Characteristics of Storks
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Hungary & Transylvania
Although we had many exciting birds, the ‘Bird of the trip’ was Wallcreeper in 2015. (János Oláh) HUNGARY & TRANSYLVANIA 14 – 23 MAY 2015 LEADER: JÁNOS OLÁH Central and Eastern Europe has a great variety of bird species including lots of special ones but at the same time also offers a fantastic variety of different habitats and scenery as well as the long and exciting history of the area. Birdquest has operated tours to Hungary since 1991, being one of the few pioneers to enter the eastern block. The tour itinerary has been changed a few times but nowadays the combination of Hungary and Transylvania seems to be a settled and well established one and offers an amazing list of European birds. This tour is a very good introduction to birders visiting Europe for the first time but also offers some difficult-to-see birds for those who birded the continent before. We had several tour highlights on this recent tour but certainly the displaying Great Bustards, a majestic pair of Eastern Imperial Eagle, the mighty Saker, the handsome Red-footed Falcon, a hunting Peregrine, the shy Capercaillie, the elusive Little Crake and Corncrake, the enigmatic Ural Owl, the declining White-backed Woodpecker, the skulking River and Barred Warblers, a rare Sombre Tit, which was a write-in, the fluty Red-breasted and Collared Flycatchers and the stunning Wallcreeper will be long remembered. We recorded a total of 214 species on this short tour, which is a respectable tally for Europe. Amongst these we had 18 species of raptors, 6 species of owls, 9 species of woodpeckers and 15 species of warblers seen! Our mammal highlight was undoubtedly the superb views of Carpathian Brown Bears of which we saw ten on a single afternoon! 1 BirdQuest Tour Report: Hungary & Transylvania 2015 www.birdquest-tours.com We also had a nice overview of the different habitats of a Carpathian transect from the Great Hungarian Plain through the deciduous woodlands of the Carpathian foothills to the higher conifer-covered mountains. -
First Record of an Extinct Marabou Stork in the Neogene of South America
First record of an extinct marabou stork in the Neogene of South America JORGE IGNACIO NORIEGA and GERARDO CLADERA Noriega, J.I. and Cladera, G. 2008. First record of an extinct marabou stork in the Neogene of South America. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 53 (4): 593–600. We describe a new large species of marabou stork, Leptoptilus patagonicus (Ciconiiformes, Ciconiidae, Leptoptilini), from the late Miocene Puerto Madryn Formation, Chubut Province, Argentina. The specimen consists mainly of wing and leg bones, pelvis, sternum, cervical vertebrae, and a few fragments of the skull. We provisionally adopt the traditional system− atic scheme of ciconiid tribes. The specimen is referred to the Leptoptilini on the basis of similarities in morphology and intramembral proportions with the extant genera Ephippiorhynchus, Jabiru,andLeptoptilos. The fossil specimen resembles in overall morphology and size the species of Leptoptilos, but also exhibits several exclusive characters of the sternum, hu− merus, carpometacarpus, tibiotarsus, and pelvis. Additionally, its wing proportions differ from those of any living taxon, providing support to erect a new species. This is the first record of the tribe Leptoptilini in the Tertiary of South America. Key words: Ciconiidae, Leptoptilos, Miocene, Argentina, South America. Jorge I. Noriega [[email protected]], Laboratorio de Paleontología de Vertebrados, CICYTTP−CONICET, Matteri y España, 3105 Diamante, Argentina; Gerardo Cladera [[email protected]], Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio, Avenida Fontana 140, 9100 Trelew, Argentina. Introduction Institutional abbreviations.—BMNH, Natural History Mu− seum, London, UK; CICYTTP, Centro de Investigaciones The stork family (Ciconiidae) is a well−defined group of Científicas y Transferencia de Tecnología a la Producción, waterbirds, traditionally divided into three tribes: the Myc− Diamante, Argentina; CNAR−KB3, collections of locality 3 of teriini, the Ciconiini, and the Leptoptilini (Kahl 1971, 1972, the Kossom Bougoudi area, Centre National d’Appui à la 1979). -
Spring Migration of Soaring Birds Over the Bosphorus, Turkey, in 2006
