What Makes a Bird a Bird?
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Behavior and Attendance Patterns of the Fork-Tailed Storm-Petrel
BEHAVIOR AND ATTENDANCE PATTERNS OF THE FORK-TAILED STORM-PETREL THEODORE R. SIMONS Wildlife Science Group, Collegeof Forest Resources, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195 USA ABSTRACT.--Behavior and attendance patterns of breeding Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels (Ocea- nodromafurcata) were monitored over two nesting seasonson the Barren Islands, Alaska. The asynchrony of egg laying and hatching shown by these birds apparently reflects the influence of severalfactors, including snow conditionson the breedinggrounds, egg neglectduring incubation, and food availability. Communication between breeding birds was characterized by auditory and tactile signals.Two distinct vocalizationswere identified, one of which appearsto be a sex-specific call given by males during pair formation. Generally, both adults were present in the burrow on the night of egg laying, and the male took the first incubation shift. Incubation shiftsranged from 1 to 5 days, with 2- and 3-day shifts being the most common. Growth parameters of the chicks, reproductive success, and breeding chronology varied considerably between years; this pre- sumably relates to a difference in conditions affecting the availability of food. Adults apparently responded to changes in food availability during incubation by altering their attendance patterns. When conditionswere good, incubation shifts were shorter, egg neglectwas reduced, and chicks were brooded longer and were fed more frequently. Adults assistedthe chick in emerging from the shell. Chicks became active late in the nestling stage and began to venture from the burrow severaldays prior to fledging. Adults continuedto visit the chick during that time but may have reducedthe amountof fooddelivered. Chicks exhibiteda distinctprefledging weight loss.Received 18 September1979, accepted26 July 1980. -
Natural History and Breeding Behavior of the Tinamou, Nothoprocta Ornata
THE AUK A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY VoL. 72 APRIL, 1955 No. 2 NATURAL HISTORY AND BREEDING BEHAVIOR OF THE TINAMOU, NOTHOPROCTA ORNATA ON the high mountainous plain of southern Peril west of Lake Titicaca live three speciesof the little known family Tinamidae. The three speciesrepresent three different genera and grade in size from the small, quail-sizedNothura darwini found in the farin land and grassy hills about Lake Titicaca between 12,500 and 13,300 feet to the large, pheasant-sized Tinamotis pentlandi in the bleak country between 14,000 and 16,000 feet. Nothoproctaornata, the third species in this area and the one to be discussedin the present report, is in- termediate in size and generally occurs at intermediate elevations. In Peril we have encountered Nothoproctabetween 13,000 and 14,300 feet. It often lives in the same grassy areas as Nothura; indeed, the two speciesmay be flushed simultaneouslyfrom the same spot. This is not true of Nothoproctaand the larger tinamou, Tinamotis, for although at places they occur within a few hundred yards of each other, Nothoproctais usually found in the bunch grassknown locally as ichu (mostly Stipa ichu) or in a mixture of ichu and tola shrubs, whereas Tinamotis usually occurs in the range of a different bunch grass, Festuca orthophylla. The three speciesof tinamous are dis- tinguished by the inhabitants, some of whom refer to Nothura as "codorniz" and to Nothoproctaas "perdiz." Tinamotis is always called "quivia," "quello," "keu," or some similar derivative of its distinctive call. The hilly, almost treeless countryside in which Nothoproctalives in southern Peril is used primarily for grazing sheep, alpacas,llamas, and cattle. -
Uropygial Gland in Birds
UROPYGIAL GLAND IN BIRDS Prepared by Dr. Subhadeep Sarker Associate Professor, Department of Zoology, Serampore College Occurrence and Location: • The uropygial gland, often referred to as the oil or preen gland, is a bilobed gland and is found at the dorsal base of the tail of most psittacine birds. • The uropygial gland is a median dorsal gland, one per bird, in the synsacro-caudal region. A half moon-shaped row of feather follicles of the upper median and major tail coverts externally outline its position. • The uropygial area is located dorsally over the pygostyle on the midline at the base of the tail. • This gland is most developed in waterfowl but very reduced or even absent in many parrots (e.g. Amazon parrots), ostriches and many pigeons and doves. Anatomy: • The uropygial gland is an epidermal bilobed holocrine gland localized on the uropygium of most birds. • It is composed of two lobes separated by an interlobular septum and covered by an external capsule. • Uropygial secretory tissue is housed within the lobes of the gland (Lobus glandulae uropygialis), which are nearly always two in number. Exceptions occur in Hoopoe (Upupa epops) with three lobes, and owls with one. Duct and cavity systems are also contained within the lobes. • The architectural patterns formed by the secretory tubules, the cavities and ducts, differ markedly among species. The primary cavity can comprise over 90% of lobe volume in the Oilbird (Steatornis caripensis) and some woodpeckers and pigeons. • The gland is covered by a circlet or tuft of down feathers called the uropygial wick in many birds. -
