DOCSLIB.ORG

Bird Seed Truck

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Bird Seed Truck Birding News ALBERTA JANUARY 2020 (Common and Hoary) Common redpolls will quickly gather numerous whole seeds and store them in an expandable section of their throat called the diverticulum. Once they have flown One of the "winter finches," nesting in the Arctic and sometimes to the safety of dense cover they will regurgitate the invading southern Canada and the northern states. Redpolls are tiny, restless birds, feeding actively on seeds among trees and weeds, whole seed, husk it and then re-swallow the nut meat. fluttering and climbing about acrobatically, their flocks seemingly They will also fill the diverticulum with seed just before always on the move. For their small size, they have a remarkable the onset of darkness in order to provide an extra source ability to survive cold temperatures; their southward flights are of energy to help them survive the night. sparked by temporary scarcity of food in the North, not by cold. At bird feeders in winter, redpolls are often remarkably tame. Common redpolls are energetic little birds that forage in flocks, gleaning, fluttering, or hanging upside down in the farthest tips of tree Migration branches. Like many finches, they have an undulating, up-and-down Migrates by day, in flocks. Very irregular pattern when they fly. To keep order in flocks, redpolls have several in winter range, probably moving only as ways of indicating their intentions. When quarreling with flock mates, a far south as necessary to find food. redpoll fluffs its plumage, faces its adversary, and opens its bill, sometimes jutting its chin to display the black face patch. Males court females by flying in slow circles while calling and singing. Males may feed females during courtship. You may see small flocks of this social The tiny Common redpoll, one of the smallest members species even during the breeding season; during migration they may of the finch family, weighs only as much as four pennies, group into the thousands. In winter, some redpolls roost in tunnels under the snow, where the snowpack provides insulation and stays yet it survives the cold and darkness of winter in the far much warmer than the night air. north. Most birds depart in autumn to warmer climes. But redpolls feed on birch and alder seeds that are available throughout the winter, no matter how deep the snow. They do it in the cleverest of ways through a series of precise adaptations. Redpolls are acrobats, feeding with ease on the smallest of branches, even hanging upside down to extract seeds from birch catkins. They may shake a catkin vigorously, then drop to the snow to pick up the fallen seeds in a more sheltered spot. This little bird typically eats 40% of its body weight in seeds every day to keep itself alive. The redpoll’s expanded esophagus allows it to store large numbers of seeds during rapid feeding. The bird then retires to a dense conifer and while sheltered from the freezing winds, brings up the seeds one by one, cracking their shells and swallowing the nutritious kernels. In a land of extreme winter conditions, redpolls are survivors. Top 5 Tips for Feeding Redpolls 1) Offer fresh nyjer seed—make sure your nyjer seed (aka thistle or niger) is fresh (less than 2 months old, whether it’s in the feeder or in the bag). Also make sure the seed is loose and dry in the feeder. 2) Hang multiple finch feeders—Redpolls are VERY gregarious. Flocks can number over 100. Having multiple finch feeders for them will allow you to host more Redpolls. 3) Use a mesh finch feeder—Most finch tube-type feeders limit the number of birds on it at one time to the number of perches it has. A mesh finch feeder allows more Redpolls to cling on the feeder to eat and the sight is amazing—looks like a busy-beehive! 4) Keep your feeders and feeding area clean—Redpolls are susceptible to salmonellosis, and because of their flocking behaviour, they could easily spread it to others in the flock. Help them out by cleaning your feeders often with a weak bleach solution (1 part bleach to 9 parts water) and by cleaning the area beneath the feeders as well. 5) Watch for the rare Hoary redpoll—Within any sizeable Redpoll flock, you might be able to pick out a Hoary redpoll, a frostier-coloured cousin of the Common redpoll. Sheep and dog bones can be whittled into orthopedic pins that stabilize pigeons’ fractured wings, helping the fractures to heal properly without follow-up surgery. Researchers describe the treatment, which is cheaper and more efficient than using metal pins for pigeon rehabilitative surgeries. There is no need for the implants to be removed because they will ultimately be absorbed by the body. Therefore the implants can be used for wild birds, such as Eagles, Owls and Gulls. Typically metal pins are used, which is standard for these types of procedures, but researchers noticed imbalance in the flight, take off or landings after fracture repair. Therefore, they wanted a technique to use lightweight pins that they did not need to remove. The team sanded and processed sheep and dog bones, obtained from animals that had previously died, into pins small enough to be inserted into a pigeon’s humeral bones—the wing bone closest to a bird’s body. After 32 weeks of obser- vation, pigeons with sheep or dog bones orthopedic pins were able to fly. The team treated the dog and sheep bones to minimize the risk of rejection or infection. They used hydrogen peroxide to remove grease from the bones and ethylene oxide to sterilize them. Christmas Bird