DOCSLIB.ORG

556 Corvid Survey Techniques and the Relationship

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
556 Corvid Survey Techniques and the Relationship J. Field Ornithol., 72(4):556±572 CORVID SURVEY TECHNIQUES AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CORVID RELATIVE ABUNDANCE AND NEST PREDATION JOHN M. LUGINBUHL,JOHN M. MARZLUFF AND JEFFREY E. BRADLEY College of Forest Resources, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195 USA MARTIN G. RAPHAEL U.S. Forest Service, Paci®c Northwest Research Station, Olympia, Washington 98512 USA DANIEL E. VARLAND Rayonier, Hoquiam, Washington 98550 USA Abstract.ÐWe conducted a four-year study on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington to assess the relationship between corvid (Gray Jay [Perisoreus canadensis], Steller's Jay [Cyanocitta stelleri], American Crow [Corvus brachyrhynchos] and Common Raven [Corvus corax]) abun- dance and the risk of nest predation. We assessed risk of predation through the use of arti®cial mid-canopy nests and assessed corvid abundance using a variety of techniques in- cluding point-count surveys, transect surveys, and the broadcast of corvid territorial and predator attraction calls. Point counts of corvid abundance had the strongest correlation with predation on arti®cial nests containing eggs. The relationship between nest predation rate and corvid abundance was strongest when study plots were used as replicated measures of landscape conditions rather than as independent samples. We suggest using the maximum value for each corvid species attained from several temporally replicated point-count surveys in each study plot. Corvid point-counts should be conducted on days with light winds (,20 kph) and no more than light precipitation. Use of attraction calls is important for gaining a meaningful measure of corvid abundance. Their use may overrepresent corvids at the local plot scale but is important in assessing the landscape scale presence of wide-ranging (Amer- ican Crows) and often non-vocal (Gray Jays) corvids. TEÂ CNICAS DE ENCUESTAS DE COÂ RBIDOS Y LA RELACIOÂ N ENTRE ABUNDANCIA RELATIVA DE ESTOS Y DEPREDACIOÂ N DE NIDOS Sinopsis.ÐDurante cuatro anÄos llevamos a cabo un estudio en la PenõÂnsula OlõÂmpica de Wash- ington para determinar la relacioÂn entre la abundancia de cuervos (Perisoreus canadensis), (Cya- nocitta stelleri), (Corvus brachyrhynchos), (Corvus corax) y el riesgo de la depredacioÂn de nidos. Evaluamos el riesgo de depredacioÂn a traveÂs del uso de nidos arti®ciales colocados en la estrata media de arboladas. AdemaÂs, de terminamos la abundancia de coÂrbidos utilizando teÂcnicas va- riadas que incluyeron conteos de puntos, transectos y el uso de grabaciones de la llamada terri- torial de coÂrbidos y las llamadas de atraccioÂn de depredadores. Los conteos de puntos de abun- dancia de coÂrbidos tuvieron la mayor correlacioÂn de depredacioÂn de nidos arti®ciales con huevos. La relacioÂn entre la tasa de depredacioÂn de nidos y la abundacia de coÂrbidos tuvo mayor fortaleza cuando las aÂreas de estudios fueron utilizadas como reÂplicas de medidas de las condiciones del paisaje en vez de muestras independientes. Sugerimos el uso del valor maÂximo de cada especie de coÂrbido, obtenido de varias reÂplicas de puntos de conteo en cada estacioÂn de estudio. Los puntos de conteo de coÂrbidos se deben conducir en dõÂas con poco viento (menor a 20 kph y no maÂs de una precipitacioÂn liviana. El uso de grabaciones de llamadas es de gran signi®cado para determinar la abundancia de los coÂrbidos. Su uso pudiera sobre representar los coÂrbidos en la escala de un punto particular, pero es importante para ®jar, en la escala de paisaje, la presencia de especies de amplia distribucioÂn o de poca vocalizacioÂn. Nest predation is pervasive and arguably the most important factor limiting avian productivity (Nice 1957; Ricklefs 1969; Wilcove 1985; Mar- 556 Vol. 72, No. 4 Counting Corvids [557 tin 1993a,b). Corvids are ef®cient nest predators (Angelstam 1986; Marz- luff and Balda 1992) whose populations have increased dramatically in the western United States (Marzluff et al. 1994) and in urban areas world- wide (Fraissinet 1989; Konstantinov 1996) over the last century. This in- crease may have important implications for the conservation of open- nesting birds, because many studies have shown a positive correlation between various indices of corvid abundance and predation rates on near- by nests (Angelstam 1986; Johnson et al. 1989; Andren 1992). The poten- tial for corvids to limit other bird populations