Why Preen Others? Predictors of Allopreening in Parrots and Corvids and Comparisons to 2 Grooming in Great Apes
1 Why preen others? Predictors of allopreening in parrots and corvids and comparisons to 2 grooming in great apes 3 Short running title: Allopreening in parrots and corvids 4 Alejandra Morales Picard1,2, Roger Mundry3,4, Alice M. Auersperg3, Emily R. Boeving5, 5 Palmyre H. Boucherie6,7, Thomas Bugnyar8, Valérie Dufour9, Nathan J. Emery10, Ira G. 6 Federspiel8,11, Gyula K. Gajdon3, Jean-Pascal Guéry12, Matjaž Hegedič8, Lisa Horn8, Eithne 7 Kavanagh1, Megan L. Lambert1,3, Jorg J. M. Massen8,13, Michelle A. Rodrigues14, Martina 8 Schiestl15, Raoul Schwing3, Birgit Szabo8,16, Alex H. Taylor15, Jayden O. van Horik17, Auguste 9 M. P. von Bayern18, Amanda Seed19, Katie E. Slocombe1 10 1Department of Psychology, University of York, UK 11 2Montgomery College, Rockville, Maryland, USA 12 3Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Medical University 13 Vienna, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. 14 4Platform Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Austria. 15 5Department of Psychology, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA 16 6Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, University of Strasbourg, 23 rue Becquerel 67087 17 Strasbourg, France 18 7Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 7178, 67087 Strasbourg, France 19 8Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria 20 9UMR Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, INRA-CNRS-Université de Tours 21 -IFCE, 37380 Nouzilly, France 22 10School of Biological & Chemical Sciences, Queen -
Using Chick Down Feathers to Estimate Mercury Concentrations In
Environ. Sci. Technol. 2009, 43, 2166–2172 toxicity thresholds potentially could be refined to incorporate Integrating Toxicity Risk in Bird mercury’s in ovo effects on both eggs and chicks. Eggs and Chicks: Using Chick Down After an egg hatches, chicks may still be vulnerable to the effects of residual in ovo mercury exposure, especially shortly Feathers To Estimate Mercury after hatching, when maternally deposited mercury levels are still relatively high. Thereafter, barring especially high Concentrations in Eggs levels of mercury in their diet, chick mercury concentrations rapidly decline as chicks age and dilute their body burden of mercury through growth and depuration of mercury into JOSHUA T. ACKERMAN* AND - COLLIN A. EAGLES-SMITH growing feathers (21 23). Chick mortality associated with mercury contamination often occurs within the first week U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, after hatching (15-17), indicating that in ovo mercury Davis Field Station, One Shields Avenue, University of California, Davis, California 95616 exposure can influence posthatch survival. Incorporating this early chick mortality into egg toxicity thresholds is hampered by our inability to translate mercury concentrations in chicks Received November 7, 2008. Revised manuscript received to what the equivalent concentrations were in eggs. January 9, 2009. Accepted January 20, 2009. Down feathers of newly hatched chicks are potentially useful tools for estimating mercury concentrations in the eggs from which they hatched. Down feathers are grown in The concentration of mercury (Hg) in eggs that causes ovo during the embryonic phase and, in some species, can contain about 38% of the total body burden of mercury in reduced hatching success is regarded as a critical end point newly hatched chicks (24, 25). -
Conservation Assessment for Red-Shouldered Hawk (Buteo Lineatus) National Forests of North Central States
Conservation Assessment for Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) National Forests of North Central States USDA Forest Service Eastern Region December 2002 Prepared by: John P. Jacobs 2373 Libal St, Green Bay, WI 54301 E-mail: [email protected] jacobs_rs Eugene A. Jacobs Linwood Springs Research Station 1601 Brown Deer Lane, Stevens Point, Wisconsin 54481 E-mail: [email protected] This Conservation Assessment was prepared to compile the published and unpublished information on Red-shouldered Hawks. It does not represent a management decision by the U.S. Forest Service. A Conservation Approach will be developed later and conservation measures incorporated into Forest Plans; public involvement will occur via the NEPA process. Although the best scientific information available was used and subject experts were consulted in the preparation of this document, it is expected that new information will arise. In the spirit of continuous learning and adaptive management, if you have information that will assist in conserving this species, please contact the Eastern Region of the Forest Service Threatened and Endangered Species Program at 310 Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53203. Conservation Assessment for Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) 2 Table of Contents 1. Executive Summary ……………………………………………………………. 6 2. Introduction ....................................……………………………………. 7 3. Acknowledgements ................................................................................. 8 4. Nomenclature and Taxonomy ……………………………………………. 8 5. -