Count 2019 December 15th results Northern pintail Stellar’s jay We offer a discount if you return your seed bags (sorry—not the Mother Nature bags which we cannot re-use), suet ball containers, if you bring your own container to fill or use a bag from our re-cycle bin. This discount is in addition to any other discount offered. Write a Google review on your experience at The Wild Bird Store, and as a thank you, we will give you 100 customer loyalty points ($5.00 value). To get a promo code, kindly email [email protected] Saturdays in The Gallery we serve (one Google review per customer) cookies and coffee. Earn 200 customer loyalty points ($10.00 value) by referring a friend, acquaintance or Have you been into The Galler-oom? Come see fellow birder. the display of art and home décor for sale, from local artists and photographers. Please visit the store to get a promo code. This is where we run our seminars from September to May as well as presentations from No need for a card, just give your phone number. You earn $1.00 for every $20.00 spent birding experts. For information on these (excludes “sales” items, books & optics) and can seminars and presentations see the Seminars and be used in-store and on Mobile Seed Truck. As Presentations section of the newsletter or go to a loyalty member our monthly promotions and in our website and check out the Calendar of -store “specials” are automatically given at the Events. cash register. The Galler-oom is also for rent for small groups of 35 people of less that need a meeting or event space. Table and chairs are available as well as Combining our Seniors 10% discount with refreshments for $50/hour. For more information the Loyalty Program. (Excludes “sales” items, or to book the room, please email books & optics). [email protected]. Discount for membership 10% discount for members of Fish Creek Park, AIWC, Priddis Golf Club, Nature Calgary, Sandy Cross Conservation and Springbank Garden Club. Must present valid membership card at time of purchase. Located at The Wild Bird Store (near the seed Bird Walk BONUS Card Sign up and bins). We collect your donations and arrange to participate in 9 Bird Walks with either Jim St. Laurent or Gavin McKinnon and receive the deliver them to Calgary Wildlife Rehabilitation 10th bird walk FREE . Cards are available Society. For their wish list please visit: from either Jim or Gavin. http://calgarywildlife.org/wishlist/ Shade grown coffee requires little or no chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides. The shade trees filter carbon dioxide which causes global warming, and aid in soil moisture retention which minimizes erosion. Bird Friendly coffee is certified organic and produced on farms with a shade cover that provides important habitat for migratory and resident birds in tropical landscapes, which are increasingly threatened by deforestation globally at an unprecedented rate. The Bird Friendly criteria are the world's most stringent standards for shade-grown coffee production. The market for organic, shade-grown coffee grown to the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center's Bird Friendly® criteria is bigger than ever before. At 19 million pounds, the total volume of Bird Friendly certified coffee produced has grown by 13 million pounds in the past decade. The num- ber of certified producers participating in the program more than doubled in 2017, with more than 4,600 participants managing farms from Mexico to Colombia and Ethiopia to Thailand. Bird Friendly habitat covers more than 30,000 acres around the world. When the coffee reaches its final destination — where it is roasted, packaged and sold — roasters can use the Smithsonian Bird Friendly seal to market their Bird Friendly coffees to consumers. These pennies-on-the-pound royalty fees fuel the program, as well as the Smithsonian Migra- tory Bird Center’s cutting-edge ornithological research exploring the connections between birds, coffee and beyond.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Species Almanac • Nature Activities At
    The deeriNature Almanac What is the i in deeriNature? Is it information, internet? How about identification. When you go out on the Deer Isle preserves, what species are you almost certain to encounter? Which ones might you wish to identify? Then how do you organize your experience so that learning about the nearly overwhelming richness of nature becomes wonderfully satisfying? A century ago every farmer, medicine woman, and indeed any educated man or woman felt that they should have a solid knowledge of the plants around them. The Fairbanks Museum in St. Johnsbury, Vermont has maintained a Flower Table with labeled specimens since 1905. The Deer Isle-Stonington Historical Society has an antique herbarium collection made by Ada Southworth, a Dunham’s point rusticator. Today there are lovely field guides galore but the equivalent of a local list can come to you now by digital download. Here is an almanac, a list of likely plant and animal species (and something about rocks too) for our Deer Isle preserves, arranged according to season and habitat. Enjoy this free e-Book on your desktop, tablet or smartphone. Take this e-book with you on the trails and consult the Point of Interest signs. If you have a smartphone and adequate coverage, at some preserves a QR code will tell you more at the Points of Interest. After each category on the lists you will find suggestions for books to consult or acquire. You will have to read the on line reviews for apps as that field is developing too rapidly for any other approach.
