RECENT LITERATURE Edited by Edward H
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RECENT LITERATURE Edited by Edward H. Burtt, Jr. NEW JOURNAL 1, Centzontle. Published quarterly by the Sociedad Mexicana de Ornithologia (Apartado Postal 70-300, Mexico 20, D. F. Mexico). First issuedin 1977.--This mimeo- graphed newsletter provides members with timely notices,particularly for ornithological meetings. Considerable attention is given to the papers and businessof the most recent (1976 and 1977) National (Mexican) Symposiaof Ornithology. Noticesfurther include information on internationalornithological events, meetings of Mexican zoologicalsoci- eries, and the establishment of new wildlife sanctuaries in Mexico. A few brief papersalso appear in the 10 to 20-pageissues. For example,the first year included an introduction to arian taxidermy methods and a review of the avifauna in the Palmar (palm habilat) zone of coastalVeracruz. The newsletterwill be of interestto both Mexican ornithologistsand those interested in that country's ornithological affairs.-- Charles F. Leek. BANDING AND LONGEVITY (See also 15, 21, 23, 24) 2. Bird-banding at Powdermill, 1977. R. C. Lebermau aud M. H. Cleuch. 1978. CarnegieMu,•. Nat. Hist., P. N. R. Res.Rep. 38: 1-21.--As the title iudicates,this is au auuual report of a bird-baudiug facility, the Powdermill Nattire Reserve,operated by the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. In 1977, 8,549 birds of 115 specieswere banded and 2,340 additional birds were processed(either repeatsor returns) for a total number of 10,889 birds handled. In its 17 consecutiveyears the program at Powdermillhas banded 150,448 birds of 160 species.The numbers of different speciesbanded are tabulated as are minimum estimates of longevity for four nonpasserine and 34 passerine species. Among these were 11 new records for the reserve and three for the speciesas a whole (Swainsoh'sThrush (Catharusustulata) 6 - 4 (six years, four months), Black-throated Blue Warbler (Dendroicacaerulescens) 3 - 11, and American Redstart (Setophagaruticilla) 6 - 2). There are 12 recoveries,invoMng reservebandings ov trappings. Seasonaland long term fluctuationsamong banded speciesare discussedfor the Ligonier Valley'(Westmoreland Co., PA) as well as the reserve proper. Beginning in 1977, record keeping was done via an electronicdata processingsystem and the conversionof earlier records to the same systemwas begun. In addition to in-housenews, this report containsworthwhile ornitho- logical information and a good indication of the researchbeing done at Powdermill.- Richard J. Clark. 3. Hawk Cliff Raptor Banding Station sixth annual report 1976. M. Field and W. Rayher. 1978. Ont. Bird Banding,12(1): 1-27.--This report summarizesbandings accom- plished at the raptor trapping facility operated annually since 1969 at Hawk Cliff (Elgin Co., Ontario, Canada).The f'acilitvis alsoa part of' an American Kestrel(Falco sparverius) nest box survey.There were 3,080 indMduals of 13 speciesbanded. Grand totals for the eight yearsof operationwere 13,296 indMduals of 23 species.Tabulated information for 1976, by species,includes annual totals for all years, •nonthly bandingsfbr the total op- eration (i.e., includesroadtraps and nestlingsas well as those banded at the station), methodsof capture, speciesnumbers observed daily' and a comparisonof raptors caught with variouslure ani•nals.Inter-station banding totalsand a co•nparisonof speciesby age (HY versusAHY) and stationfor the trapping restiltsare provided for the 1975 and 1976 seasons.Finally, the A•nerican Kestrel nest box resultsand a summary of recoveriesand retraps of kestrelsbanded at Hawk Cliff for the year 1976 are provided. This report, as are •nany annual reports, is short on analysisof data. For example, the authors point out that the decline in the number of raptors banded wasdue to fe• er operating hours and bad weather in December. Their data show a 28.9% decreasein bandingswith the stationsbeing operated 16.8% fex•er hours spread over 11.2ff• more days. Birds banded per hours of effort averaged2.95 in 1975, but 2.52 in 1976 (a 14.6% 167 168] RetentLiterature Bird-Banding Spring 1979 declinein efficiency).This wasall calculatedby the reviewerfrom the authors'data. They record numbersof raptors observedon a daily basis,but no attempt is made to compare numbers observedversus numbers trapped. A table making the above comparison•'as compiled by the reviewer. Percent of raptors (trapped versusob.•erved) banded at Hawk Cliff in 1975. Species Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Sharp-shinnedHawk (Acdpiter•trzatu.•) 13.5 8.6 18.9 Cooper'sHawk (A. cooperil) 18.3 19.6 19.2 Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo]'amaicensi. s) 4.2 3.5 5.8 15.0 Red-shouldered Hawk (B. linearm) 60.0 Marsh Hawk (Circuscyaneus) 5.1 2.7 2.7 11.1 American Kestrel (Falco.