poses a need for a consis- tent method to assess corvid numbers and index the risk of nest preda- tion. Such a method would allow managers to assess the risk of corvid predation simply by surveying corvids. Development of this method requires a thorough understanding of the biotic and abiotic factors that affect our ability to detect corvids, whether measures of corvid abundance correlate with nest predation, and the spatial scale at which any correlation exists. To this end, we conducted a four-year study (1995±1998) to assess the relationship between corvid (Gray Jay [Perisoreus canadensis], Steller's Jay [Cyanocitta stelleri], Ameri- can Crow [Corvus brachyrhynchos] and Common Raven [Corvus corax]) abundance and corvid nest predation. We examined a variety of survey protocols to determine what factors affect corvid surveys and how well corvid abundance predicts the rate of nest predation at simulated Mar- bled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) nests. Marbled Murrelets are federally threatened birds that nest in the middle to upper canopy of mature coastal forests of the Paci®c Northwest (Ralph et al. 1995b). Mar- bled Murrelets suffer high nest predation rates, and corvids (Common Ravens and Steller's Jays) are suspected to have caused the majority of known nest failures (Nelson and Hamer 1995a; Miller et al. 1997). METHODS Study area.ÐThe study area was located on the western side of the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State, north and south of Forks, Wash- ington (478569N, 1248239W) in the Hoh, Soleduck, Quinault, and Queets River drainages. Study plots consisted of mixed-conifer forest ranging in age from 80±250 yr and in size from 37±106 ha. Plot elevations varied between 45 and 600 m. The study area is adjacent to the major concen- tration of murrelets in Washington (Varoujean and Williams 1995) and is in a landscape used substantially by nesting murrelets (Horton and Harrison 1997). We conducted experiments and surveys in a total of 49 plots in 12 landscape categories. Landscape categories consisted of all possible com- binations of two classes of forest fragmentation, three classes of forest structure, and two classes of proximity to human-use areas. Fragmentation classes were fragmented (plot .75% surrounded by clear-cuts) and con- tinuous (plot .75% surrounded by mature forest). Levels of plot frag- mentation (and plot size) varied somewhat due to the limited number of suitable forest patches occuring ``naturally'' throughout the study area. 558] J. M. Luginbuhl et al. J. Field Ornithol. Autumn 2001 TABLE 1. Summary of experimental design. Numbers in the table refer to study plots in each treatment. Forest structure Very complex old Simple mature Complex mature growth (80±120 yr) (80±120 yr) (.200 yr) Distance from human use areas ,1km .5km ,1km .5km ,1km .5km Surrounding forest landscape Fragmented 5 4 5 4 3 5 Continuous 3 4 3 3 5 5 Fragmented plots were delineated using existing forest edges, while con- tinuous plots were more arbitrarily delineated from within larger, more continuous forest landscapes. Structure classes were simple mature (80± 120 yr, canopy single storied with few gaps), complex mature (80±120 yr, canopy 1±2 storied with many gaps), and very complex old growth (.200 yr, canopy multi-storied with many gaps). The two proximity to human- use area classes were near (,1 km from plot edge) and far (.5 km from plot edge). We de®ned ``human-use'' as any human development that could potentially attract corvids (i.e., towns, farms, campgrounds, high- ways, and dumps; Table 1). Each plot (spatial replicate) was examined in 2±4 subsequent years (temporal replicates). Arti®cial nest experiments.ÐWe climbed trees and placed nests using techniques that minimize disturbances that might cue predators to the nest's location, such as damage to the bark from spurs or human scent trails left from touching the bole or limbs. We followed Perry (1978) to place ®shing line, then 4-mm cord, and ®nally an 11-mm static climbing rope, into a likely nest tree. We avoided contact with the tree by climbing with ascenders and rappelling to the ground. We wore latex or vinyl gloves while taking measurements and preparing the nest. We marked nest trees on the ground with white plastic ¯agging hung in a random direction approximately 3 m from the tree. The entire process of climbing, placing nests, and rappelling took approximately 90 min. Murrelet nests are easy to mimic because eggs are laid in simple de- pressions on moss-covered branches, eggs are sometimes left unattended for