    [Show full text]
  • Nestings of Some Passerine Birds in Western Alaska
    64 Vol. 50 NESTINGS OF SOME PASSERINE BIRDS IN WESTERN ALASKA By LAWRENCE H. WALKINSHAW On May 25, 1946, John J. Stophlet, Jim Walkinshaw and.the writer reached Fair- banks, Alaska, bound for Bethel near the mouth of the Kuskokwim River, on the Bering Sea coast. Floods prevented landing at the air field at Bethel and our plane turned back to McGrath, 275 miles up-river. Bethel finally was reached by boat on June 1 and on June 4 w,e were flown to a cabin 30 miles to the west on the Johnson River. This river originates north and east of Bethel between the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers and flows into the Kuskokwim about 30 miles below Bethel. Breeding birds were observed extensively, especially at the Johnson River locality, where we were stationed from June 4 to 22. Particularly favorable opportunities were presented to observe and photograph the nests of Yellow Wagtails, Redpolls and Tree Sparrows among the passerine birds of the area. Our notes on these speciesare presented ’ ’ herewith. Motacilla flava dascensis. Yellow Wagtail. On a short trip into the tundra northwest of Bethel, on June 2, we observed eight individuals, all males, and all singing. In 165 hours afield at Johnson River 153 individuals were counted. Each male was strongly territorial, defending its area against other male wagtails. Above the territory he gave his aerial song, but he also had song perches. If we appeared on a territory the male flew to meet us, coming to a spot about 8 to 15 meters overhead where he continued to scold while we were in close proximity of the nest area, This .
    [Show full text]
  • Birds of Anchorage Checklist
    ACCIDENTAL, CASUAL, UNSUBSTANTIATED KEY THRUSHES J F M A M J J A S O N D n Casual: Occasionally seen, but not every year Northern Wheatear N n Accidental: Only one or two ever seen here Townsend’s Solitaire N X Unsubstantiated: no photographic or sample evidence to support sighting Gray-cheeked Thrush N W Listed on the Audubon Alaska WatchList of declining or threatened species Birds of Swainson’s Thrush N Hermit Thrush N Spring: March 16–May 31, Summer: June 1–July 31, American Robin N Fall: August 1–November 30, Winter: December 1–March 15 Anchorage, Alaska Varied Thrush N W STARLINGS SPRING SUMMER FALL WINTER SPECIES SPECIES SPRING SUMMER FALL WINTER European Starling N CHECKLIST Ross's Goose Vaux's Swift PIPITS Emperor Goose W Anna's Hummingbird The Anchorage area offers a surprising American Pipit N Cinnamon Teal Costa's Hummingbird Tufted Duck Red-breasted Sapsucker WAXWINGS diversity of habitat from tidal mudflats along Steller's Eider W Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Bohemian Waxwing N Common Eider W Willow Flycatcher the coast to alpine habitat in the Chugach BUNTINGS Ruddy Duck Least Flycatcher John Schoen Lapland Longspur Pied-billed Grebe Hammond's Flycatcher Mountains bordering the city. Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel Eastern Kingbird BOHEMIAN WAXWING Snow Bunting N Leach's Storm-Petrel Western Kingbird WARBLERS Pelagic Cormorant Brown Shrike Red-faced Cormorant W Cassin's Vireo Northern Waterthrush N For more information on Alaska bird festivals Orange-crowned Warbler N Great Egret Warbling Vireo Swainson's Hawk Red-eyed Vireo and birding maps for Anchorage, Fairbanks, Yellow Warbler N American Coot Purple Martin and Kodiak, contact Audubon Alaska at Blackpoll Warbler N W Sora Pacific Wren www.AudubonAlaska.org or 907-276-7034.