Breeding Hand-Reeding Hooded Parrots
Notes on Breeding and Hand-reeding Hooded Parrots by Fred andLyrae Perry Corona, California The hooded parrot (Psephotus chrysopterygius dissimilisJ) is one of the most outstandingly beautiful member ofthe Psephotus genus. This little bird is actually a subspecies ofthe golden- houldered parrot (Psephotus chrysopterygiusJ. The range of the hooded parrot is quite restricted; from the Macarthur River, west to the Apairofgolden-shoulderedparakeets(Psephotus c. chrysopterygius). This is the nominate species ofwhich the hoodedparakeetis a sub-species. The golden-shouldered is seldom if Arnham Land plateau in the orthern everfound in aviculture. Territory of Australia. The wild popu lation is on the decline mo t probably adult female is a oft blue-green overall, this article. In our experience, these due to illegal trapping and variou other with the wing and tail feather being methods have greatly improved the sur man-made and natural disasters. For olive green, the central tail feathers are vival rate ofbaby hooded parrots. these reasons, hoodedparrots are quite also tipped in white, and the vent Hooded parrots in the wild nest in rare in collections today. feathers are a lighter shade of red, or termite mounds from May through The adult male i turquoise blue over salmonpink. The young birds resemble January. The babies hatch with a light mo t of the body, rump and cheeks. the females in coloration. down feather, which wear offquickly, The feathers are highly irridescent, The hooded parrot available to leaving them quite naked. A heavy giving the male a jewel-like appearance. aviculturists today are domestically down feathering would actually be a The wingpatches are bright yellow. -
Feather Destructive Behaviour
FEATHER DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIOUR Feather destructive behaviour (FDB) is a common presentation in pet and aviary birds, although it is not usually seen in their wild counterparts. It often has a multi-factorial aetiology, and can be a complex and challenging condition to treat. This article will give an outline of the potential causes of FDB and suggests an approach to its investigation and management in pet parrots. What is FDB? Birds are unique amongst the animal kingdom in possessing feathers. Feathers have a number of functions; providing a means for flight, being involved in thermoregulation, and acting as a means of communication, especially for reproductive purposes. FDB occurs when a bird plucks out or damages its feathers. It may progress from feather picking, where a bird may just chew on its feathers, to a more severe form that involves self-trauma to the skin or underlying structures. Why do birds pick their feathers? The causes of FDB can be divided into two main categories: medical and behavioural. Stress, in some form, is often part of the cause. It is important to investigate and rule out medical causes of FDB before considering a behavioural aetiology. Medical causes of FDB may directly relate to the skin and feathers, or may relate to stressors from a primary disease process elsewhere in the body. Factors such as an inadequate diet, infection (bacterial/viral/fungal/parasitic), access or exposure to toxins or allergens, and internal metabolic or endocrine disease may all result in birds displaying FDB and/or self- mutilating. In some birds mild irritation from over-preening moulting feathers may trigger an itch-chew cycle and progress to FDB. -
Comparative Preening Behavior of Wild-Caught Canada Geese and Mallards.- Comfort Movements Have Been Described for Many Birds (C.F., Goodwin, Br
690 THE WILSON BULLETIN - Vol. 95, No. 4, December 1983 of winter above that in the preceding spring, depending upon over-all productivity, mortality in other habitats and wintering areas, and other factors. It is impossible for a single team of observers to adequately census all habitats in a region within the time limitations required, but studies that do not cover all of the habitats used by the winter species are likely to be misleading on questions of population change during the season. Habitat availability must also be considered in such studies, but data on availability of even gross (vs micro) habitat types are generally lacking. Two patterns that seem clear from this and our previous (1979) study is that notable declines occur over winter in