several hours during incubation, and nestlings are left alone for much of the day after they reach3dofage(Nelson and Hamer 1995b; Manley 1999). We simulated nests at typical heights and locations for murrelets on moss-covered branches with diameter .11 cm, within the live crown, .15 m above the ground, well covered from above (xÅ% overhead cover 5 83.0%, SE 5 0.46, n 5 671) and close to the trunk (xÅ distance to bole 5 40.2 cm, SE 5 0.93, n 5 671; Marshall 1988; Singer et al. 1991; Hamer and Nelson 1995). We placed a total of 905 arti®cial murrelet nests (Table 2). Nests were placed in separate trees at least 50 m apart, and only six nests were placed Vol. 72, No. 4 Counting Corvids [559 TABLE 2. Summary of nest distribution within experimental design. Numbers in table refer to total nests and, in parentheses, nests with eggs in each treatment. Forest structure Simple mature Complex mature Very complex old growth (80±120 yr) (80±120 yr) (.200 yr) Distance from human use areas ,1km .5km ,1km .5km ,1km .5km Surrounding forest landscape Fragmented 90 68 88 69 64 109 (45) (35) (42) (35) (31) (55) Continuous 36 98 47 36 100 100 (18) (48) (24) (18) (50) (50) in a given plot at any one time.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Behavioral Profiles
    Terra Explorer Volume 1 The Terra Explorer series is copyrighted © 2009 by William James Davis. All rights reserved. Copyrights of individual stories in- cluded in the last section of the book, “Adventures in the field,” belong to their respective authors. (see following page for more details) William James Davis, Ph.D. Copyright © 2009 by Wm. James Davis ISBN 978-0-9822654-0-6 0-9822654-0-9 Also available as an eBook. To order, visit: http://www.TerraNat.com The Terra Explorer series is copyrighted © 2009 by William James Davis. All rights reserved. Copyrights of individual stories included in the last section of the book, “Adventures in the field,” belong to their respective authors. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher and respective authors, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles and reviews. Contact the publisher to request permis- sion by visiting www.terranat.com. Photos on the front and back covers (Black Skimmer and Cuban Anole, respec- tively) by Karen Anthonisen Finch. For Linda Jeanne Mealey, who inspired my dreams to explore the natural world. Also by William James Davis Australian Birds: A guide and resource for interpreting behavior TableTable of of contents contents Introduction Evolution of a concept The challenge Book’s organization and video projects Participating in the Terra Explorer Project Behavioral profiles 8 Common Loon 11 American White Pelican 14 Anhinga 17 Cattle Egret 20 Mallard 23 Bald Eagle 26
    [Show full text]
  • Cyanocitta Stelleri)
    MOBBING BEHAVIOR IN WILD STELLER’S JAYS (CYANOCITTA STELLERI) By Kelly Anne Commons A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of Humboldt State University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science in Natural Resources: Wildlife Committee Membership Dr. Jeffrey M. Black, Committee Chair Dr. Barbara Clucas, Committee Member Dr. Micaela Szykman Gunther, Committee Member Dr. Alison O’Dowd, Graduate Coordinator December 2017 ABSTRACT MOBBING BEHAVIOR IN WILD STELLER’S JAYS (CYANOCITTA STELLERI) Kelly Anne Commons Mobbing is a widespread anti-predator behavior with multifaceted functions. Mobbing behavior has been found to differ with respect to many individual, group, and encounter level factors. To better understand the factors that influence mobbing behavior in wild Steller’s jays (Cyanocitta stelleri), I induced mobbing behavior using 3 predator mounts: a great horned owl (Bubo virginianus), common raven (Corvus corax), and sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter cooperii). I observed 90 responses to mock predators by 33 color-marked individuals and found that jays varied in their attendance at mobbing trials, their alarm calling behavior, and in their close approaches toward the predator mounts. In general, younger, larger jays, that had low prior site use and did not own the territory they were on, attended mobbing trials for less time and participated in mobbing less often, but closely approached the predator more often and for more time than older, smaller jays, that had high prior site use and owned the territory they were on. By understanding the factors that affect variation in Steller’s jay mobbing behavior, we can begin to study how this variation might relate to the function of mobbing in this species.