Spring migration of soaring birds over the Bosphorus, Turkey, in 2006 ÖzkAN ÜNER, kEREM ALi BoyLA, ERGÜN BAcAk, ERTuğRuL BiREL, İLhAN ÇELikoBA, CEM DALYAN, EVRIM TABUR & ÜMIT YARDIM The Bosphorus is one of the most important migration bottlenecks in the Middle East. However, most counts have been done during autumn and complete spring counts are very few. In spring 2006, a complete count of migrating soaring birds over the Bosphorus was carried out. We report a total of 100 051 birds, which consisted of 51 958 White Storks Ciconia ciconia, 16 185 Common Buzzards Buteo buteo, 15 232 Lesser Spotted Eagles Aquila pomarina and 9085 Honey Buzzards Pernis apivorus. The study demonstrates the importance of the Bosphorus for the spring migration of soaring birds. INTRODUCTION Turkey has major Western Palearctic migration crossroads, with corridors and bottlenecks for soaring birds in the northwestern (Bosphorus in Istanbul, Figure 1), northeastern (Borçka, Artvin province) and southern (Belen, Hatay province) parts of the country (Grimmett & Jones 1989). The Bosphorus is a well-known migration bottleneck for soaring birds due to its location at the junction between Europe and Asia. The whole population of eastern White Storks Ciconia ciconia, over 340 000 birds, flies over the Bosphorus. Zalles & Bildstein (2000) reported between 29 000 and 75 000 migrant raptors in autumn over the Bosphorus whereas a very recent multi-station but short survey has shown that more than 150 000 raptors use the area in autumn (Milvus Group 2008). Most of the world population of Lesser Spotted Eagles Aquila pomarina and Levant Sparrowhawks Accipiter brevipes, at least in autumn, crosses into Asia via the Bosphorus (Kirwan et al 2008) using the east Mediterranean route (Shirihai et al 2000). -
Wood-Stork-2005.Pdf
WOOD STORK Mycteria americana Photo of adult wood stork in landing posture and chicks in Close-up photo of adult wood stork. nest. Photo courtesy of USFWS/Photo by George Gentry Photo courtesy of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. FAMILY: Ciconiidae STATUS: Endangered - U.S. Breeding Population (Federal Register, February 28, 1984) [Service Proposed for status upgrade to Threatened, December 26, 2013] DESCRIPTION: Wood storks are large, long-legged wading birds, about 45 inches tall, with a wingspan of 60 to 65 inches. The plumage is white except for black primaries and secondaries and a short black tail. The head and neck are largely unfeathered and dark gray in color. The bill is black, thick at the base, and slightly decurved. Immature birds have dingy gray feathers on their head and a yellowish bill. FEEDING HABITS: Small fish from 1 to 6 inches long, especially topminnows and sunfish, provide this bird's primary diet. Wood storks capture their prey by a specialized technique known as grope-feeding or tacto-location. Feeding often occurs in water 6 to 10 inches deep, where a stork probes with the bill partly open. When a fish touches the bill it quickly snaps shut. The average response time of this reflex is 25 milliseconds, making it one of the fastest reflexes known in vertebrates. Wood storks use thermals to soar as far as 80 miles from nesting to feeding areas. Since thermals do not form in early morning, wood storks may arrive at feeding areas later than other wading bird species such as herons. -
Colonial Nesting Waterbirds Fact Sheet
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Colonial-Nesting Waterbirds A Glorious and Gregarious Group What Is a Colonial-Nesting Waterbird? species of cormorants, gulls, and terns also Colonial-nesting waterbird is a tongue- occupy freshwater habitats. twister of a collective term used by bird biologists to refer to a large variety of Wading Birds seek their prey in fresh or different species that share two common brackish waters. As the name implies, characteristics: (1) they tend to gather in these birds feed principally by wading or large assemblages, called colonies, during standing still in the water, patiently waiting the nesting season, and (2) they obtain all for fish or other prey to swim within Migratory Bird Management or most of their food (fish and aquatic striking distance. The wading birds invertebrates) from the water. Colonial- include the bitterns, herons, egrets, night- nesting waterbirds can be further divided herons, ibises, spoonbills, and storks. Mission into two major groups depending on where they feed. Should We Be Concerned About the To conserve migratory bird Conservation Status of Colonial-Nesting populations and their habitats Seabirds (also called marine birds, oceanic Waterbirds? birds, or pelagic birds) feed primarily in Yes. While many species of seabirds for future generations, through saltwater. Some seabirds are so appear to have incredibly large careful monitoring and effective marvelously adapted to marine populations, they nevertheless face a management. environments that they spend virtually steady barrage of threats, such as oil their entire lives at sea, returning to land pollution associated with increased tanker only to nest; others (especially the gulls traffic and spills, direct mortality from and terns) are confined to the narrow entanglement and drowning in commercial coastal interface between land and sea, fishing gear, depletion of forage fishes due feeding during the day and loafing and to overexploitation by commercial roosting on land. -
Spread-Wing Postures and Their Possible Functions in the Ciconiidae
