons^™

Winter Field Report, December 2020-February 2021, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

Thanks to the increasing numbers of observers taking time to report to eBird, social media, and NEBIRDS, this season, as is true of recent seasons, turned up some fascinating trends. The 96 cited observers, as well as several not cited, all contributed to the firmness of the database that allows better-supported conclusions to be drawn than from our past reliance all too often on anecdotal supposition.

Overwhelmingly clear this winter was the large number of taxonomically diverse species found north and west of expected winter ranges, and a surprising number of passerines reported for the first time in mid-winter. It …

2021 Annual Color Photo Section

Nebraska Bird Review

Our photo theme this year is species with the word “red” in their common names. For this "Red Challenge", "red" must be used to mean the color red, but the birds don't actually have to display any red to qualify. Examples appear on the next five pages of photos.

Redheaded Woodpecker in Knox Co., 28 July 2020. Photo by Mark Brogie.

Rednaped Sapsucker male at Plum Creek Valley WMA, Brown Co., 16 Sept. 2018. Photo by Mary Clausen.

Redbellied Woodpecker female, photographer's yard, Wahoo, Saunders Co., 14 Feb. 2021. Photo by Joe Freeborn.

Northern Flicker male, western "redshafted" subspecies, Seward …

The Nebraska Bird Review, Volume 89 March 2021 Number 1

Nebraska Bird Review

Winter Field Report, Dec. 2020 - Feb. 2021, by W. Ross Silcock …2-17

2020-2021 Christmas Bird Counts …18, 29-40

Annual Color Photo Section …21-28

Apparent Townsend’s x Black-throated Green Warbler (Setophaga townsendi x virens) hybrids in Kansas and Nebraska, by Jon C. King, Terry Swope, Kevin Groeneweg, Pete Janzen, & Mark A. Brogie … 41

Annual Treasurer's Report for 2020, by Jan Johnson …46.

Subscription and Organization Information …47

2020-2021 Christmas Bird Counts, Don Paseka

Nebraska Bird Review

Fourteen counts were run during the 2020-2021 CBC season, ten of which were run in the period December 14 through December 22. The other four were done December 28 or later. The weather was generally cooperative with little snow cover and some open water. While there were no weather issues that resulted in cancellation or postponement, four counts, Crawford, Harrison, Harlan County, and Omaha, were cancelled over concerns for the Covid situation. It would be expected that running fewer counts would have a noticeable negative impact on this year’s species count and overall numbers. The Harrison and Crawford counts usually …

Apparent Townsend’S X Black-Throated Green Warbler (Setophaga Townsendi X Virens) Hybrids In Kansas And Nebraska, Jon C. King, Terry Swope, Kevin Groeneweg, Pete Janzen, Mark A. Brogie

Nebraska Bird Review

The Townsend’s Warbler (Setophaga townsendi), Hermit Warbler (Setophaga occidentalis), Golden-cheeked Warbler (Setophaga chrysoparia), and Black-throated Green Warbler (Setophaga virens) are similar in appearance and vocalizations. Evaluation of mtDNA suggests that these four species diverged about 1 million years ago during the mid-Pleistocene (Lovette et al. 2010), at which time glaciation separated ancestral forms thus allowing for speciation (Morse and Poole 2020). Under the environmental conditions prevalent today, however, the breeding distribution of Townsend’s Warbler now overlaps to a limited extent with those of the Hermit and Black-throated Green Warblers, and hybridization occurs …

Toxicity Of Sodium Nitrite-Based Vertebrate Pesticides For European Starlings (Sturnus Vulgaris), Scott J. Werner, Shelagh T. Deliberto, Hailey E. Mclean, Katherine E. Horak, Kirt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

In the 21st century, invasive animals rank second only to habitat destruction as the greatest threat to global biodiversity. Socially-acceptable and cost-effective strategies are needed to reduce the negative economic and environmental impacts of invasive animals. We investigated the potential for sodium nitrite (SN; CAS 7632-00-0) to serve as an avian toxicant for European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris L.). We also assessed the non-target hazard of an experimental formulation of SN that is being developed as a toxicant for invasive wild pigs (Sus scrofa L.). In gavage experiments with European starlings, we identified a lowest observed adverse effect level …

Avian Visual Ecologists Should Consider Uv Absorbance And All Sensory Modalities: A Response To Wisenden Et Al. (2020), Sean T. O'Daniels, Scott J. Werner, Ken Yasukawa

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

In a recent publication, Wisenden et al. (2020) examined responses of territorial male Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) to models constructed with ultraviolet (UV)-reflective red epaulets for the purpose of determining if the addition of UV reflectance to epaulets ("UV+") changed the effectiveness of signals to receivers relative to "control" epaulets under field conditions. The authors hypothesized that "UV+epaulet coloration represents a visual signal with increased efficacy in territorial interactions." They presented behavioral data but no visual modeling data. Our aims in this commentary are to suggest alternative terms to those used by the authors, to express concern about the use …

Geographic Distribution: Eleutherodactylus Coqui (Common Coqui). Usa: Florida., Louis A. Somma

Papers in Herpetology

A geographic interception record for Eleutherodactylus coqui in Suwanee County, Florida.