    [Show full text]
  • The Cognitive Animal Empirical and Theoretical Perspectives on Animal Cognition
    This PDF includes a chapter from the following book: The Cognitive Animal Empirical and Theoretical Perspectives on Animal Cognition © 2002 Massachusetts Institute of Technology License Terms: Made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ OA Funding Provided By: The open access edition of this book was made possible by generous funding from Arcadia—a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin. The title-level DOI for this work is: doi:10.7551/mitpress/1885.001.0001 Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/books/edited-volume/chapter-pdf/677490/9780262268028_c001600.pdf by guest on 29 September 2021 17 Spatial and Social Cognition in Corvids: An Evolutionary Approach Russell P. Balda and Alan C. Kamil research plan using controlled laboratory ex- Research Questions periments and captive birds. Fortunately, nut- crackers are quite willing to cache and recover The central research questions that have guided seeds in laboratory settings and do so with a high our studies since 1981 combine issues and tech- degree of accuracy, both in a sandy floor indoors niques from both comparative psychology and (Balda 1980; Balda and Turek 1984) or out of avian ecology. Most of our questions originate doors (Vander Wall 1982), as well as in a room from the cognitive implications of extensive field with a raised floor containing sand-filled cups as studies on the natural history, ecology, and potential cache sites (Kamil and Balda 1985). behavior of seed-caching corvids. Because our The ability to study caching and cache recovery questions have evolved as our studies progressed, under controlled laboratory conditions allowed we have chosen to give a historical perspective us to test hypotheses on how the nutcrackers find outlining the progression of our ideas and ques- their caches.
    [Show full text]
  • Clark's Nutcracker Factsheet 6: Population Trends
    United States Department of Agriculture D E E Forest Service A Monitoring Challenge: P R A R U TM U LT ENT OF AGRIC Pacific Northwest Region Clark’s Nutcracker Population Trends 2011 ARE CLARK’S nutcrackers declining? Many resource What’s the current status How reliable are the managers think so, yet long-term national surveys say no. of Clark’s nutcrackers? surveys? Problem is, these birds are so hard to monitor. How can we improve on methods to accurately detect changes in Clark’s Breeding Bird Surveys These annual bird counts nutcracker populations? (conducted nationwide have limitations for projecting each May since 1966) show population trends in Clark’s a significant range-wide nutcrackers for several BACKGROUND increase in numbers of reasons: We investigated habitat use, caching behavior, and Clark’s nutcrackers from 1966 • Most routes are along migratory patterns in Clark’s nutcrackers in the Pacific through 2007. Christmas Bird established roads to Northwest using radio telemetry. Over 4 years (2006– Counts (done in December facilitate access by 2009), we captured 54 adult nutcrackers at 10 sites in the across the country since 1900) volunteer surveyors; Cascade and Olympic Mountains in Washington State. show fairly strong population species occupying remote We fitted nutcrackers with a back-pack style harness. fluctuations, but no overall terrain, like Clark’s The battery life on the radio tags was 450 days, and trend (either increasing or nutcrackers, might be we tracked nutcrackers year-round, on foot (to obtain decreasing). Data from these poorly sampled. behavior observations) and via aircraft (to obtain point annual surveys (shown in the • Clark’s nutcrackers breed locations).