    [Show full text]
  • Differentially Expressed Genes Match Bill Morphology and Plumage Despite Largely Undifferentiated Genomes in a Holarctic Songbird
    Molecular Ecology (2015) doi: 10.1111/mec.13140 Differentially expressed genes match bill morphology and plumage despite largely undifferentiated genomes in a Holarctic songbird NICHOLAS A. MASON*† and SCOTT A. TAYLOR*† *Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, 215 Tower Rd., Ithaca, NY 14853, USA, †Fuller Evolutionary Biology Program, Laboratory of Ornithology, Cornell University, 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA Abstract Understanding the patterns and processes that contribute to phenotypic diversity and speciation is a central goal of evolutionary biology. Recently, high-throughput sequencing has provided unprecedented phylogenetic resolution in many lineages that have experienced rapid diversification. The Holarctic redpoll finches (Genus: Acanthis) provide an intriguing example of a recent, phenotypically diverse lineage; traditional sequencing and genotyping methods have failed to detect any genetic differences between currently recognized species, despite marked variation in plumage and mor- phology within the genus. We examined variation among 20 712 anonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) distributed throughout the redpoll genome in com- bination with 215 825 SNPs within the redpoll transcriptome, gene expression data and ecological niche modelling to evaluate genetic and ecological differentiation among currently recognized species. Expanding upon previous findings, we present evidence of (i) largely undifferentiated genomes among currently recognized species; (ii) substantial niche
    [Show full text]
  • Notes on the Common Redpoll 2007/2008 Winter
    Notes on the Common Redpoll ( Carduelis flam mea) Incursion During the 2007/2008 Winter Antonio Salvadori Richard Frank David Lambie 17 Colborn Street Third Line 845 Guelph Street - Guelph, ON N1G 2M4 Eramosa, ON NOB 2KO Fergus, ON N1 M 2X5 Corresponding Author: [email protected] ABSTRACT with nyjer seed. Three mist nets were used from An irruption of the Common Redpoll, Cardue/is daylight to dusk on alternate days when weather flammea, which occurred in southern Ontario conditions were suitable. CO (Colwyn Farm, during the winter of 2007/2008 is discussed. Fergus, ON) is mainly a horse farm approximately 20 km north of GU where a similar set of feeders INTRODUCTION and nets were used. However, trapping only took place once a week. FH (Frog Hollow, Eramosa, Common Redpolls are a circumpolar Arctic and ON) is also a rural location. Trapping was Subarctic species distributed across the northern performed using a set of Potter traps baited with a latitudes (Mullarney et al., 1999; Godfrey 1986; variety of mixed seeds on platforms. DL (Hughes Sibley 2000.) They winter from their southern Farm near Ennotville, ON) and JB (Burgers near breeding range south to all Canadian provinces, Orton, ON) are also rural properties. Mist nets were northern California, Nevada, Colorado, Kansas, used at DL, while a variety of confusion traps were Ohio, West Virginia and northern Virginia. In every used at JB. Neither GU nor CO stations were in second year they appear on their wintering operation from 9 Feb to 19 Mar; FH was not in grounds in numbers, and in some years, they irrupt operation from 12 to 26 Feb.