•pa•,eriu• ) 9.3 I 1.4 2.7 Suchanalysis has someshortcomings, but is of value in pointing out trends in trapability, e.g., the Cooper'sHawk is consistentlytrapable whereas the Sharp-shinned,Red-tailed and Marsh hawks becomemore trapable as the migration seasonlengthens. With the AmericanKestrel perhaps it is trapablemigrants versus wary residents yielding the results? The number of raptorsof eachspecies caught on different lure "birds"(mousse is listed as a lure bird) does not allow one to assessthe effectiveness of the various lure animals, for no indication of the numbers and their exposure times are listed for each lure, e.g., starling-hours,sparrow-hours, etc. Similarly no data are provided in the raptor species versusmethod of capture table. Such information • ould be useful. Little attempt is made to analyzethe resultsof the American Kestrel nest box survey. By calculatingthe percent of boxes with either young and/or eggsin them (43c/c),they could have comparedtheir resultswith Hamerstrom,Hamerstrom and Hart, q. Wildl. Manage., 37: 400-403) who reported 30c• for the most successfulof their five years. Similarly 38.9% of the boxesyielding fledged young comparesmost •hvorablywith 30• in the Wisconsinstudy. In summary,authors of suchreports could, by analyzingtheir data, contributemuch more to ornithologicalliterature and continuallyevaluate their operation for greater ef- ficiencyand scientificeffectiveness.--Richard J. Clark. 4. Two successfulnestings of Tengmalm's Owl in one summer. (Hemipollo pesinyt kahdesti samana kesana.) E. Kellomaki, E. Heinonen, and H. Tiainen. 1977. Or,ds Fenn., 54(3): 134-135.--(In Finnish with English summary.)--A female Tengmalm's Owl (Ae- goliusfunereus) banded as a nestlingin 1967 was recoveredtwo years later at a nest in Virrat central Finland, about 35 km from her birthplace.Her five young, found 5 May, were banded, and fledged about 28 May. Later in the same summer she nested 10 km from the first nest. "As the first chick of the secondbrood hatched on 30 June the female must have abandonedits first brood in May before the young fledged (incubationof the first egg takesabout 30 days)."The four young and one unhatchedegg (of secondbrood) were checkedon 8 July. Here is a fine example of information derived •¾ombanded birds. Because1969 was a peak year for voles,it was also favorable for enhancedowl nesting.--Leon Kelso. MIGRATION, ORIENTATION, AND HOMING (See also 21, 24, 73, 77) 5. Postnesting movements of the Common Starling. (Poslegnezdovyekochevki obyknovennogoskvortsa, Sturnus vulgaris) L. D. Nankinov. 1978. Acta Ornithol.,16(11): 309-313. (In Russian,with Polishand Englishsummaries.)--Although little different from Starlingmovements elsewhere in the expandingrange of the species,one may reflectthat these movements were recorded within the Arctic Circle. Observations in 1966-1970 at Vol.s0, No. •2 RecentLiterature [ 169 the BiologicalStation of LeningradUniversity showed three typesof postnestingnomadic movements:late summer movementsof flocksof siblingsfrom individual broods,later summer movementsof flocksof varied age components,and local autumnal foraging flock movementsas adultsand juvenilespartly migrateto the south.These are followed by localnomadic movements that are continueduntil a permanentsnow cover is formed. The author suggeststhat during nomadicmovements adult birdstransfer their individual experienceto the young.Food is a dominantobjective in muchof the localnomadism.- Leon Kelso. 6. An apparent lunar rhythm in the day-to-dayvariations in initial bearingsof homing pigeons.T. Larkin and W. T. Keeton. 1978. In "Animal Migration,Navigation, and Homing,"K. Schmidt-Koenigand W. T. Keeton,eds., p. 92-106. Heidelberg,Spring- er-Verlag.--In August1977, a symposiumon animalmigration and orientationwas held on the occasionof the 500th anniversaryof the University of Tfibingen. A number of importantpapers based on studiesof birdswere presented.I reviewa selectionof those that presentedsignificant new data. In earlier work, Keeton'sgroup has shownthat natural fluctuationsin the earth's magneticfield accountfor someof the day-to-dayvariability in the initial orientationof homing pigeons.In other species(e.g., honeybees),magnetic influences on orientation often seemrelated to simultaneousresponses to gravity.Larkin and Keetonsearched for possibleinfluences of changesin gravityon pigeonorientation by examiningday-to-day variationsin the meanvanishing bearings of pigeonsreleased at a singlesite as a function of day of the lunar month. In six seriesof releasesin four different years,the mean vanishingbearings of the pigeonsat a givensite varied linearly with day of lunar month, changingas much as 0.75 degreeper day.However, in someseries the changesin bearings cycledwith the day of the lunar month beginningat new moon whereasin othersthey