natural habitats in mild as well as in severe winters, and that the steepness of the decline is related especially to the size of the starting population. The observation that bird populations declined through the winter in both mild and severe winters is important to those who census winter birds. The seasonal limits designated for Audubon winter bird studies is 20 December-10 February (Robbins, Studies in Avian Biology 6:52-57, 1981). The results would differ according to the pattern of censusing in that period- early censuses indicating high populations, later censuses lower populations. Fortunately the dates of censuses are usually presented, but the rules of censusing may need to be more precisely delineated, as Robhins (1981) has suggested. Acknowledgments.-We are indebted to Richard E. Warner and Glen C. Sanderson of the Illinois Natural History Survey for helpful suggestions on the original manuscript.-JEAN W. -
Molecular Ecology of Petrels
M o le c u la r e c o lo g y o f p e tr e ls (P te r o d r o m a sp p .) fr o m th e In d ia n O c e a n a n d N E A tla n tic , a n d im p lic a tio n s fo r th e ir c o n se r v a tio n m a n a g e m e n t. R u th M a rg a re t B ro w n A th e sis p re se n te d fo r th e d e g re e o f D o c to r o f P h ilo so p h y . S c h o o l o f B io lo g ic a l a n d C h e m ic a l S c ie n c e s, Q u e e n M a ry , U n iv e rsity o f L o n d o n . a n d In stitu te o f Z o o lo g y , Z o o lo g ic a l S o c ie ty o f L o n d o n . A u g u st 2 0 0 8 Statement of Originality I certify that this thesis, and the research to which it refers, are the product of my own work, and that any ideas or quotations from the work of other people, published or otherwise, are fully acknowledged in accordance with the standard referencing practices of the discipline. -
Birds and Mammals)
6-3.1 Compare the characteristic structures of invertebrate animals... and vertebrate animals (...birds and mammals). Also covers: 6-1.1, 6-1.2, 6-1.5, 6-3.2, 6-3.3 Birds and Mammals sections More Alike than Not! Birds and mammals have adaptations that 1 Birds allow them to live on every continent and in 2 Mammals every ocean. Some of these animals have Lab Mammal Footprints adapted to withstand the coldest or hottest Lab Bird Counts conditions. These adaptations help to make Virtual Lab How are birds these animal groups successful. adapted to their habitat? Science Journal List similar characteristics of a mammal and a bird. What characteristics are different? 254 Theo Allofs/CORBIS Start-Up Activities Birds and Mammals Make the following Foldable to help you organize information about the Bird Gizzards behaviors of birds and mammals. You may have observed a variety of animals in your neighborhood. Maybe you have STEP 1 Fold one piece of paper widthwise into thirds. watched birds at a bird feeder. Birds don’t chew their food because they don’t have teeth. Instead, many birds swallow small pebbles, bits of eggshells, and other hard materials that go into the gizzard—a mus- STEP 2 Fold down 2.5 cm cular digestive organ. Inside the gizzard, they from the top. (Hint: help grind up the seeds. The lab below mod- From the tip of your els the action of a gizzard. index finger to your middle knuckle is about 2.5 cm.) 1. Place some cracked corn, sunflower seeds, nuts or other seeds, and some gravel in an STEP 3 Fold the rest into fifths. -
Starlings and Mynas
Beneficial Starlings The Eurasian Rose-colored and African Wattled Starlings are believed Starlings to be beneficial due to their insect con trol near agricultural crops. Both species establish breeding colonies in and Mynas areas where swarms of locusts and by Susan Congdon, grasshoppers appear. It is believed that Disney's Animal Kingdom, FL they eat enough of these insects to protect food crops. banded and released have been sub Pest Starlings? he names starling and myna sequently recovered when found for There are some species of star are often used interchange sale in Indonesian bird markets. The ling/myna that are considered to be T ably similar to pigeoN. and conversion of forest to agricultural pests. The European Starling and dove. Myna is the Hindi word for star land, and deforestation for firewood Common Myna are two examples of ling and is often used for species native and human settlements have greatly this. European Starlings were intro to southern and southeastern Asia and decreased their natural habitat. duced to North America and are the southeastern Pacific. Many of the In response to the decreasing wild extremely gregarious. As well as dam Asian birds are known as both starlings population, the American Zoo and aging important crops they compete and mynas. Aquarium Association, Jersey Wildlife with native birds for hollows in which Preservation Trust, and the Indonesian to nest. Near Extinction ofthe Bali Myna government have set up a Species Common Mynas, introduced to There are 114 species in the Survival Program (SSP). The main goals many places including Hawaii and sturnidae family.