Early Bird by Lydia Holley

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

February 8, 2021 Early Bird By Lydia Holley Even though wintery freezes are forecasted within the next several days, there are signs of spring’s eventual appearance. Daffodils, grape hyacinths, flowering quince, and cemetery irises are blooming. My husband even spotted a hummingbird in our back yard. That seemed so extremely early, I checked online. Sure enough, hummingbirds have started their migration northward, with at least one reported sighting as far north as Dallas. The hummingbirds that visited your feeders last year will most likely come back again this year, and for years to come. Sources state hummingbirds can live five to fifteen years. And they appreciate the extra sugary offerings. With wings moving at 50 beats per minute, their heart rate can surge to over 1,200 beats per minute. That is quite the workout. No wonder they take in nourishment at such a high rate, flicking their tongues at around 13 licks per second. Even though their heart rate slows at night, their needs are so great, if a hummingbird does not get enough nourishment, they can starve within a matter of hours. Although the Ruby Throated hummingbird is the type most seen in East Texas, there are a variety of hummingbirds which make Texas their home, including the Black Chinned and Rufous hummers in the western portion of the state; the Buff Bellied hummingbird along the Gulf Coast; and the Broad-tailed, Blue Throated, Calliope, Lucifer, and Rivoli’s hummingbirds in West Texas or dotted along the Mexico border. There are over 300 species of hummingbirds, with over one-third of those making their home in Ecuador. There, you could see hummingbirds that are as beautiful as their names are interesting, such as the Gorgeted Sunangel, Glowing Puffleg, Gould’s Jewelfront, and Shining Sunbeam. You may even wish to begin a fun lifelong project of seeing every hummingbird species. This quest would skip Europe, Africa, Antarctica, Asia, and Australia, but you would travel the Western Hemisphere, seeing such wonders as the two-inch long Bee hummingbird in Cuba, and the eight-inch Giant hummingbird in the Andes of South America. Want to add plants to your landscape to attract hummingbirds? Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center recommends the following: Beebalm, Cardinal flower, Cenzio, Coral honeysuckle, Crossvine, Flame Acanthus, Lantana, Penstemons, Red Yucca, Salvias, Scarlet Buckeye, Standing Cypress, Texas Star Hibiscus, Trumpet Creeper, and Turk’s cap. For more information, call 903-675-6130, email [email protected], or visit txmg.org/hendersonmg. .

Copy Link

Recommended publications

Broad-Tailed Hummingbird Coloration and Sun Orientation 1
1 Broad-tailed hummingbird coloration and sun orientation 1 Two ways to display: male hummingbirds show different 2 color-display tactics based on sun orientation 3 Running header: Broad-tailed hummingbird coloration and sun orientation 4 5 Richard K. Simpson1* and Kevin J. McGraw1 6 1School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501 7 *Corresponding Author. Email: [email protected]; Phone: (480) 965-2593 8 9 ABSTRACT 10 Animals exhibit a diversity of ornaments and courtship behaviors, which often co- 11 occur and are used for communication. The sensory drive hypothesis states that these 12 traits evolved and vary due to interactions with each other, the environment, and signal 13 receiver. However, interactions between colorful ornaments and courtship behaviors, 14 specifically in relation to environmental variation, remain poorly understood. We studied 15 male iridescent plumage (gorgets), display behavior, and sun orientation during courtship 16 flights (shuttle displays) in broad-tailed hummingbirds (Selasphorus platycercus), to 17 understand how these traits interact in both space and time to produce the perceived 18 coloration of males. We also tested how gorget coloration varies among males based on 19 their plumage, behavioral, and morphological characteristics. In contrast with previous 20 work on other animals, we found that displaying males did not directionally face the sun, 21 but instead displayed on a continuum of solar orientation angles. The gorgets of males 22 who tended to face the sun during their displays appeared flashier (i.e. exhibited greater 23 color/brightness changes), brighter, and more colorful, whereas the gorgets of males who 2 Broad-tailed hummingbird coloration and sun orientation 24 tended to not face the sun were more consistently reflective (i.e.
