The Migration Strategy, Diet & Foraging Ecology of a Small
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Red-Winged Blackbirds: I. Age-Related Epaulet Color Changes in Captive Females1
Copyright © 1980 Ohio Acad. Sci. 0030-0950/80/0005-0232 $2.00/0 RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS: I. AGE-RELATED EPAULET COLOR CHANGES IN CAPTIVE FEMALES1 MILDRED MISKIMEN, Put-in-Bay, OH 43456 Abstract. Twenty-four female red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) were trapped when juveniles and held captive during 3.5 years of observation. Color changes in upper secondary coverts (epaulets) of wings occurred at the time of the late-summer molt of the birds' first and second years. About 84% of birds had dilute rust epaulets after their first molt; 16% had orange. After the molt of the second year, 100% of the birds acquired bright rust or orange epaulets. Thus, outside of the later-summer molting period, females with orange, rust or red epaulets would by chance be 86% after-second-year birds and 14% second year birds. Observations of females caught in fall banding operations supported these findings; 10% of 109 birds in their first winter had bright rust or orange epaulets, and 90% had dilute rust epaulets. OHIO J. SCI. 80(5): 232, 1980 Plumages of red-winged blackbirds uncertainty of the age estimates. Both have been well documented since the be- Francis and Dolbeer could have inter- ginning of this century with classical preted their results with more confidence works by Dwight (1900) and Ridgeway if they had been reasonably certain of the (1902) and more recent work by Meanley ages of the birds they studied. The same and Bond (1970). Emphasis has been on principle could apply to other studies male plumage, especially regarding the recorded in the literature. -
Bear River Refuge
Bear River Refuge MIGRATION MATTERS Summary Student participants increase their understanding of migration and migratory birds by playing Migration Matters. This game demonstrates the main needs Grade Level: (habitat, food/water, etc.) for migratory birds, and several of the pitfalls and 1 - 6 dangers of NOT having any of those needs readily available along the migratory flyway. Setting: Outside – pref. on grass, or large indoor Objectives - “Students will…” space with room to run. ● understand the concept of Migration / Migratory birds and be able to name at least two migratory species Time Involved: 20 – 30 min. ● indentify three reasons/barriers that explain why “Migration activity, 5 – 10 min. setup isn’t easy” (example: loss of food, habitat) Key Vocabulary: Bird ● describe how invasive species impact migratory birds Migration, Flyways, Wetland, Habitat, Invasive species Materials ● colored pipe-cleaners in rings to represent “food” Utah Grade Connections 5-6 laminated representations of wetland habitats 35 Bird Name tags (1 bird per student; 5 spp / 7 ea) 2 long ropes to delineate start/end of migration Science Core Background Social Studies Providing food, water, and habitat for migratory birds is a major portion of the US FWS & Bear River MBR’s mission. Migratory birds are historically the reason the refuge exists, and teaching the students about the many species of migratory birds that either nest or stop-off at the refuge is an important goal. The refuge hosts over 200 migratory species including large numbers of Wilson’s phalaropes, Tundra swans and most waterfowl, and also has upwards of 70 species nesting on refuge land such as White-faced ibis, American Avocet and Grasshopper sparrows. -
Miles, William Thomas Stead (2010) Ecology, Behaviour and Predator- Prey Interactions of Great Skuas and Leach's Storm-Petrels at St Kilda
Miles, William Thomas Stead (2010) Ecology, behaviour and predator- prey interactions of Great Skuas and Leach's Storm-petrels at St Kilda. PhD thesis. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/2297/ Copyright and moral rights for this thesis are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Glasgow Theses Service http://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] Ecology, behaviour and predator-prey interactions of Great Skuas and Leach’s Storm-petrels at St Kilda W. T. S. Miles Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Faculty of Biomedical and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow June 2010 For Alison & Patrick Margaret & Gurney, Edna & Dennis 1 …after sunset, a first shadowy bird would appear circling over the ruins, seen intermittently because of its wide circuit in the thickening light. The fast jerky flight seemed feather-light, to have a buoyant butterfly aimlessness. Another appeared, and another. Island Going (1949 ): Leach’s Petrel 2 Declaration I declare that the work described in this thesis is of my own composition and has been carried out entirely by myself unless otherwise cited or acknowledged. -
The Cuckoo Sheds New Light on the Scientific Mystery of Bird Migration 20 November 2015