    [Show full text]
  • Wildlife in Your Young Forest.Pdf
    WILDLIFE IN YOUR Young Forest 1 More Wildlife in Your Woods CREATE YOUNG FOREST AND ENJOY THE WILDLIFE IT ATTRACTS WHEN TO EXPECT DIFFERENT ANIMALS his guide presents some of the wildlife you may used to describe this dense, food-rich habitat are thickets, T see using your young forest as it grows following a shrublands, and early successional habitat. timber harvest or other management practice. As development has covered many acres, and as young The following lists focus on areas inhabited by the woodlands have matured to become older forest, the New England cottontail (Sylvilagus transitionalis), a rare amount of young forest available to wildlife has dwindled. native rabbit that lives in parts of New York east of the Having diverse wildlife requires having diverse habitats on Hudson River, and in parts of Connecticut, Rhode Island, the land, including some young forest. Massachusetts, southern New Hampshire, and southern Maine. In this region, conservationists and landowners In nature, young forest is created by floods, wildfires, storms, are carrying out projects to create the young forest and and beavers’ dam-building and feeding. To protect lives and shrubland that New England cottontails need to survive. property, we suppress floods, fires, and beaver activities. Such projects also help many other kinds of wildlife that Fortunately, we can use habitat management practices, use the same habitat. such as timber harvests, to mimic natural disturbance events and grow young forest in places where it will do the most Young forest provides abundant food and cover for insects, good. These habitat projects boost the amount of food reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals.
    [Show full text]
  • Kingdom of Sweden
    Johan Maltesson A Visitor´s Factbook on the KINGDOM OF SWEDEN © Johan Maltesson Johan Maltesson A Visitor’s Factbook to the Kingdom of Sweden Helsingborg, Sweden 2017 Preface This little publication is a condensed facts guide to Sweden, foremost intended for visitors to Sweden, as well as for persons who are merely interested in learning more about this fascinating, multifacetted and sadly all too unknown country. This book’s main focus is thus on things that might interest a visitor. Included are: Basic facts about Sweden Society and politics Culture, sports and religion Languages Science and education Media Transportation Nature and geography, including an extensive taxonomic list of Swedish terrestrial vertebrate animals An overview of Sweden’s history Lists of Swedish monarchs, prime ministers and persons of interest The most common Swedish given names and surnames A small dictionary of common words and phrases, including a small pronounciation guide Brief individual overviews of all of the 21 administrative counties of Sweden … and more... Wishing You a pleasant journey! Some notes... National and county population numbers are as of December 31 2016. Political parties and government are as of April 2017. New elections are to be held in September 2018. City population number are as of December 31 2015, and denotes contiguous urban areas – without regard to administra- tive division. Sports teams listed are those participating in the highest league of their respective sport – for soccer as of the 2017 season and for ice hockey and handball as of the 2016-2017 season. The ”most common names” listed are as of December 31 2016.
    [Show full text]
  • (2007): Birds of the Aleutian Islands, Alaska Please
    Bold* = Breeding Sp Su Fa Wi Bold* = Breeding Sp Su Fa Wi OSPREYS FINCHES Osprey Ca Ca Ac Brambling I Ca Ca EAGLES and HAWKS Hawfinch I Ca Northern Harrier I I I Common Rosefinch Ca Eurasian Sparrowhawk Ac (Ac) Pine Grosbeak Ca Bald Eagle* C C C C Asian Rosy-Finch Ac Rough-legged Hawk Ac Ca Ca Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch* C C C C OWLS (griseonucha) Snowy Owl I Ca I I Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch (littoralis) Ac Short-eared Owl* R R R U Oriental Greenfinch Ca FALCONS Common Redpoll I Ca I I Eurasian Kestrel Ac Ac Hoary Redpoll Ca Ac Ca Ca Merlin Ca I Red Crossbill Ac Gyrfalcon* R R R R White-winged Crossbill Ac Peregrine Falcon* (pealei) U U C U Pine Siskin I Ac I SHRIKES LONGSPURS and SNOW BUNTINGS Northern Shrike Ca Ca Ca Lapland Longspur* Ac-C C C-Ac Ac CROWS and JAYS Snow Bunting* C C C C Common Raven* C C C C McKay's Bunting Ca Ac LARKS EMBERIZIDS Sky Lark Ca Ac Rustic Bunting Ca Ca SWALLOWS American Tree Sparrow Ac Tree Swallow Ca Ca Ac Savannah Sparrow Ca Ca Ca Bank Swallow Ac Ca Ca Song Sparrow* C C C C Cliff Swallow Ca Golden-crowned Sparrow Ac Ac Barn Swallow Ca Dark-eyed Junco Ac WRENS BLACKBIRDS Pacific Wren* C C C U Rusty Blackbird Ac LEAF WARBLERS WOOD-WARBLERS Bold* = Breeding Sp Su Fa Wi Wood Warbler Ac Yellow Warbler Ac Dusky Warbler Ac Blackpoll Warbler Ac DUCKS, GEESE and SWANS Kamchatka Leaf Warbler Ac Yellow-rumped Warbler Ac Emperor Goose C-I Ca I-C C OLD WORLD FLYCATCHERS "HYPOTHETICAL" species needing more documentation Snow Goose Ac Ac Gray-streaked Flycatcher Ca American Golden-plover (Ac) Greater White-fronted Goose I