[Show full text]
Tiny Fossil Sheds Light on Miniaturization of Birds
Retraction Tiny fossil sheds light on miniaturization of birds Roger B. J. Benson Nature 579, 199–200 (2020) In view of the fact that the authors of ‘Hummingbird-sized dinosaur from the Cretaceous period of Myanmar‘ (L. Xing et al. Nature 579, 245–249; 2020) are retracting their report, I wish to retract this News & Views article, which dealt with this study and was based on the accuracy and reproducibility of their data. Nature | 22 July 2020 ©2020 Spri nger Nature Li mited. All rights reserved. drives the assembly of DNA-PK and stimulates regulation of protein synthesis. And, although 3. Dragon, F. et al. Nature 417, 967–970 (2002). its catalytic activity in vitro, although does so further studies are required, we might have 4. Adelmant, G. et al. Mol. Cell. Proteom. 11, 411–421 (2012). much less efficiently than can DNA. taken a step closer to deciphering the 5. Britton, S., Coates, J. & Jackson, S. P. J. Cell Biol. 202, Taken together, these observations suggest mysterious ribosomopathies. 579–595 (2013). a model in which KU recruits DNA-PKcs to the 6. Barandun, J. et al. Nature Struct. Mol. Biol. 24, 944–953 (2017). small-subunit processome. In the case of Alan J. Warren is at the Cambridge Institute 7. Ma, Y. et al. Cell 108, 781–794 (2002). kinase-defective DNA-PK, the mutant enzyme’s for Medical Research, Hills Road, Cambridge 8. Yin, X. et al. Cell Res. 27, 1341–1350 (2017). inability to regulate its own activity gives the CB2 OXY, UK. 9. Sharif, H. et al.
[Show full text]
Wildlife Ecology Provincial Resources
MANITOBA ENVIROTHON WILDLIFE ECOLOGY PROVINCIAL RESOURCES !1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would like to thank: Olwyn Friesen (PhD Ecology) for compiling, writing, and editing this document. Subject Experts and Editors: Barbara Fuller (Project Editor, Chair of Test Writing and Education Committee) Lindsey Andronak (Soils, Research Technician, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada) Jennifer Corvino (Wildlife Ecology, Senior Park Interpreter, Spruce Woods Provincial Park) Cary Hamel (Plant Ecology, Director of Conservation, Nature Conservancy Canada) Lee Hrenchuk (Aquatic Ecology, Biologist, IISD Experimental Lakes Area) Justin Reid (Integrated Watershed Management, Manager, La Salle Redboine Conservation District) Jacqueline Monteith (Climate Change in the North, Science Consultant, Frontier School Division) SPONSORS !2 Introduction to wildlife ...................................................................................7 Ecology ....................................................................................................................7 Habitat ...................................................................................................................................8 Carrying capacity.................................................................................................................... 9 Population dynamics ..............................................................................................................10 Basic groups of wildlife ................................................................................11
[Show full text]
Alpha Codes for 2168 Bird Species (And 113 Non-Species Taxa) in Accordance with the 62Nd AOU Supplement (2021), Sorted Taxonomically
Four-letter (English Name) and Six-letter (Scientific Name) Alpha Codes for 2168 Bird Species (and 113 Non-Species Taxa) in accordance with the 62nd AOU Supplement (2021), sorted taxonomically Prepared by Peter Pyle and David F. DeSante The Institute for Bird Populations www.birdpop.org ENGLISH NAME 4-LETTER CODE SCIENTIFIC NAME 6-LETTER CODE Highland Tinamou HITI Nothocercus bonapartei NOTBON Great Tinamou GRTI Tinamus major TINMAJ Little Tinamou LITI Crypturellus soui CRYSOU Thicket Tinamou THTI Crypturellus cinnamomeus CRYCIN Slaty-breasted Tinamou SBTI Crypturellus boucardi CRYBOU Choco Tinamou CHTI Crypturellus kerriae CRYKER White-faced Whistling-Duck WFWD Dendrocygna viduata DENVID Black-bellied Whistling-Duck BBWD Dendrocygna autumnalis DENAUT