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8Ia Ia Pages 41·80 Volume 5, Number 2 Spring 1983 8ia ia Pages 41·80 The Quarterly Journal Of The North American Bluebird Society Sielie means bluebirds. Hence the title of this journal. Technically, sietle is the NORTH AMERICAN Latinized, neuter plural version of the Greek BLUEBIRD SOCIETY word siells, a noun meaning a "kind of bird." Since the Eastern Bluebird was the first bluebird classified by Carolus Lin ­ Founder naeus (1707·1778), he gave it the species name sietis, though he placed it in the Lawrence Zeleny genus Mo/aeilia which is now reserved for President the wagtails. It was William Swainson Anne Sturm (1789-1855), who, in 1827, decided that the bluebirds needed a genus of their own with­ Vice President in the thrush family (Turdidae). He selected Martha Cheslem the generic name Sia/ia which he simply adapted from the species name sie lie which Treasurer Linnaeus had used . Therefore, the scien­ Delos C. Dupree tific name for the Eastern Bluebird is Sialia sialis (pronounced see-ahl-ea-ah see'-ahl­ Recording Secrelary iss). Sim ilarly, the Western Bluebird and Mark Raabe Mountain Bluebird, the two other spe cies Corresponding Secretary within the genus, were named Stelle mex­ Thomas Tait ieana and Sialia currucoides (coo-roo-coy­ dees) respectively. The ir species names are Directors descriptive of their locations. All three blue­ Art Aylesworth bird species are native only 10 the North Monlana Ameri can continent, although each in­ Angeline S. Cromack habits different regions generally sep­ Oregon arated by the Rock y Mountains and by alti­ Richard J. Dolesh Maryland tudinal preferences. Sadie Dorber While the adult birds all show differ­ New York Gay Duncan ing plumages, the young of all three North Carolina species look remarkably alike, prominently Lillian Lund Flies displaying spotted breasts and large wh ite Massachusetts eye rings. This similarity in plumage was Theodore W. Gutzke the prin cipal reason the Society chose the New Jersey Gerald L. Hartley juvenal bluebird for its log o. Since blue­ Alabama birds almost always choose to raise their George A. Hurst young in small enclosed cavities, a young Mississippi bluebird sitting near a nesting box seemed Joseph Ondrejko to -symbolize our mission. The hope of any Virginia Bryan Shantz species resides in its young. Because of Alberta bluebird nesting preferences , the survi val of Joseph G. Tail their young may depend on the nesting box, Maryland especially since natural cavities, for a va­ Executive Director riety of reasons, are disappearing rapidly. Mary D. Janetatos The theme of bluebird young nurtured in man -made structures will be a recurring one Editor in our art and literature. We hope that this Joanne K. Solem theme wi ll remind all about the pl ight of the bluebird, and will stimulate action which will allow this beautiful creature to prosper. Sialia is published quarterly by the North American Bluebird Society, Box 6295, Silver Spring, MD 20906-0295. Subscription price is included in annual membership dues. Single copies: $2.50. Write for information about bulk quantities. Checks and money orders should be made payable to North American Bluebird Society and should be in United States funds. Issues are dated Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn and appear approximately on the fifteenth of January, April, July and October respectively. Deadline for submission of material is three months prior to date of publication; dated items only, two months. 8 ialia The Quarterly J o u r nal About BluebIrds Volume 5, Number 2 Spring 1983 Page s 41·80 EDITOR Joanne K. Solem CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Lawrence Zeleny ART EDITOR Richard L. Woodward COVER The cover, in honor of t he Nort h CONTENTS America n Blu ebird Society's fif th ann iversar y, is t he work o f Presid ential POint s 42 our new art editor, Richard L. AnneLSturm Woodward. History of Bluebird Con servati on . .. 