    [Show full text]
  • Supposed Periodicity of Redpoll, Carduelis Sp., Winter Visitations in Atlantic Canada
    Supposed Periodicity of Redpoll, Carduelis sp., Winter Visitations in Atlantic Canada ANTHONY J. E RSKINE 1 and REID MCMANUS , J R.2 116 Richardson Street, Sackville, New Brunswick E4L 4H6 Canada 2657 Royal Road, Memramcook, New Brunswick E4K 1X1 Canada Erskine, Anthony J., and Reid McManus, Jr. 2003. Supposed periodicity of Redpoll, Carduelis sp., visitations in Atlantic Canada. Canadian Field-Naturalist 117(4): 611-620. Redpoll (primarily Carduelis flammea ) data from the New Brunswick–Nova Scotia border region were reviewed in the context of alleged biennial periodicity of irruptions south of their breeding range. Long-term records by the authors suggested a number of departures from visitation in alternate years. Three local Christmas Bird Counts (CBCs) spanning the last 41 winters supported the less-than-regular pattern shown by individual observations. CBC redpoll data from across the Atlantic Provinces revealed annual redpoll visitations across southern New Brunswick, where the largest regional counts (adjusted for observer effort) usually occurred. Visitation to Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland was less frequent, and patterns there were often obscured by scarcity of CBCs with both long-run coverage and redpolls. Examination of those data in relation to varying food availability suggested that irregular abundance but near-annual occurrence of redpoll visitation explains observed observations better than attempts to find periodicity in their irruptions. Key Words: Common Redpoll, Carduelis flammea , Atlantic Provinces, winter, irruptions, periodicity, food availability. Redpolls (here discussed as Carduelis flammea; C. and limited seasonal sampling by CBCs. Hochachka hornemanni is rare – and under-detected – in our et al. (1999) used data from Project FeederWatch, region) breed in the subarctic all around the northern which partly avoided those limitations, but their paper hemisphere.
    [Show full text]
  • Checklist of Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds and Mammals of New York
    CHECKLIST OF AMPHIBIANS, REPTILES, BIRDS AND MAMMALS OF NEW YORK STATE Including Their Legal Status Eastern Milk Snake Moose Blue-spotted Salamander Common Loon New York State Artwork by Jean Gawalt Department of Environmental Conservation Division of Fish and Wildlife Page 1 of 30 February 2019 New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Division of Fish and Wildlife Wildlife Diversity Group 625 Broadway Albany, New York 12233-4754 This web version is based upon an original hard copy version of Checklist of the Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds and Mammals of New York, Including Their Protective Status which was first published in 1985 and revised and reprinted in 1987. This version has had substantial revision in content and form. First printing - 1985 Second printing (rev.) - 1987 Third revision - 2001 Fourth revision - 2003 Fifth revision - 2005 Sixth revision - December 2005 Seventh revision - November 2006 Eighth revision - September 2007 Ninth revision - April 2010 Tenth revision – February 2019 Page 2 of 30 Introduction The following list of amphibians (34 species), reptiles (38), birds (474) and mammals (93) indicates those vertebrate species believed to be part of the fauna of New York and the present legal status of these species in New York State. Common and scientific nomenclature is as according to: Crother (2008) for amphibians and reptiles; the American Ornithologists' Union (1983 and 2009) for birds; and Wilson and Reeder (2005) for mammals. Expected occurrence in New York State is based on: Conant and Collins (1991) for amphibians and reptiles; Levine (1998) and the New York State Ornithological Association (2009) for birds; and New York State Museum records for terrestrial mammals.