West Indian Whistling-Duck WIWD Dendrocygna arborea DENARB Fulvous Whistling-Duck FUWD Dendrocygna bicolor DENBIC Emperor Goose EMGO Anser canagicus ANSCAN Snow Goose SNGO Anser caerulescens ANSCAE + Lesser Snow Goose White-morph LSGW Anser caerulescens caerulescens ANSCCA + Lesser Snow Goose Intermediate-morph LSGI Anser caerulescens caerulescens ANSCCA + Lesser Snow Goose Blue-morph LSGB Anser caerulescens caerulescens ANSCCA + Greater Snow Goose White-morph GSGW Anser caerulescens atlantica ANSCAT + Greater Snow Goose Intermediate-morph GSGI Anser caerulescens atlantica ANSCAT + Greater Snow Goose Blue-morph GSGB Anser caerulescens atlantica ANSCAT + Snow X Ross's Goose Hybrid SRGH Anser caerulescens x rossii ANSCAR + Snow/Ross's Goose SRGO Anser caerulescens/rossii ANSCRO Ross's Goose
[Show full text]
Is Considered Globally Threatened Following the IUCN Red List Criteria
MEETING R EPORTS J. Carib. Ornithol. 18:88-93, 2005 TOWARDS A GLOBALLY THREATENED BIRD PROGRAM FOR THE CARIBBEAN 1 2 DAVID W EGE AND V ERÓNICA A NADÓN -IRIZARRY 1BirdLife International, Wellbrook Court, Girton Road, Cambridge CB3 0NA, UK; e-mail: [email protected]; 2Caribbean Program BirdLife International, Rio Canas 2107, Colorado St., Ponce, Puerto Rico 00728-1824; e-mail: [email protected] OVER 10% OF THE C ARIBBEAN ’S AVIFAUNA (57 3. Are there any priority actions that need to be of 560+ species) is considered globally threatened added to the published conservation action list for following the IUCN Red List criteria. Twelve of each species, and what level of funding would be these are Critically Endangered, 21 Endangered and required to implement the identified activities? 24 Vulnerable, with an additional 18 species Near 4. Would it be valuable for SCSCB to form a Threatened (see Table 1). These birds will be the Threatened Bird Working Group? next to go extinct (due to a number of differ- 5. What would be the focus of such a group, and ent threat factors), and thus it is our collective re- how would this relate to existing Working Groups? sponsibility to focus our attentions on their conser- vation. While conservation actions and monitoring Outputs .—The following outputs were discussed: activities are focused on some of these birds, for 1. There are 57 globally threatened and 18 near many we have no idea on a year to year basis threatened species on the IUCN Red List for the whether their status is improving or declining, or Caribbean (Table 1).
[Show full text]
Birds at Woodland Park Zoo Pre-Visit Information for Teachers
BIRDS AT WOODLAND PARK ZOO PRE-VISIT INFORMATION FOR TEACHERS If you are planning a zoo field trip and wish to have your students focus on birds during their visit, this pre-visit sheet can help them get the most out of their time at the zoo. We have put together an overview of key concepts related to birds, a list of basic vocabulary words, and a checklist of bird species at Woodland Park Zoo. Knowledge and understanding of these main ideas will enhance your students’ zoo visit. OVERVIEW: There are over 10,000 species of birds currently identified worldwide, inhabiting a number of different biomes and exhibiting a range of adaptations. Woodland Park Zoo exhibits a wide variety of bird species (see attached checklist) in several different areas of the zoo. A bird field trip to the zoo could focus on the characteristics of birds (see “Concepts” below), comparing/contrasting different birds or learning about biomes and observing the physical characteristics of birds in different biomes. CONCEPTS: Birds share the following physical characteristics: Feathers Endothermic (warm-blooded) Eggs with shell and yolk Lack teeth, but have bony beaks Lightweight skeleton, bones with air spaces Good vision Adaptations for flight: Low body weight Streamlined form Efficient metabolism Specialized respiration and circulation Birds, like all plants and animals, have five basic needs to survive—food, water, shelter, air and space. They inhabit every continent on the planet and range in size from the bee hummingbird at 0.05 ounces (1.6 grams) to the North African ostrich at 275 pounds (125 kilograms).