43 Lawren ce Zeleny Inv ert ebrat e Fauna o f Eastern Sialia wel com es orig in al art icles , art B lue bird Nes ts 53 and ph otographs for publication. W illia m Cho w, Edward H Burtt, Jr. and D o n a l ~ E JOhns ton Al t hou gh this journal IS named for Contro ll in g th e Mal e Ho use the bluebird , material relating 10 all Sparrow 58 nat ive ca vity nestin g speci es will be Don Grussing considered. Manu scripts should be Plantin gs fo r Bluebirds and Other typed neatly and doub le-spaced. All Wil dlif e 60 material submitte d is subject to Karen Blac kb urn edi ti ng or rewriting. Submit the 1982 Nestin g Box Repo rt 62 o riginal ma nu script p lus a duplicate Delos C Dupree copy if yo u wis h to proof the ma te ria l In Memorium 64 before publicat ion . If ~ h e article has Gran t's Fol ly 65 Jo n E Boone been su b mitted e lse w he re (or Op eration Bluebird 68 previou sly pu blishe d) th at fact mu st Harold C Bieber be stated at t he time o f su bm is sion. Bl uebird Trail Direct or y 69 All manuscri pt s wi ll be ack nowl­ Question Corner 72 edged. Black an d whi te g los sy pho to­ Lawrence Z eleny grap hs are preferred . Print t he sub­ Cali fo rnia Blueb ird Story 73 je ct , nam es o f individuals pictured, Bruce and Joanne Benedict ph ot ogr ap her and return add res s on Dealing with t he Effects of Co ld the back of eac h photograph. Art is Weather on a Bluebird Trail 75 welcom e and should be in black pen­ Kar l Curt rs and-ink. We do not ass ume respon­ Blu ebird Express 76 sibili ty fo r manuscripts, pho to graph s Blu ebi rd Tales 78 Mary D Jansta ros or art submi tt ed. The edito r's address Poet ry 80 is 10617 Graeloch Road, Lau rel , Ma ry­ Allen Eugene Mel elmar. land 20707. Presidential Points Anne T. Sturm ive years ago , whe n the blueb ird Fco nse rvat ion committees of the Maryland Ornitholog ic al Soc iety, the Aud ubon Natu ralist Soc iet y of the Ce n­ tr al Atlantic States , and the Prince Geo rge 's Co unty Audubon Soci ety banded toget her to form the Nort h co nse rvation. American Blu ebird Soc iety, not even Perhaps t he major thrust of the the most opti mis tic founding members So ciety has been t o encou rage expec ted to see as much grow t h as we pub lication of the bluebird s tory have experienced. The ori gin al concept whe rever possib le- from articles in of NABS was to be an educational rocal com munity week Iies to features c leari ng- ho u se fo r people a nd in magazines of nati on al dist ribution. or ganizat ion s interested in blueb ird Without do ubt the most success ful preservat ion. publicity for blue birds was Joan Ratt­ In r ev i e wi n g N A B S ' a c - ner Heilman 's artic le w hic h appeared co mplis hments ove r it s first fi ve yea rs, In Pa rade magazin e, Novem ber 27, th e fou nding of our popular quarterly 1979. journ al , Sia/ia , heads the li st. It is the A lth ough much has been accom­ informat ion cente r for the ser ious plis hed in our first five years, we are bluebird trail ope rato r and pro fes­ lookin g toward th e future. sio nal rese arch er as well as th e in­ D ick Tuttle's committe e IS plan­ dividua l bluebird lover. Sie tie is th e ning th e produ cti on of a mov ie. This lifeline o f the Soc iet y. wo uld enab le the television media to NABS has dis trib uted over a spread the word about the bluebi rd quart er of a million pi eces of educa­ even more effec tive ly. Board mem ber ti onal material inc ludi ng nestbox plans Rich Dol esh is stud ying how NABS can and instructi ons fo r monitoring a be nefi t fro m pi,bhc service annou nce­ bluebird trail. ment s on radio and television. Chairma n Dick Tu ttle and his Edu­ Research Co mmit tee Chairman, ca tion Committ ee have ass embled an Tedd Gutzke , with the help of hi s co m­ exce llent slide program. The one hun­ mi tt ee, will be ad minis tering grants to dred copies t hat have been so ld are sti m u la te n eed ed r es e ar ch on taki ng the bluebird conservation sto ry bluebirds. The know ledge ga ined from to youth grou ps, ga rde n and service suc h resea rch w ill help us aid the clubs, se nior citi zens, and others. bluebird and other ca vity nesters more Many more copies have bee n rent ed for effec t ively. the same pur pose. Bluebird research has shc wn that NABS has serve d as a cl earing­ other native cavity neste rs are ex­ house for the many problems faci ng perienci ng problem s due to lack of nestbox traiI op erators such as co m­ nat ural cav it ies.
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