The cuckoo sheds new light on the scientific mystery of bird migration 20 November 2015 Evolution and Climate at the University of Copenhagen led the study with the use of miniature satellite tracking technology. In an experiment, 11 adult cuckoos were relocated from Denmark to Spain just before their winter migration to Africa was about to begin. When the birds were released more than 1,000 km away from their well-known migration route, they navigated towards the different stopover areas used along their normal route. "The release site was completely unknown to the cuckoos, yet they had no trouble finding their way back to their normal migratory route. Interestingly though, they aimed for different targets on the route, which we do not consider random. This individual and flexible choice in navigation indicates an ability to assess advantages and disadvantages of different routes, probably based on their health, age, experience or even personality traits. They evaluate their own condition and adjust their reaction to it, displaying a complicated behavior which we were able to document for the first time in migratory birds", says postdoc Mikkel Willemoes from the Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate at the University of Copenhagen. Previously, in 2014, the Center also led a study mapping the complete cuckoo migration route from Satellite technology has made it possible for the first Denmark to Africa. Here they discovered that time to track the complete migration of a relocated during autumn the birds make stopovers in different species and reveal individual responses. Credit: Mikkel areas across Europe and Africa. -
Sicily Channel/Tunisian Plateau: Status and Conservation of Seabirds
United Nations Environment Programme Mediterranean Action Plan Regional Activity Centre For Specially Protected Areas SICILY CHANNEL/TUNISIAN PLATEAU: STATUS AND CONSERVATION OF SEABIRDS With financial Withsupport financial of the European support of the CommissionEuropean Commission RAC/SPA – Tunis, 2015 Note: The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this document do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of RAC/SPA and UNEP concerning the legal status of any State, Territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of their frontiers or boundaries. © 2015 United Nations Environment Programme / Mediterranean Action Plan (UNEP/MAP) Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas (RAC/SPA) Boulevard du Leader Yasser Arafat B.P. 337 - 1080 Tunis Cedex - Tunisia E-mail: [email protected] This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form for educational or non-profit purposes without special permission from the copyright holder, provided acknowledgement of the source is made. UNEP-MAP-RAC/SPA would appreciate receiving a copy of any publication that uses this publication as a source. This document has been prepared in the framework of the project MedOpenSeas for supporting the establishment of MPAs in open seas, including deep seas; with financial support of the European Commission. The original version of this document was prepared for the Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas (RAC/SPA) by: Carles CARBONERAS, RAC/SPA Consultant. Under the supervision of: Dr. Daniel Cebrian, RAC/SPA. Edited by Cebrian, D. and Requena, S. The draft document was submitted for revision to the expert representatives of the following Parties to the Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean: Italy, Libya, Malta and Tunisia. -
The Cycle of the Common Loon (Brochure)
ADIRONDACK LOONS AND LAKES FOR MORE INFORMATION: NEED YOUR HELP! lthough the Adirondack Park provides A suitable habitat for breeding loons, the summering population in the Park still faces many challenges. YOU CAN HELP! WCS’ Adirondack Loon Conservation Program Keep Shorelines Natural: Help maintain ~The Cycle of the this critical habitat for nesting wildlife and 7 Brandy Brook Ave, Suite 204 for the quality of our lake water. Saranac Lake, NY 12983 Common Loon~ (518) 891-8872, [email protected] Out on a Lake? Keep your distance (~100 feet or more) from loons and other wildlife, www.wcs.org/adirondackloons so that you do not disturb them. The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Adirondack Going Fishing? Loon Conservation Program is dedicated to ∗ Use Non-Lead Fishing Sinkers and improving the overall health of the environment, Jigs. Lead fishing tackle is poisonous to particularly the protection of air and water loons and other wildlife when quality, through collaborative research and accidentally ingested. education efforts focusing on the natural history ∗ Pack Out Your Line. Invisible in the of the Common Loon (Gavia immer) and water, lost or cut fishing line can conservation issues affecting loon populations entangle loons and other wildlife, often and their aquatic habitats. with fatal results. THE WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY IS Be an Environmentally Wise Consumer: GRATEFUL TO ITS COLLABORATORS FOR THEIR Many forms of environmental pollution SUPPORT OF THE LOON PROGRAM: result from the incineration of fossil Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks - fuels, primarily from coal-fired power The W!ld Center plants and vehicles, negatively affecting www.wildcenter.org A guide to the seasonal Adirondack ecosystems and their wild NYS Dept. -
Why So Many Kinds of Passerine Birds?