[Show full text]
Annotated Checklist of the Birds (Aves) of Cerro Hoya National Park, Azuero Peninsula, Panamá
11 2 1585 the journal of biodiversity data February 2015 Check List LISTS OF SPECIES Check List 11(2): 1585, February 2015 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.15560/11.2.1585 ISSN 1809-127X © 2015 Check List and Authors Annotated checklist of the birds (Aves) of Cerro Hoya National Park, Azuero Peninsula, Panamá Matthew J. Miller1*, George R. Angehr1, Robert S. Ridgely2, John Klicka3, Oscar G. López. Ch.1, Jacobo Arauz4, Euclides Campos C.5 and Daniel Buitrago-Rosas1 1 Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado Postal 0843-03092, Panamá, Republic of Panama 2 Rainforest Trust, 25 Horner Street, Warrenton, VA 20186, USA 3 University of Washington, Department of Biology and Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, Seattle, WA 98195-1800, USA 4 Universidad de Panamá, Escuela de Biología, Departamento de Zoología, Panamá, Republic of Panama 5 Apartado Postal 0823-02757, Panamá, Republic of Panama * Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] Abstract: Protected only by the extreme ruggedness of and Samaniego 2008), today less than 15% is covered in its terrain, the montane regions of Cerro Hoya National mature forest, with perhaps another 20% covered in sec- Park are among the least biologically known regions of ondary forest. Of the remaining Azuero mature forest, Central America. Here we provide a checklist of 225 bird most can be found in Cerro Hoya National Park and La species recorded from five expeditions to the region over Tronosa Forest Reserve (07.3° N, 080.6° W) found just to the last 18 years, which represents lower species richness the east of Cerro Hoya National Park.
[Show full text]
Manitoba Envirothon – Wildlife Ecology – Regional Resource
MANITOBA ENVIROTHON WILDLIFE ECOLOGY REGIONAL RESOURCES !1 Introduction to wildlife ...................................................................................4 Ecology ....................................................................................................................4 Habitat ...................................................................................................................................5 Carrying capacity.................................................................................................................... 6 Population dynamics ................................................................................................................7 Basic groups of wildlife ..................................................................................8 Wildlife anatomy and identiﬁcation .............................................................10 Basic anatomy ........................................................................................................10 Skulls and teeth .......................................................................................................12 Dental formula ......................................................................................................................13 Skull identiﬁcation and measurements .......................................................................15 Mammal Skulls ......................................................................................................................15 Bird Skulls .............................................................................................................................16
[Show full text]
Hummingbirds Is from My Rainforests of the World Science Curriculum Set
This Mini Unit Study about Hummingbirds is from my Rainforests of the World Science Curriculum Set. You and your kids will love the perfect mix of fun hands-on projects and academic lessons this curriculum offers. Get this science curriculum today! Deanna Holm © 2016 Deanna Holm, all rights reserved. May not be copied, sold or distributed for commercial purposes. You may only print and use for your personal family or class only. www.discoverunitstudies.com Mini Unit Study: MATERIALS NEEDED ✓ Scissors, glue, & pencil ✓ Construction paper- any color ✓ Colored pencils or markers ✓ Liquid Elmer’s glue (not glue sticks) ✓ Hot glue gun (to glue on the replicas) ✓ Model Magic by Crayola- white ✓ Exacto knife and cutting mat (to make slits for tabs) ✓ Ruler ✓ Brown marker ✓ Computer and internet for video link Directions 1. Read about the hummingbird. 2. On the worksheet that says “ The Amazing Hummingbird”- use an exacto knife to help your students cut the 3 black dashed slits. Make sure you cut them the exact size of the line, a smidge bigger is ok but not smaller. Their tabs will be inserted in these later on, if your slits are too small the tabs will not fit. 3. Glue The Amazing Hummingbird page onto a piece of construction paper using a thin line of Elmer’s glue right on the edge of the page. Be sure they DO NOT TO GET ANY GLUE ON THE INSIDE, ONLY ON THE VERY EDGE. Set aside to dry. 4. On the Hummingbird Tabs, have your students measure the nest, hawk-moth, and bee hummingbird and write down the measurements on each tab.
[Show full text]
Annotated Checklist of the Birds of Cuba
ANNOTATED CHECKLIST OF THE BIRDS OF CUBA Number 3 2020 Nils Navarro Pacheco www.EdicionesNuevosMundos.com 1 Senior Editor: Nils Navarro Pacheco Editors: Soledad Pagliuca, Kathleen Hennessey and Sharyn Thompson Cover Design: Scott Schiller Cover: Bee Hummingbird/Zunzuncito (Mellisuga helenae), Zapata Swamp, Matanzas, Cuba. Photo courtesy Aslam I. Castellón Maure Back cover Illustrations: Nils Navarro, © Endemic Birds of Cuba. A Comprehensive Field Guide, 2015 Published by Ediciones Nuevos Mundos www.EdicionesNuevosMundos.com [email protected] Annotated Checklist of the Birds of Cuba ©Nils Navarro Pacheco, 2020 ©Ediciones Nuevos Mundos, 2020 ISBN: 978-09909419-6-5 Recommended citation Navarro, N. 2020. Annotated Checklist of the Birds of Cuba. Ediciones Nuevos Mundos 3. 2 To the memory of Jim Wiley, a great friend, extraordinary person and scientist, a guiding light of Caribbean ornithology. He crossed many troubled waters in pursuit of expanding our knowledge of Cuban birds. 3 About the Author Nils Navarro Pacheco was born in Holguín, Cuba. by his own illustrations, creates a personalized He is a freelance naturalist, author and an field guide style that is both practical and useful, internationally acclaimed wildlife artist and with icons as substitutes for texts. It also includes scientific illustrator. A graduate of the Academy of other important features based on his personal Fine Arts with a major in painting, he served as experience and understanding of the needs of field curator of the herpetological collection of the guide users. Nils continues to contribute his Holguín Museum of Natural History, where he artwork and copyrights to BirdsCaribbean, other described several new species of lizards and frogs NGOs, and national and international institutions in for Cuba.