    [Show full text]
  • Conservation Status of New Zealand Birds, 2008
    Notornis, 2008, Vol. 55: 117-135 117 0029-4470 © The Ornithological Society of New Zealand, Inc. Conservation status of New Zealand birds, 2008 Colin M. Miskelly* Wellington Conservancy, Department of Conservation, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington 6145, New Zealand [email protected] JOHN E. DOWDING DM Consultants, P.O. Box 36274, Merivale, Christchurch 8146, New Zealand GRAEME P. ELLIOTT Research & Development Group, Department of Conservation, Private Bag 5, Nelson 7042, New Zealand RODNEY A. HITCHMOUGH RALPH G. POWLESLAND HUGH A. ROBERTSON Research & Development Group, Department of Conservation, P.O. Box 10420, Wellington 6143, New Zealand PAUL M. SAGAR National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research, P.O. Box 8602, Christchurch 8440, New Zealand R. PAUL SCOFIELD Canterbury Museum, Rolleston Ave, Christchurch 8001, New Zealand GRAEME A. TAYLOR Research & Development Group, Department of Conservation, P.O. Box 10420, Wellington 6143, New Zealand Abstract An appraisal of the conservation status of the post-1800 New Zealand avifauna is presented. The list comprises 428 taxa in the following categories: ‘Extinct’ 20, ‘Threatened’ 77 (comprising 24 ‘Nationally Critical’, 15 ‘Nationally Endangered’, 38 ‘Nationally Vulnerable’), ‘At Risk’ 93 (comprising 18 ‘Declining’, 10 ‘Recovering’, 17 ‘Relict’, 48 ‘Naturally Uncommon’), ‘Not Threatened’ (native and resident) 36, ‘Coloniser’ 8, ‘Migrant’ 27, ‘Vagrant’ 130, and ‘Introduced and Naturalised’ 36. One species was assessed as ‘Data Deficient’. The list uses the New Zealand Threat Classification System, which provides greater resolution of naturally uncommon taxa typical of insular environments than the IUCN threat ranking system. New Zealand taxa are here ranked at subspecies level, and in some cases population level, when populations are judged to be potentially taxonomically distinct on the basis of genetic data or morphological observations.
    [Show full text]
  • Redpolls by Ron Pittaway
    108 Recognizable Forms Redpolls by Ron Pittaway Introduction (1988) treats it as representing very The American Ornithologists' long-billed individuals of nominate e. Union Check-list (1983) recognizes r [lammea. The Hoary Redpoll also two species of redpolls: Common has two subspecies in Canada: a Redpoll (earduelis flammea) and small southern race (e. h. exilipes) Hoary Redpoll (e. hornemannis. and the larger northern nominate Each species has two well-marked race (e. h. hornemannii. subspecies in Canada (Godfrey 1986). Troy's (1985) widely read and However, the taxonomy of redpolls much quoted study concluded that has been much debated. Some the southern race of the Common authors suggest lumping all redpolls Redpoll (e. [. flammea) and the into a single species, while others southern race of the Hoary Redpoll propose splitting them into four (e. h. exilipes) should be lumped as separate species. Regardless of how one highly variable species. His many species there are, classic assumption was that intermediate individuals of each of the four forms birds represented hybrids. This view are recognizable in the field. The appealed to many ornithologists, legendary George North of Hamilton birders and banders who had found actually saw the four forms of themselves perplexed by redpoll redpolls in one flock at Aldershot on identification. However, later 23 March 1958 (North 1983)! In order researchers questioned Troy's to recognize these forms, we require taxonomic conclusions. Seutin et al. a sound knowledge of the field (1989) noted that Troy failed "to take marks, plus a thorough understanding age dimorphism into consideration in of redpoll plumages, effects of wear, his analysis".
    [Show full text]