THE AUK A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY Von. 88 Oc:roBE'a 1971 No. 4 SPREAD-WING POSTURES AND THEIR POSSIBLE FUNCTIONS IN THE CICONIIDAE M. P. KAI-IL IN two recent papers Clark (19'69) and Curry-Lindahl (1970) have reported spread-wingpostures in storks and other birds and discussed someof the functionsthat they may serve. During recent field studies (1959-69) of all 17 speciesof storks, I have had opportunitiesto observespread-wing postures. in a number of speciesand under different environmentalconditions (Table i). The contextsin which thesepostures occur shed somelight on their possible functions. TYPES OF SPREAD-WING POSTURES Varying degreesof wing spreadingare shownby at least 13 species of storksunder different conditions.In somestorks (e.g. Ciconia nigra, Euxenuragaleata, Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis, and ]abiru mycteria) I observedno spread-wingpostures and have foundno referenceto them in the literature. In the White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) I observedonly a wing-droopingposture--with the wings held a short distanceaway from the sidesand the primaries fanned downward--in migrant birds wetted by a heavy rain at NgorongoroCrater, Tanzania. Other species often openedthe wingsonly part way, in a delta-wingposture (Frontis- piece), in which the forearmsare openedbut the primariesremain folded so that their tips crossin front o.f or below the. tail. In some species (e.g. Ibis leucocephalus)this was the most commonly observedspread- wing posture. All those specieslisted in Table i, with the exception of C. ciconia,at times adopted a full-spreadposture (Figures i, 2, 3), similar to those referred to by Clark (1969) and Curry-Lindahl (1970) in severalgroups of water birds. -
Checklist of Suffolk Birds
Suffolk Bird Checklist status up to and including 2001 records (2002 & 2003 where stated) - not including BOURC category E R = records considered by BBRC r = records considered by SORC, requiring full descriptions see end of list for Category D and abundance codes red-throated diver common winter visitor and passage migrant, rare inland black-throated diver uncommon winter visitor and passage migrant, rare inland great northern diver uncommon winter visitor and passage migrant yellow (white)-billed diver R accidental, 3 records; 1852, 1978 and 1994 little grebe locally common resident, passage migrant and winter visitor great crested grebe locally common resident, passage migrant and winter visitor red-necked grebe uncommon winter visitor and passage migrant, mostly coastal slavonian grebe uncommon winter visitor and passage migrant, mostly coastal black-necked grebe uncommon winter visitor and passage migrant northern fulmar fairly common summer visitor and passage migrant Cory's shearwater r very rare (autumn) passage migrant; 28 records of 37 individuals, all post 1973 great shearwater r accidental, 6 records; 3 post 1950 sooty shearwater uncommon autumn migrant Manx shearwater uncommon passage migrant, mainly autumn Balearic shearwater r very rare passage migrant, 9 records, all since 1998 Leach's storm petrel r scarce passage migrant European storm petrel r very rare passage migrant, 28 individuals since 1950 northern gannet common offshore passage migrant great cormorant locally common passage migrant and winter visitor, a few oversummer -
The Use of Nest-Boxes by Two Species of Sparrows (Passer Domesticus and P
Intern. Stud. Sparrows 2012, 36: 18-29 Andrzej WĘGRZYNOWICZ Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Science Wilcza 64, 00-679 Warsaw e-mail: [email protected] THE USE OF NEST-BOXES BY TWO SPECIES OF SPARROWS (PASSER DOMESTICUS AND P. MONTANUS) WITH OPPOSITE TRENDS OF ABUNDANCE – THE STUDY IN WARSAW ABSTRACT The occupation of nest-boxes by House- and Tree Sparrow in Warsaw was investigated in 2005-2009 and in 2012 . Riparian forests, younger and older parks in downtown, and housing estates were included in the study as 4 types of habitats corresponding to the urbanization gradient of Warsaw . 1035 inspections of nest-boxes suitable for both spe- cies (type A) were carried out during the breeding period and 345 nest-boxes of other types were inspected after the breeding period . In order to determine the importance of nest-boxes for both species on different plots, obtained data were analyzed using Nest-box Importance Coefficient (NIC) . This coefficient describes species-specific rate of occupation of nest-boxes as well as the contribution of the pairs nesting in them . Tree Sparrow occupied a total of 33% of A-type nest-boxes, its densities were positively correlated with the number of nest-boxes, and seasonal differences in occupation rate were low for this species . The NIC and the rate of nest-box occupation for Tree Sparrow decreased along an urbanization gradient . House Sparrow used nest-boxes very rarely, only in older parks and some housing estates . Total rate of nest-box occupation for House Sparrow in studied plots was 4%, and NIC was relatively low . -
Imperiled Coastal Birds of Florida and the State Laws That Protect Them