    [Show full text]
  • The Perplexing Pinyon Jay
    University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Papers in Behavior and Biological Sciences Papers in the Biological Sciences 1998 The Ecology and Evolution of Spatial Memory in Corvids of the Southwestern USA: The Perplexing Pinyon Jay Russell P. Balda Northern Arizona University,, [email protected] Alan Kamil University of Nebraska - Lincoln, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/bioscibehavior Part of the Behavior and Ethology Commons Balda, Russell P. and Kamil, Alan, "The Ecology and Evolution of Spatial Memory in Corvids of the Southwestern USA: The Perplexing Pinyon Jay" (1998). Papers in Behavior and Biological Sciences. 17. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/bioscibehavior/17 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Papers in the Biological Sciences at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Papers in Behavior and Biological Sciences by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Published (as Chapter 2) in Animal Cognition in Nature: The Convergence of Psychology and Biology in Laboratory and Field, edited by Russell P. Balda, Irene M. Pepperberg, and Alan C. Kamil, San Diego (Academic Press, 1998), pp. 29–64. Copyright © 1998 by Academic Press. Used by permission. The Ecology and Evolution of Spatial Memory in Corvids of the Southwestern USA: The Perplexing Pinyon Jay Russell P. Balda 1 and Alan C. Kamil 2 1 Department of Biological Sciences, Northern
    [Show full text]
  • Reproductive Success and Nest-Site Selection in a Cooperative Breeder: Effect of Experience and a Direct Benefit of Helping
    TheAuk 116(2):355-363, 1999 REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS AND NEST-SITE SELECTION IN A COOPERATIVE BREEDER: EFFECT OF EXPERIENCE AND A DIRECT BENEFIT OF HELPING B. J. HATCHWELL,• A. E RUSSELL,M. K. FOWLIE,AND D. J. Ross Departmentof Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield,Sheffield S10 2TN, UnitedKingdom ABSTRACT.--Wedetermined whether nest-site characteristics influence reproductive suc- cessand whetherexperience influences nest-site selection in a populationof cooperatively breedingLong-tailed Tits (Aegithaloscaudatus). Nest predationwas high; only 17%of breed- ing attemptsresulted in fledgedyoung. The heightof nestswas an importantdeterminant of success;low nestswere significantlymore successfulthan high nests.A breeder'sage, natal nestsite, and breedingexperience had no significanteffect on nest-siteselection. How- ever,failed breeders who helped at thesuccessful nests of conspecificsbuilt subsequentnests lowerthan nestsbuilt prior to their helpingexperience. Failed breeders who did not help showedno reductionin tlseheight of subsequentnests. Moreover, the subsequentrepro- ductivesuccess of failed breederswho helped was significantlyhigher than that of failed breederswho did not help.We concludethat helpersgain informationon nest-sitequality throughtheir helping experience and thus gain a directfitness benefit from their cooperative behavior.We suggest that experience as a helperoffers a morereliable cue to nest-sitequality thanbreeding experience because helpers are associatedwith nestsonly during the nestling phasewhen few nestsare depredated.In contrast,although successful breeders may expe- riencesuccess with a low nest,they are evenmore likely to haveexperienced the failureof low nestsbecause of the high rate of nestpredation. Received 26 December1997,accepted 28 July1998. A MAJORDETERMINANT of reproductivesuc- acteristics,then no consistentselection may ex- cessfor manyorganisms is the abilityof breed- ist for choiceof particularnest sites. However, ers to protecttheir offspringfrom predation.
    [Show full text]
  • Walker Marzluff 2017 Recreation Changes Lanscape Use of Corvids
    Recreation changes the use of a wild landscape by corvids Author(s): Lauren E. Walker and John M. Marzluff Source: The Condor, 117(2):262-283. Published By: Cooper Ornithological Society https://doi.org/10.1650/CONDOR-14-169.1 URL: http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1650/CONDOR-14-169.1 BioOne (www.bioone.org) is a nonprofit, online aggregation of core research in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences. BioOne provides a sustainable online platform for over 170 journals and books published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses. Your use of this PDF, the BioOne Web site, and all posted and associated content indicates your acceptance of BioOne’s Terms of Use, available at www.bioone.org/page/terms_of_use. Usage of BioOne content is strictly limited to personal, educational, and non-commercial use. Commercial inquiries or rights and permissions requests should be directed to the individual publisher as copyright holder. BioOne sees sustainable scholarly publishing as an inherently collaborative enterprise connecting authors, nonprofit publishers, academic institutions, research libraries, and research funders in the common goal of maximizing access to critical research. Volume 117, 2015, pp. 262–283 DOI: 10.1650/CONDOR-14-169.1 RESEARCH ARTICLE Recreation changes the use of a wild landscape by corvids Lauren E. Walker* and John M. Marzluff College of the Environment, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA * Corresponding author: [email protected] Submitted October 24, 2014; Accepted February 13, 2015; Published May 6, 2015 ABSTRACT As urban areas have grown in population, use of nearby natural areas for outdoor recreation has also increased, potentially influencing bird distribution in landscapes managed for conservation.