Letters • Why so many kinds of passerine birds? Raikow and Bledsoe (2000), in em- Slud 1976). It is unreasonable to assume the list of possible reasons for passerine bracing the null model of Slowinski that there is no underlying biological rea- success, but I would place more empha- and Guyer (1989a, 1989b), may perhaps son for this pattern and for the major sis on it than he did. be said literally to have added nothing turnover in avifaunas in the Northern It is difficult to discuss the nest-bufld- to the Kst of suggestions for why there are Hemisphere in favor of passerines after ing capabilities of passerines without re- so many species of passerine birds. When the Oligocène. sorting to anthropomorphisms such as Raikow (1986) addressed this problem Reproductive adaptations presumably "clever" or "ingenious." Is it not mar- previously and could find no key mor- made the holometabolous insects velous, however, that a highly special- phological adaptations to explain the di- (Coleóptera, Díptera, Hymenoptera, ized aerial feeder such as a cliff swallow versity of Passeriformes, the so-called Lepidoptera, and so on) the dominant (Hirundo pyrrhonota), with tiny, weak songbirds or perching birds, he despaired clade of organisms on earth. Likewise, it bill and feet, can fashion a complex nest and suggested that the problem may be appears that reproductive adaptations, out of gobs of mud fastened to a flat, only "an accident of classificatory his- not morphology, are responsible for the vertical surface? What adjective suffices tory," which brought on a storm of protest dominance of passerine birds over other to describe the nest of tailorbirds {Systematic Zoology 37: 68-76; 41: 242- orders of birds. -
Migratory Bird Day Educator's Supplement
Dear Educator, elcome to the International Migratory Bird Day Educator’s Supplement. The Supplement provides activities and direction to Wadditional resources needed to teach students about migratory birds. The activities are appropriate for grade levels three through eight and can be used in classrooms as well as in informal educational settings. Birds offer virtually endless opportunities to teach and learn. For many, these singing, colorful, winged friends are the only form of wildlife that students may experience on a regular basis. Wild birds seen in backyards, suburban neighborhoods, and urban settings can connect children to the natural world in ways that captive animals cannot. You may choose to teach one activity, a selection of activities, or all five activities. If you follow the complete sequence of activities, the Supplement is structured to lead students through an Adopt-a-Bird Project. Detailed instruc- tions for the Adopt-a-Bird Project are provided (Getting Started, p. 9). Your focus on migratory birds may be limited to a single day, to each day of IMBD week, or to a longer period of time. Regardless of the time period you choose, we encourage you to consider organizing or participating in a festival for your school, organization, or community during the week of International Migratory Bird Day, the second Saturday of May. The IMBD Educator’s Supplement is a spring board into the wondrous, mysterious, and miraculous world of birds and their migration to other lands. There are many other high quality migratory bird curriculum products currently available to support materials contained in the Supplement. -
The Relationships of the Starlings (Sturnidae: Sturnini) and the Mockingbirds (Sturnidae: Mimini)
THE RELATIONSHIPS OF THE STARLINGS (STURNIDAE: STURNINI) AND THE MOCKINGBIRDS (STURNIDAE: MIMINI) CHARLESG. SIBLEYAND JON E. AHLQUIST Departmentof Biologyand PeabodyMuseum of Natural History,Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511 USA ABSTRACT.--OldWorld starlingshave been thought to be related to crowsand their allies, to weaverbirds, or to New World troupials. New World mockingbirdsand thrashershave usually been placed near the thrushesand/or wrens. DNA-DNA hybridization data indi- cated that starlingsand mockingbirdsare more closelyrelated to each other than either is to any other living taxon. Some avian systematistsdoubted this conclusion.Therefore, a more extensiveDNA hybridizationstudy was conducted,and a successfulsearch was made for other evidence of the relationshipbetween starlingsand mockingbirds.The resultssup- port our original conclusionthat the two groupsdiverged from a commonancestor in the late Oligoceneor early Miocene, about 23-28 million yearsago, and that their relationship may be expressedin our passerineclassification, based on DNA comparisons,by placing them as sistertribes in the Family Sturnidae,Superfamily Turdoidea, Parvorder Muscicapae, Suborder Passeres.Their next nearest relatives are the members of the Turdidae, including the typical thrushes,erithacine chats,and muscicapineflycatchers. Received 15 March 1983, acceptedI November1983. STARLINGS are confined to the Old World, dine thrushesinclude Turdus,Catharus, Hylocich- mockingbirdsand thrashersto the New World. la, Zootheraand Myadestes.d) Cinclusis -
Bird Migration in South Florida