Reddish Egret Roseate Spoonbill Threatened (S) Threatened (S) Imperiled Coastal The rarest heron in North Using spatulala-shaped Birds of Florida America, Reddish Egrets bills to feel prey in shallow are strictly coastal. They ponds, streams, or coastal and the chase small fish on open waters, Roseate Spoonbills State Laws that flats. They nest in small nest in trees along the numbers on estuary coast and inland. Having Protect Them islands, usually in colonies barely recovered from with other nesting wading hunting eradication, these birds. This mid-sized heron birds now face extirpation is mostly gray with rust- from climate change and colored head, though some sea-level rise. birds are solid white. Wood Stork Florida Sandhill Threatened (F) Florida Statutes and Rules Crane This large wading bird Threatened (S) is the only stork in the 68A-27.003 Designation and management of the state- This crane subspecies is Americas. Breeding areas listed species and coordination with federal government for resident year-round in have shifted from south federally-listed species Florida, and defends a Florida and the Everglades nesting territory that is northward. Wood Storks 68A-19.005 General Regulations relating to state- must have abundant prey adjacent to open upland designated Critical Wildlife Areas foraging habitat. Nesting concentrated in shallow in shallow ponds, adults wetlands in order to feed 68A-4.001 Controls harvest of wildlife only under permitted defend their eggs or chicks their young. Prey items from predators including include -
Whitewater's Slideboarding Brings Gaming Technology to Waterparks
#59 • volume 11, issue 4 • 2015 www.inparkmagazine.com 39 WhiteWater’s Slideboarding brings gaming technology to waterparks 17 36 Waterpark attendance Jurassic World, zoos & figures & NEW analysis hybridization Making the connection between waterparks, zoos and aquaria GGE #59 • volume 11, issue 4 Growing green 6 Gilroy Gardens rolls out new educational attractions • by Christine Kerr Bringing animals to light 10 Lighting for aquaria and zoos • by Patrick Gallegos Waterparks: what does the future hold? 14 Predictions for the market • by Monty Lunde The rising tide of waterpark attendance 17 Trends show continued global growth • by Brian Sands Good design habitats 22 Designing to celebrate and protect animals • by Jeremy Railton Hot in Cleveland (and other zoo exhibits) 28 Letting animals swim, soak and splash • by Judith Rubin The road to blue world 32 SeaWorld San Antonio evolves and expands • by Joe Kleiman Attraction hybridization 36 What Jurassic World teaches us about zoos • by Stacey Ludlum and Eileen Hill Changing the waterpark game 39 Slideboarding brings gaming technology to waterslides • by Martin Palicki Ocean Park Hong Kong 45 Enhancing the conservation message through experience • by Martin Palicki GGE staff & contributors advertisers EDITOR CONTRIBUTORS Alcorn McBride 38 Martin Palicki Patrick Gallegos DEAL 5 Eileen Hill DNP 16 CO-EDITOR Christine Kerr Judith Rubin Stacey Ludlum Electrosonic 9 Monty Lunde Entertainment Design Corporation 34 CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Jeremy Railton The Goddard Group 2 Joe Kleiman Brian Sands Kim Rily IAAPA Attractions Expo 35 Mitch Rily DESIGN Polin Waterparks back cover mcp, llc Technifex 11 InPark Magazine (ISSN 1553-1767) is published Such material must be accompanied by a self- Triotech 13 five times a year by Martin Chronicles adressed and stamped envelope to be returned. -
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 -
The Pliocene Demise of the Giant Volant Birds
Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 4 March 2021 doi:10.20944/preprints202103.0164.v1 Article Into Thinner Air: The Pliocene Demise of the Giant Volant Birds Alan Cannell 1 1 Istituto Italiano Di Paleontologia Umana; [email protected] Simple Summary: All very large flying birds with a mass greater than 20 kg became extinct about 3 million years ago. One possible reason for this is bio-mechanical stress during takeoff in less dense air. This possibility is examined using a bird flight simulation model and a paleo-air density value derived from two different proxies. Takeoff airspeed and power requirements for the three known species at this value are found to be similar to those of large extant birds, but at present air density, takeoff speed is significantly higher. The escape of lighter isotopes of nitrogen during long periods of weak geomagnetic fields could be a possible explanation for this loss in atmospheric mass and how this would appear in the geological record and how it would affect the climate in terms of cooling is discussed. Abstract: Three genera of very large volant birds existed for most of the Pliocene: the Pelagornithi- dae seabirds; the large North American Teratornithidae and the stork Leptoptilos falconeri in Africa and Asia. All became extinct around 3 Ma. The reasons for their demise are puzzling, as the Pela- gornithidae had a world-wide evolutionary history of more than 50 Ma, smaller teratorns were still extant in the Holocene and smaller stork species are still globally extant. Extant large birds have a common critical takeoff airspeed suggesting a biomechanical limit in terms of power, risk and launch speed, and simulations of the flight of these extinct species suggest that at 1 bar they would have exceeded this value.