    [Show full text]
  • A Fossil Scrub-Jay Supports a Recent Systematic Decision
    THE CONDOR A JOURNAL OF AVIAN BIOLOGY Volume 98 Number 4 November 1996 .L The Condor 98~575-680 * +A. 0 The Cooper Omithological Society 1996 g ’ b.1 ;,. ’ ’ “I\), / *rs‘ A FOSSIL SCRUB-JAY SUPPORTS A”kECENT ’ js.< SYSTEMATIC DECISION’ . :. ” , ., f .. STEVEN D. EMSLIE : +, “, ., ! ’ Department of Sciences,Western State College,Gunnison, CO 81231, ._ e-mail: [email protected] Abstract. Nine fossil premaxillae and mandibles of the Florida Scrub-Jay(Aphelocoma coerulescens)are reported from a late Pliocene sinkhole deposit at Inglis 1A, Citrus County, Florida. Vertebrate biochronologyplaces the site within the latestPliocene (2.0 to 1.6 million yearsago, Ma) and more specificallyat 2.0 l-l .87 Ma. The fossilsare similar in morphology to living Florida Scrub-Jaysin showing a relatively shorter and broader bill compared to western species,a presumed derived characterfor the Florida species.The recent elevation of the Florida Scrub-Jayto speciesrank is supported by these fossils by documenting the antiquity of the speciesand its distinct bill morphology in Florida. Key words: Florida; Scrub-Jay;fossil; late Pliocene. INTRODUCTION represent the earliest fossil occurrenceof the ge- nus Aphelocomaand provide additional support Recently, the Florida Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma for the recognition ofA. coerulescensas a distinct, coerulescens) has been elevated to speciesrank endemic specieswith a long fossil history in Flor- with the Island Scrub-Jay(A. insularis) from Santa ida. This record also supports the hypothesis of Cruz Island, California, and the Western Scrub- Pitelka (195 1) that living speciesof Aphefocoma Jay (A. californica) in the western U. S. and Mex- arose in the Pliocene. ico (AOU 1995).
    [Show full text]
  • Corvids of Cañada
    !!! ! CORVIDS OF CAÑADA COMMON RAVEN (Corvus corax) AMERICAN CROW (Corvus brachyrhyncos) YELLOW-BILLED MAGPIE (Pica nuttalli) STELLER’S JAY (Cyanocitta stelleri) WESTERN SCRUB-JAY Aphelocoma californica) Five of the ten California birds in the Family Corvidae are represented here at the Cañada de los Osos Ecological Reserve. Page 1 The Common Raven is the largest and can be found in the cold of the Arctic and the extreme heat of Death Valley. It has shown itself to be one of the most intelligent of all birds. It is a supreme predator and scavenger, quite sociable at certain times of the year and a devoted partner and parent with its mate. The American Crow is black, like the Raven, but noticeably smaller. Particularly in the fall, it may occur in huge foraging or roosting flocks. Crows can be a problem for farmers at times of the year and a best friend at other times, when crops are under attack from insects or when those insects are hiding in dried up leftovers such as mummified almonds. Crows know where those destructive navel orange worms are. Smaller birds do their best to harass crows because they recognize the threat they are to their eggs and young. Crows, ravens and magpies are important members of the highway clean-up crew when it comes to roadkills. The very attractive Yellow-billed Magpie tends to nest in loose colonies and forms larger flocks in late summer or fall. In the central valley of California, they can be a problem in almond and fruit orchards, but they also are adept at catching harmful insect pests.
    [Show full text]
  • Reconstructing the Geographic Origin of the New World Jays
    Neotropical Biodiversity ISSN: (Print) 2376-6808 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tneo20 Reconstructing the geographic origin of the New World jays Sumudu W. Fernando, A. Townsend Peterson & Shou-Hsien Li To cite this article: Sumudu W. Fernando, A. Townsend Peterson & Shou-Hsien Li (2017) Reconstructing the geographic origin of the New World jays, Neotropical Biodiversity, 3:1, 80-92, DOI: 10.1080/23766808.2017.1296751 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/23766808.2017.1296751 © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group Published online: 05 Mar 2017. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 956 View Crossmark data Citing articles: 2 View citing articles Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=tneo20 Neotropical Biodiversity, 2017 Vol. 3, No. 1, 80–92, https://doi.org/10.1080/23766808.2017.1296751 Reconstructing the geographic origin of the New World jays Sumudu W. Fernandoa* , A. Townsend Petersona and Shou-Hsien Lib aBiodiversity Institute and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA; bDepartment of Life Science, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan (Received 23 August 2016; accepted 15 February 2017) We conducted a biogeographic analysis based on a dense phylogenetic hypothesis for the early branches of corvids, to assess geographic origin of the New World jay (NWJ) clade. We produced a multilocus phylogeny from sequences of three nuclear introns and three mitochondrial genes and included at least one species from each NWJ genus and 29 species representing the rest of the five corvid subfamilies in the analysis.