BIRD MIGRATION IN SOUTH FLORIDA Many gardeners appreciate the natural world beyond plants and create landscapes with the intention of attracting and sustaining wildlife, particularly birds. Birds provide added interest, and often color, to the garden. In Miami-Dade county, there are familiar birds who reside here year round including the ubiquitous Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay and Northern Mockingbird, while others visit only during periods of migration. The fall migration of birds heading south to warmer climates for the winter usually begins in September and lasts well into November. The relatively warm weather of south Florida means that some bird species returning to their spring breeding grounds to the north can begin to be seen here as early as January, although February is generally regarded as the start of the spring migratory season. For some birds south Florida is a way station on their flight south to take advantage of warmer winter weather in the southern hemisphere. Others, such as the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and the Palm WarBler, migrate to south Florida and make our area their winter home. The largest grouping of migratory birds seen here are the warBlers. While many have the word “warbler” in their names, others do not. They do share the distinction of being rather small birds – from the 4 ½ inch Northern Parula to the 6 inch Ovenbird – with most warblers measuring around 5 inches in length. Many warbler names reflect the color of their feathers, e.g., the Black-throated Blue Warbler and the Black-and-white Warbler. The Ovenbird gets its name from the dome shape of its nest built on the ground. -
Common Birds of the Estero Bay Area
Common Birds of the Estero Bay Area Jeremy Beaulieu Lisa Andreano Michael Walgren Introduction The following is a guide to the common birds of the Estero Bay Area. Brief descriptions are provided as well as active months and status listings. Photos are primarily courtesy of Greg Smith. Species are arranged by family according to the Sibley Guide to Birds (2000). Gaviidae Red-throated Loon Gavia stellata Occurrence: Common Active Months: November-April Federal Status: None State/Audubon Status: None Description: A small loon seldom seen far from salt water. In the non-breeding season they have a grey face and red throat. They have a long slender dark bill and white speckling on their dark back. Information: These birds are winter residents to the Central Coast. Wintering Red- throated Loons can gather in large numbers in Morro Bay if food is abundant. They are common on salt water of all depths but frequently forage in shallow bays and estuaries rather than far out at sea. Because their legs are located so far back, loons have difficulty walking on land and are rarely found far from water. Most loons must paddle furiously across the surface of the water before becoming airborne, but these small loons can practically spring directly into the air from land, a useful ability on its artic tundra breeding grounds. Pacific Loon Gavia pacifica Occurrence: Common Active Months: November-April Federal Status: None State/Audubon Status: None Description: The Pacific Loon has a shorter neck than the Red-throated Loon. The bill is very straight and the head is very smoothly rounded. -
Passerines: Perching Birds
3.9 Orders 9: Passerines – perching birds - Atlas of Birds uncorrected proofs 3.9 Atlas of Birds - Uncorrected proofs Copyrighted Material Passerines: Perching Birds he Passeriformes is by far the largest order of birds, comprising close to 6,000 P Size of order Cardinal virtues Insect-eating voyager Multi-purpose passerine Tspecies. Known loosely as “perching birds”, its members differ from other Number of species in order The Northern or Common Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) The Common Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) was The Common Magpie (Pica pica) belongs to the crow family orders in various fine anatomical details, and are themselves divided into suborders. Percentage of total bird species belongs to the cardinal family (Cardinalidae) of passerines. once thought to be a member of the thrush family (Corvidae), which includes many of the larger passerines. In simple terms, however, and with a few exceptions, passerines can be described Like the various tanagers, grosbeaks and other members (Turdidae), but is now known to belong to the Old World Like many crows, it is a generalist, with a robust bill adapted of this diverse group, it has a thick, strong bill adapted to flycatchers (Muscicapidae). Its narrow bill is adapted to to feeding on anything from small animals to eggs, carrion, as small birds that sing. feeding on seeds and fruit. Males, from whose vivid red eating insects, and like many insect-eaters that breed in insects, and grain. Crows are among the most intelligent of The word passerine derives from the Latin passer, for sparrow, and indeed a sparrow plumage the family is named, are much more colourful northern Europe and Asia, this species migrates to Sub- birds, and this species is the only non-mammal ever to have is a typical passerine.