[Show full text]
ORCHIDS and HUMMINGBIRDS: SEX in the FAST LANE Part 1 of Orchids and Their Pollinators CAROL SIEGEL
ORCHIDS AND HUMMINGBIRDS: SEX IN THE FAST LANE Part 1 of Orchids and Their Pollinators CAROL SIEGEL ART BULLY, ALL SWAGGER, hummingbirds are ing flowers locked together in a mutually beneficial tiny bundles of ego and attitude with no humili- dance. Pty or fear. The smallest warm-blooded avian crea- Hummingbirds (Trochilidae) are the predominant tures, they hover like a helicopter, consume energy like avian orchid pollinator. Birds are late-comers to the a jet plane, and glitter in the sunlight like a precious pollination game and only pollinate three percent of jewel. It is fitting that this most magnificent evolution- orchids. Nonetheless, with an estimated 35,000 orchid ary miracle should be a pollinator for the equally mag- species, there are probably hundreds and hundreds of nificent evolutionary miracle that is the orchid. orchids that rely on hummingbirds for pollination. Most orchids that are hummingbird- pollinated are from high- elevation ecosystems in the tropical New World where insects are rare or unable to operate because of the cold. They are particularly common in the Andean regions where hummingbirds reach their greatest diversity. Hummingbirds are found only in the Americas with at least 330 species from Alaska to the tip of South America. The greatest numbers are found in the tropics with fewer than 20 species normally found in the United States and Canada. Hummingbirds seem particularly attracted to many species of the genera Elleanthus, Cochlioda, and Comparettia. Some species of Masdevallia, Epidendrum, Encyclia, Cattleya, Sobralia, and Laelia have also adapted to hummingbirds. In addition, the highly-specialized little birds are attracted to certain species of Ada, Scaphyglottis (syn.
[Show full text]
The Vocal Organ of Hummingbirds Shows Convergence with Songbirds Tobias Riede & Christopher R
www.nature.com/scientificreports OPEN The vocal organ of hummingbirds shows convergence with songbirds Tobias Riede & Christopher R. Olson* How sound is generated in the hummingbird syrinx is largely unknown despite their complex vocal behavior. To fll this gap, syrinx anatomy of four North American hummingbird species were investigated by histological dissection and contrast-enhanced microCT imaging, as well as measurement of vocalizations in a heliox atmosphere. The placement of the hummingbird syrinx is uniquely located in the neck rather than inside the thorax as in other birds, while the internal structure is bipartite with songbird-like anatomical features, including multiple pairs of intrinsic muscles, a robust tympanum and several accessory cartilages. Lateral labia and medial tympaniform membranes consist of an extracellular matrix containing hyaluronic acid, collagen fbers, but few elastic fbers. Their upper vocal tract, including the trachea, is shorter than predicted for their body size. There are between- species diferences in syrinx measurements, despite similar overall morphology. In heliox, fundamental frequency is unchanged while upper-harmonic spectral content decrease in amplitude, indicating that syringeal sounds are produced by airfow-induced labia and membrane vibration. Our fndings predict that hummingbirds have fne control of labia and membrane position in the syrinx; adaptations that set them apart from closely related swifts, yet shows convergence in their vocal organs with those of oscines. Due to their small body size, hummingbirds have experienced selection for a number of traits that have set them apart from other avian lineages1. Various modes of acoustic communication are among those traits2. For example, some hummingbirds use elements of their plumage to generate sounds for efective communication with con- specifcs3.
[Show full text]