RECENT LITERATURE Edited by Jerome A
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j. Field Ornithol., 60(2):264-285 RECENT LITERATURE Edited by Jerome A. Jackson BANDING AND LONGEVITY (see also 39, 58) 1. Survival and natal dispersal of fledglingsof Tengmalm's Owl in relation to fluctuating food conditionsand hatching date. E. KorpimSkiand M. Lagerstr6m.1988. J. Anim. Ecol. 57:433-441.--In northern Europe, vole populations(Microtus and Cleth- rioaornys)are cyclicwith peaksevery 3-4 y. The volecycle strongly influences the breeding performanceof Tengmalm'sOwl (Aegoliusfunereus):nesting density, clutch size, and fledg- ling productionare low in poor vole yearsand much higher in goodvole years.Clutch size and fledgling productionare also influencedby the timing of nesting:early clutchesare larger and producemore fledglingsthan do late ones. This paper examines(1) whether there are differencesin survivaland natal dispersalof young producedin different phases of the vole cycle,and (2) whether hatchingdate affectssurvival and natal dispersaldistance of young during their first year of life. Data were collectedat nest boxesin western Finland from 1964-1985. Hatching dates were known for 4311 of the 5768 fleglingsbanded. Fifty-three of thesewere re-encountered after their first winter, including 41 recapturedas breedingadults. Survival and recruitment into the breedingpopulation of young producedduring the increasephase of the vole cycle was significantlyhigher than that of young producedduring peak, decrease,or low vole years.The vole cyclehad no significantinfluence on natal dispersaldistance. In contrastto the vole cycle,hatching date seemedto have no effecton survivalor recruitmentof young. Hatching date also had little effect on natal dispersaldistance. The improved survival of young producedduring the increasephase of the vole cycle suggestedthat food conditions during the post-fledglingand first winter periodswere important for the survival of young Tengmalm'sOwls. Althoughhatching date had no effecton fledglingsurvival, early laying might still enhancefitness because early clutchesproduce more fledglingsand becauseearly breedingmay enhanceadult survival by allowing them a longer post-breeding"break" before winter setsin.--Jeff Marks. 2. Dispersalof Tengmalm'sOwl Aegoliusfunereusin relationto prey availability and nesting success.G. A. Sonerud,R. Solheim,and K. Prestrud. 1988. Ornis Scand.19: 175-181.--This paper complement'sKorpimSki and Lagerstr/3m's(see Review 1) paper on vole/Tengmalm'sOwl relationships.The study is basedon re-encounterswith 54 owls bandedas nestlingsand 32 femalesbanded as breedersin Norway from 1961-1987. Sonerud et al. ask (1) Does the vole cycleinfluence natal and female breedingdispersal? (2) Is there a sex bias in natal dispersal?(3) Do femalesdisperse farther after losinga nest than after nestingsuccessfully? (4) Is natal dispersalgreater than breedingdispersal? In general,the answersto these questionsare "yes." Most adult femalesdispersed <1 km during vole peaks and >5 km during vole lows. Natal dispersalfor both sexesalso was farther during vole lows than during vole peaks. Sex-biasednatal dispersal(with malesdispersing shorter distances than females)was evident only when a vole low occurred in the period between banding and recapture. Females dispersedsignificantly farther after nestpredation than after nestingsuccessfully. And finally, amongfemales, natal dispersalwas farther than breedingdispersal except during vole lows, when there was no difference in dispersaldistance between adult and juvenile females.- Jeff Marks. 3. Review of recoveriesof ringed White StorksCiconia ciconia in southernAfrica. T. B. Oatley and M. A.M. Rammesmayer.1988. Ostrich59:97-104.--White Storksbanded in Europe and recoveredin southernAfrica are mapped and discussed.Most were banded in Germany and Poland, and most were recoveredin Zimbabwe and easternSouth Africa. Causesand timing of mortality, and longevityare discussed.--Malcolm F. Hodges, Jr. 264 Vol.60, No. 2 RecentLiterature [265 MIGRATION, ORIENTATION, AND HOMING (see also 3, 27, 35) 4. 1986 fall hawk migration over Vicksburg, Mississippi.J. Battalio. 1987. Miss. Kite 17:17-22.--Diurnal raptor sightings(including vultures) made during an organized hawk watch over Vicksburg from Septemberthrough mid-November 1986 are reported. The most numerousspecies by far was the Broad-wingedHawk (Buteoplatypterus), with 7927 individualsseem--Malcolm F. Hodges,Jr. POPULATION DYNAMICS (see also 1, 2, 3, 58) 5. Spatial and temporal variation in Costa Rican fruit and fruit-eating bird abundance. D. J. Levey. 1988. Ecol. Monogr. 58:251-269.