Wlf 315 Wildlife Ecology I Lab Fall 2010 Upland Game Bird Identification

The goals of this lab are to: (1) learn how to identify upland game bird species, (2) learn about wing morphology, and (3) learn relevant sexing and aging techniques. You will use the information from today’s lab to complete species summaries, which you will use for next week’s quiz.

Specific Objectives 1. Identify 26 upland game bird species based on slides, study mounts, and wings. 2. Learn feather groupings on wings. 3. Age and sex game bird species based on plumage, wing, or tail traits.

Next week you will take a quiz using your species summaries (see below for more details) from this week. The quiz will consist of PowerPoint slides and practical stations. You will have your notes, so spelling counts ~ on both common and Latin names. Fair game for the quiz: Order, family, subfamily, common and Latin species name (genus species), sex, age, and whether native/exotic. The quiz will be worth 20 points.

Directions View the slides and visit the stations set up in the lab room. Use the wings and study mounts at the stations, the upland game bird lab identification manual (available for making a copy from Giancarlo), resources such as bird field guides, and the relevant pages from the TWS Techniques Manual, 5th edition (pp. 169-172, 175-185) to compile your species summaries. Test yourself by first identifying/classifying the samples at each station based on the above materials, and then check the tag to determine if your notes are sufficient to help you in the lab quiz next week.

Species Summaries Prepare summaries as flashcards, tables, bulleted lists, or some combination. You should have a summary for each of the species on the attached checklist of species covered in our lab. Keep in mind that you should include features that will help you decide between similar looking species on next week’s quiz…These should not be exhaustive treatments for the species – they are simply study aids.

Summaries should include Order Family and subfamily Species name (common and Latin) Origin (native or exotic) Key species characters Key sex characters Key age characters

Wlf 315 Wildlife Ecology I Lab Fall 2010 Upland Game Bird Checklist (taxonomy according to AOU checklist including 2010 revisions)

Order Galliformes Family Phasianidae Subfamily Meleagridinae Wild Turkey Meleagris gallopavo

Subfamily Tetraoninae Dusky Grouse Dendragapus obscures Sooty Grouse Dendragapus fuliginosus Spruce Grouse Falcipennis canadensis Greater Sage-Grouse Centrocercus urophasianus Gunnison Sage-Grouse Centrocercus minimus Ruffed Grouse Bonasa umbellus Greater Prairie-Chicken Tympanuchus cupido Lesser Prairie-Chicken Tympanuchus pallidicinctus Sharp-Tailed Grouse Tympanuchus phasianellus Rock Ptarmigan Lagopus mutus White-Tailed Ptarmigan Lagopus leucurus Willow Ptarmigan Lagopus lagopus

Subfamily Phasianinae Ring-Necked Pheasant Phasianus colchicus Gray Partridge Perdix perdix Chukar Alectoris chukar

Family Odontophoridae Mountain Quail Oreortyx pictus Scaled Quail Callipepla squamata Gambel’s Quail Callipepla gambelii California Quail Callipepla californica Northern Bobwhite Colinus virginianus Montezuma Quail Cyrtonyx montezumae

Order Columbiformes Family Columbidae Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura White-winged Dove Zenaida asiatica Band-tailed Pigeon Columba fasciata

Order Charadriiformes Family Scolopacidae Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago American Woodcock Scolopax minor Wlf 315 Wildlife Ecology I Lab Fall 2010

This section outlines the capitalization rules for common bird names.

While one can almost always find an exception, you will be well served by adhering to the following simple rules for capitalizing bird names:

1. Capitalize the first letter of the first, middle, and last names of a bird (e.g., Cedar Waxwing, American White Pelican). 2. If the bird's first or middle name is a compound name (separated by a hyphen), only capitalize the first letter of the name before the hyphen, while using lowercase for the first letter of the name that follows the hyphen (e.g., Yellow- bellied Sapsucker, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Whip-poor-will). 3. For most birds with a hyphenated last name, capitalize the first letter of both parts of the compound name (e.g., Black-crowned Night-Heron). 4. When using partial or shortened names for familiar species, use lowercase letters (e.g., robin, hawk). 5. When referring to families or groups of birds, use lowercase (e.g., there are a dozen falcons on the fire escape)

From: (accessed 4 Nov 09)

http://egov.cityofchicago.org/Environment/BirdMigration/sub/capitalization_rules.html