    [Show full text]
  • Nesting Ecology of the Great Horned Owl Bubo Virginianus in Central Western Utah
    Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 1968-08-01 Nesting ecology of the great horned owl Bubo virginianus in central western Utah Dwight Glenn Smith Brigham Young University - Provo Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Smith, Dwight Glenn, "Nesting ecology of the great horned owl Bubo virginianus in central western Utah" (1968). Theses and Dissertations. 7883. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/7883 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. NESTING ECOLOGYOF THE GREATHORNED OWL BUBOVIRGINIANUS IN CENTRALWESTERN UTAH L A Thesis Presented to the Department of Zoology and Entomology Brigham Young University In Partial Fulfi I lment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science by Dwight G. Smith August 1968 This thesis by Dwight G. Smith is accepted in its present form by the Department of Zoology and Entomolo�y of Brigham Young University as satisfying the thesis require­ ment for the degree of Master of Science. Typed by Beth Anne Smith f i i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Grateful acknowledgment is made for the valuable sug- gestions and help given by the chairman of my advisory com- mittee, Dr. Joseph R. Murphy, and other members of my com- mittee, Dr. C. Lynn Hayward and Dr. Joseph R. Murdock. Ap- preciation is extended to Dr. Herbert H. Frost for his editor- ial help in the preparation of the manuscript.
    [Show full text]
  • Perisoreus Infaustus, L
    Bibliography – SIBERIAN JAY (Unglückshäher) – Perisoreus infaustus, L. Andreev, A.V. (1977): Winter energy balance and hypothermia of the Siberian jay. Ekologiya (Moscow) 4: 66-72. [russ.] Andreev, A.V. (1982): Winter ecology of the Siberian Jay and the Nutcracker in the region of northeast Siberia. Ornitologija 17: 72-82. [russ.] Andreev, A.V. (1982): Energy budget and hypothermia of Siberian Jay in winter season. Orn. Stud. USSR 2: 364-375. Babenko, V.G. & Redkin, Y.A. (1999): Ornithogeographical characteristics of the Low Amur basin. Zoologicheskii Zhurnal 78 (3): 398-408. [russ., engl. Zus.] Abstract Beuschold, E. & Beuschold, I. (1972): Erstnachweis des Unglückshähers (Perisoreus infaustus (L.)) für die DDR. [First record of Perisoreus infaustus (L.) for East Germany.] Naturkundliche Jahresberichte des Museum Heineanum 7 (0): 117-118. Blair, H.M.S. (1936): On the birds of East Finmark. Ibis 6 (13th ser.): 280-308. Blomgren, A. (1964): Lavskrika. Bonniers, Stockholm. Blomgren, A. (1971): Studies of less familiar birds. Siberian Jay. Brit. Birds 64: 25-28. Borgos, G. & Hogstad, O. (2001): Lavskrika vinterstid. [The Siberian jay in the winter.] Vår Fuglefauna 24 (4): 155-163. [norw.] Brotons, L., Monkkonen, M., Huhta, E., Nikula, A. & Rajasarkka, A. (2003): Effects of landscape structure and forest reserve location on old-growth forest bird species in Northern Finland. Landscape Ecology 18 (4): 377-393. Abstract Carlson, T. (1946): Bofynd av lavskrika (Cractes infaustus L.) med tre matande fåglar. Vår Fågelvärld 5: 37- 38. [schwed.] Carpelan, J. (1929): Einige Beobachtungen über Lebensweise und Fortpflanzung des Unglückshähers (Perisoreus infaustus) im nördlichen Finnland. Beitr. Fortpfl. Vögel 5: 60-63.
    [Show full text]