--Levey censusedfrugivorous understory birds and fruits in closedforest, forest gaps, and second-growthforest from November1982-October 1983. He foundthat fruits and birdsvary seasonallyand that they peak simultaneouslyin August-January. Crop sizeswere larger and fruit was generally more abundant in secondgrowth than the other two habitats, and fruit was more common in gaps than closedforest. Birds were most abundant in secondgrowth and least in closed forest. A big increasein frugivoresin October was (mostly) due to an influx of Nearctic migrants,but alsoincluded increases of local birds (probably)due to inter-altitudinalmove- ments.Molts occurredduring peak fruit abundance,but breedingwas independentof this period, and probablytied to insectabundance.--Malcolm F. Hodges,Jr. NESTING AND REPRODUCTION (see also 1, 2, 5, 26, 29, 37, 43, 52, 54, 58) 6. Parental care in Western Bluebirdsduring the nestlingand fledglingperiods. K. A. With. 1988. Sialia 10:123-129.--Twenty-one Western Bluebird (Sialia mexicana) nests in boxes were observedin northern Arizona during two breeding seasons.Parents made an averageof 12 feedingtrips/h to broodswith 5 nestlings,and 9 trips/h to broods with fewer than 5 nestlings.Adult malescontributed an averageof 50.4% of the total number of feedingtrips to nestlingsand 43% to fledglings.Parental feedingrates increasedfrom an averageof 3 visits/offspring/h during the nestlingperiod to 5 visits/offspring/hduring the fledglingperiod. Although thesedata suggestthat parentswere attemptingto meet increased energeticdemands of fledglings,other factorssuch as increasedfood availability and shorter commutingdistances by parentsmay also have influencedfeeding rates.--D. J. Ingold. 7. Egg variability and conspeclficnest parasitismin the Ploceusweaverbirds. S. Freeman. 1988. Ostrich 59:49-52.--Intraspecific egg variability is high in somePloceus weaverbirdsand may be explained as an evolvedresponse to either interspecificnest par- asitism(INP) or conspecificnest parasitism(CNP). In order to test thesehypotheses, the author quantified clutch sizesand severalparameters of egg variability in 29 weaverbird speciesfrom museumcollections. In two species,P. intermediusand P. rubiginosus,at least one clutch was found that was more than twice the mean size for the speciessampled, inferring CNP. In addition,egg variability and clutcheswith non-matchingeggs increased in colonial-nestingspecies (which would be predictablymore susceptibleto CNP). Con- versely,the trend was lessnoticeable in species(whether solitary or colonialnesting) known to be parasitizedby Chrysococcyxcuckoos. These data suggestthat conspecificparasitic femalesmay be constrainedby their ability to find appropriatehost nests.--D. J. Ingold. 8. Use of artificial nest cavities along Ohio interstate highways by bluebirds (Sialia sialis)and mice (Peromyscussp.). M. Hsu and M. J. Humpert. 1988. Ohio J. Sci. 88:151-154.--This studyexamined the successof drilling a seriesof nestcavities in wooded fencepostsalong Ohio interstatehighways as a meansto increaseEastern Bluebird (Sialia szalis)populations. Of 296 cavitiesexamined, 52% were unoccupiedin 1985 and 24.9% in 1986. Mice (Peromyscussp.) occupiedmost of the cavities,increasing from 40% in 1985 to 62.6% in 1986. Eastern Bluebirds occupiedonly 2% of the cavitiesin 1985 and 3.7% in 266] RecentLiterature J.Field Ornithol. Spring 1989 1986, while other birds used the remaining cavities.In addition to the low rate of nest occupancyby birds, predation rates appeared to be relatively high at the occupiedsites. Despite the very poor successof this project,recommendations were providedto increase the use of thesecavities by bluebirds.These recommendationsincluded removal of mouse nestsin early spring prior to the return of bluebirds,installation of predator guards to improve nest successand continuedmaintenance of only thosecavities located in suitable habitats.--Bruce G. Peterjohn. 9. Male parental care and monogamy in Snow Buntings. B. E. Lyon, R. D. Montgomerie, and L. D. Hamilton. 1987. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol.20:377-382.--Parental care in Snow Buntings(Plectrophenax nivalis) was observedduring 1982 and 1983. In 1983, 14 males were removed creating widows. Comparisonsbetween the years indicate the significanceof male parental care. Paired males and females did not significantlydiffer in feeding visit rates. Widows had a higher feedingvisit rate than the controlfemales, but still did not deliver as much food as the control pairs. Reproductive successwas higher in control pairs (2.7 chicks vs. 4.5 chicks). The influence of male parental care on the evolutionof monogamyis discussed."Male Snow Buntings are useful in that they enhancefemale reproductivesuccess but they are not essentialfor the rearing of at leastsome offspring, even in a year of poor food availability."-- Lori A. Willimont. 10. Socialityand cooperativebreeding of Red-cockadedWoodpeckers, Picoides borealis. M. R. Lennartz, R. G. Hooper, and R. F. Harlow.