Geographic Distribution: Iguana Iguana (Green Iguana): Usa: Florida., Louis A. Somma, Mark T. Bailey

Papers in Herpetology

A geographic distribution record for Iguana iguana in Marion County, Florida.

Great Expectations: Deconstructing The Process Pathways Underlying Beaver-Related Restoration, Caroline S. Nash, Gordon E. Grant, Susan Charnley, Jason B. Dunham, Hannah Gosnell, Mark B. Hausner, David S. Pilliod, Jimmy Taylor

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Beaver-related restoration is a process-based strategy that seeks to address wide-ranging ecological objectives by reestablishing dam building in degraded stream systems. Although the beaver-related restoration has broad appeal, especially in water-limited systems, its effectiveness is not yet well documented. In this article, we present a process-expectation framework that links beaver-related restoration tactics to commonly expected outcomes by identifying the set of process pathways that must occur to achieve those expected outcomes. We explore the contingency implicit within this framework using social and biophysical data from project and research sites. This analysis reveals that outcomes are often predicated on complex process …

Migration Phenology And Patterns Of American Woodcock In Central North America Derived Using Satellite Telemetry, Joseph D. Moore, David E. Andersen, Tom Cooper, Jeffrey P. Duguay, Shaun L. Oldenburger, C. Al Stewart, David G. Krementz

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

American woodcock Scolopax minor (hereafter woodcock) migration ecology is poorly understood, but has implications for population ecology and management, especially related to harvest. To describe woodcock migration patterns and phenology, we captured and equipped 73 woodcock with satellite tracking devices in the Central Management Region (analogous to the Mississippi Flyway) of North America and documented migration paths of 60 individual woodcock and 87 autumn or spring woodcock migrations during 2014-2016. Woodcock migration at the scale of the Central Management Region was more synchronous in spring than in autumn, but unlike most other migratory birds, average duration of autumn migration (31 …

Estimating The Size Of Georgia's Resident Canada Goose Population, Gregory D. Balkcom

Georgia Journal of Science

Canada geese (Branta canadensis) are an important waterfowl species in Georgia, and are hunted across the state. To meet management objectives, managers need to understand the impacts of hunting regulations on the population of interest. Therefore, reliable population estimates are necessary. Population size can be estimated by various methods, including aerial surveys, ground surveys, or population indices such as the Lincoln Estimator. I used annual estimates of resident Canada goose harvest in Georgia from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Harvest Information Program along with banding and recovery data from the Bird Banding Laboratory in a bias-adjusted version …

Factors Leading To Successful Island Rodent Eradications Following Initial Failure, Araceli Samaniego, Peter Kappes, Keith Broome, Steve Cranwell, Richard Griffiths, Grant Harper, Pete Mcclelland, Russell Palmer, Gerard Rocamora, Keith Springer, David Will, Shane Siers

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Island rodent eradications are increasingly conducted to eliminate the negative impacts of invasive rodents. The success rate in the tropics has been lower than in temperate regions, triggering research and reviews. Environmental factors unique to the tropics (e.g., land crabs and year-round rodent breeding) have been associated with eradication failure. Operational factors have also been important, but these have not been comprehensively assessed. The environmental and operational factors using global cases where rodent eradication initially failed and subsequent attempts occurred were compared. It was determined whether operational factors explained the initial failures, whether operational improvements explained subsequent successes, and whether …

Anthropogenic And Climatic Factors Interact To Influence Reproductive Timing And Effort, Susannah S. French, Geoffrey Smith

Browse all Datasets

Reproduction, although absolutely essential to a species’ persistence, is in itself challenging. As anthropogenic change increasingly affects every landscape on Earth, it is critical to understand how specific pressures impact the reproductive efforts of individuals, which directly contribute to the success or failure of populations. However, organisms rarely encounter a single burden at a time, and the interactions of environmental challenges can have compounding effects. Disentangling environmental and physiological pressures is difficult because they are often context-dependent and not generalizable, but long-term monitoring across variable landscapes and weather patterns can improve our understanding of these complex interactions. We tested the …

Habitat Characteristics Of Two Scorpion Species, Liocheles Australasiae (Fabricius, 1775) And Isometrus Maculatus (De Geer, 1778) In Miyako Islands, Japan, Kazusa Kawai

Euscorpius

Scorpion surveys were conducted in the five islands: Miyakojima, Ikemajima, Kurimajima, Irabujima, and Shimojishima (Miyako Islands, part of Nansei/Ryukyu Islands of Japan). Eight individuals of Liocheles australasiae (Hormuridae) and 16 individuals of Isometrus maculatus (Buthidae) were observed in a total of 10 points on four islands, except Ikemajima. The localities of both species are recorded in this survey, focusing on altitude, distance from the nearest coast, and sunlight. The lowest temperatures in the habitat are also examined, and the cold tolerance of the species is discussed.

Observations On The Distribution And Status Of Selected Nebraska Mammals, Zachary P. Roehrs, Russell A. Benedict, Thomas E. Labedz, Hugh H. Genoways

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Information on the distribution and current status of 25 species or subspecies of mammals occurring in Nebraska are presented. The species covered include one shrew, an armadillo, eight bats, 10 rodents (including two subspecies of one species), three carnivores, and one artiodactyl. Distributional information reported includes the first state record for one species (Sorex nanus) and new county records for 18 species. In Nebraska, we know that mammals are shifting their geographic ranges with some extending populations into the state, whereas others are expanding their geographic ranges within the state. The current status of six additional mammalian taxa …

Using Aerial Photogrammetry And Sexually Dimorphic Measurements To Investigate Seasonal Differences In School Composition Of Delphinus Spp. Off Southern California, Samantha Gm Leander

Theses

Insights into school composition can provide a means to understand basic biology and ecology, including reproductive patterns. They can also be applied to conservation assessments, allowing for better understanding of the potentially differential vulnerability of demographic groups to natural or anthropogenic disturbances that may influence their populations. However, the two subspecies of common dolphins in the waters off California (Delphinus delphis delphis and D. d. bairdii) form large, energetic groups that make characterization of school composition difficult. Remotely controlled drones now offer the opportunity for the study of school composition in Delphinus spp., allowing for precise morphometric measurements …

Scorpions Of The Horn Of Africa (Arachnida: Scorpiones). Part Xxvi. Records Of Hottentotta Polystictus (Pocock, 1896), With Descriptions Of H. Haudensis Sp. N. And H. Nigrimontanus Sp. N. (Buthidae) From Somaliland, František Kovařík, Graeme Lowe

Euscorpius

The distribution of Hottentotta polystictus (Pocock, 1896) is summarized according to recently confirmed records. Two new species, Hottentotta haudensis sp. n. and H. nigrimontanus sp. n. from the Somaliland, are described, compared with H. polystictus, and fully illustrated with color photos showing their morphology, habitus and collection areas. H. haudensis sp. n. is the smallest known species of the genus Hottentotta Birula, 1908, while H. nigrimontanus sp. n. is larger than H. polystictus.

Spatio-Temporal Variation Patterns Of Bird Community In The Oasis Ecosystem Of The North Of Algerian Sahara, Lasad Chiheb, Bensaci Ettayib, Nouidjem Yassine, Hadjab Ramzi

Journal of Bioresource Management

The spatial and temporal variation patterns of birds were investigated in the Oasis ecosystem of the North of Algeria Sahara. This contribution aimed to investigate the poorly studied bird fauna of Bousaâda oasis. The direct observation method was used for bird counts, adopted only during the breeding period. A total of 53 species of birds from 29 families and 16 orders were assessed in the different habitats of the Oasis (palm, fruit trees and, cultivated crops). The Passeriformes order was the most abundant represented by 35 species and 16 families. The relative abundance and species richness were recorded during our …

The Food Diversity And Choices Of Archachatina Marginata Raised In Concrete Trench Pens, Ebere Julein Okafor-Elenwo, Osarunmwense Precious Otote, Osazee Ekundayo Izevbuwa

Journal of Bioresource Management

Archachatina marginata is an economically useful gastropod, scientifically proven to be of huge benefit to human’s health and wellbeing. Food varieties of A. marginata hunted from the immediate environment of Ovia North East, South-South, Nigeria, were investigated to select the most appropriate, in terms of preferences and availability. The study was conducted for five months (May to August, 2020) during the rainy season. Ten snails were selected from the wild with weights ranging from 340.21g to 355.32g and heights of 11.8cm to 13.3cm at the point of collection. The snails were housed each, in an escape-proof trench pen, covered with …