For Preferred BirdTracksthis Youspecial because have edition youreceived are of a A special BirdTracks edition from Winter 2011 preferred WBU customer! Birds In Depth PRST STD Customers Only U.S. POSTAGE Are you enjoying BirdTracks? We’d appreciate your feedback and comments MARIETTA,PAID OH PERMIT NO 161 Specialized Feathers the next time you visit our store. Serve by KEVIN J.COOK as Tools ou use napkins and fl atware, ladles Eastern kingbirds have bristles ® around the mouth that help it and spatulas, shopping bags and to catch insects on the wing. groceryY carts to help you with your food and our partner and feeding needs. Birds use utensils, too—sort of. Th e hawk’s talons, the humming- bird’s tongue, and the woodpecker’s bill all come to mind; but something else is commonly used: rictal bristles. Tracks by DR. DAVID BIRD Bristles—feathers that are all shaft BIRD and no vane—grow on birds’ heads. Red-Winged Blackbird Th ere are a few exceptions, such as he most misidentifi ed songbird in Red-winged Blackbirds, who like to be open their bill against resistance to ex- the ones that grow on owls’ toes. Each all of North America may be the near water. Ah, the irony of it! pose insects hiding in plant material or bristle arises from its own follicle, and Tfemale Red-winged Blackbird. So often under stones. According to experimen- each follicle has a special nerve struc- • eat fruit or seeds, which do not insects after dark. bird watchers learn to identify the adult Varied Diet tal studies, these birds essentially learn ture. Any stimulation of the bristle need to be caught; Pewees, fl ycatchers, phoebes, and Male redwings enjoy the high fat what to eat by watching others. Red- male, black with red and yellow shoulder content of black-oil sunfl ower seeds, but triggers the nerve. • forage under water; kingbirds, plus wrentits, kinglets, gnat- epaulets, but are totally stumped when wings spend much of their time foraging Th e rictus is the fl eshy area where • eat insects only for a short period catchers, thrushes, and thrashers grow I recall that the smaller females often at ground level and their walking ability the streaky, mottled brownish female perched on my tube feeder containing the upper and lower halves of the bill each year. well-developed rictal bristles that are comes into view nearby. In fact, this bird is so well-developed that they can actu- meet, forming the fl eshy corner of a A few common backyard birds easily seen. Nyjer seed in our backyard. If you fol- ally walk backward. is sexually dimorphic not just in plum- lowed the dietary habits of Red-winged bird’s mouth. Bristles growing here are lack rictal bristles altogether or have Although present, bristles are visible age: Th e males are also larger and behave Th ey love to bathe, too. Take a close called “rictal bristles.” extremely small bristles that cannot only under ideal conditions on swal- Blackbirds diff erently than the females. over the Ornithologists have long suspected be seen. Th is group includes wrens, lows, jays, chickadees, nuthatches, Most ornithologists agree that the that these sensory feathers eff ectively starlings, some warblers, blackbirds, vireos, and tanagers. course of Red-winged Blackbird is just about the the year, extend the reach of a bird’s bill as a and orioles. Now that you know what they are most abundant and best-studied bird on food-catching utensil. Understandably, Nightjars such as Whip-poor-wills and which birds have them, rictal you would our continent. Its range stretches from discover these bristles are poorly developed or grow prominent rictal bristles. Th is bristles should give you a little motiva- southern Canada down into southern absent on birds that: makes sense for birds that catch fl ying tion to watch those birds feeding in that they eat Mexico and from coast to coast. mostly plant your backyard with fresh eyes. III BILL THOMPSON, Because they are so adaptable, you matter such RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD— Continued from page 5 can fi nd them nesting just as happily as corn, sor- RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD— Continued from page 1 in a large marsh or fi eld as in your own ghum, wheat to three days for the female to weave a live? Th e oldest wild redwing on record backyard. When we lived in suburbia seeds, tree In every issue of BirdTracks with a good-sized backyard with trees look the next time you see one taking his head, tilting his bill upward, or giving we feature questions from nest from plant material onto several is a 14-year-old male, but the average life seeds, and a bath. Th ey wade in until the belly is various calls from prominent perches— vertical stems. Redwing clutches aver- expectancy is just more than two years. but no pond or creek, we hosted a pair most impor- submerged, fl uff out the belly feathers the most important tools he uses are his you, our best customers. age about three pale blue eggs marked Other than bird watchers and those of redwings that showed up every spring tantly, a good while dipping forward, lower the wings red and yellow epaulets. When they are We welcome your with black or brown, one laid each day. enjoying them in the backyard, Red- without fail to nest in the top of one of percentage of and fl utter them about to splash water exposed and exaggerated, they constitute suggestions, comments Th e young hatch in roughly 12 days and winged Blackbirds have not exactly our tall cedars. Ron (as I had named him, weed seeds. all over their body. After a good shaking, a powerful weapon for territory defense. and questions. We also take the next 12 days to grow and vacate enjoyed the best of relationships with after my father-in-law) certainly declared Th ey also the blackbird fl ies to a nearby perch and If these epaulets are experimentally the nest. Both parents feed them, but the humans. In fall when the fl edged young our backyard as his turf. It was fun to consume in- preens itself for several minutes. blackened, the males generally lose their hope to share your tips and involvement of the male varies with each join adult birds to form huge roosts, watch him sail into the bird feeder with sects. In fact, territory. ideas for enhancing our population. Th e diet is mostly terrestrial sometimes mixing with other “black- his scarlet epaulets fl aring as bright as if you watch Territoriality enjoyment of backyard and aquatic insects. birds,” these armies descend upon the headlights on a jumbo jet at night. them closely, Although fi ghting is infrequent, a male Courtship and Nesting various crops such as rice, corn, and We recently moved into a rental loft they engage will sometimes grab a rival’s feathers with Most publications on Red-winged birds and wildlife with house right on the shore of a major lake other BirdTracks readers Mortality sunfl ower and do considerable damage. in a foraging his feet, while beating it vigorously with Blackbirds discuss their polygynous mat- What does Red-winged Blackbirds in? Even though the farmers may be par- in the same town and had to set up our technique the wings and pecking it with the bill. ing systems. Sometimes one male can all over North America. Well, predators account for the biggest tially compensated by the fact the birds feeders on the back deck of the second called “gap- GEORGE GENTRY/USFWS Occasionally the two combatants will have as many as 15 mates, but the aver- losses of eggs and nestlings, as many also consume various insect pests and fl oor overlooking the shore. We have Male Red-winged Blackbirds are unmistakable thanks to their namesake ing,” in which shoulder patches. roll over on the ground several times and age number is fi ve. I could fi nd no pub- A female Red-winged Blackbird bringing as 40 percent from a given population. weed seeds, a fair bit of research still managed to attract virtually all of the they forcibly even fl y upward at one another fl ailing lished information on this, but the pair food to her nestlings. Write to us at: Raccoons, minks, magpies, and various species we had hosted before, except the goes on today to come up with a pub- Continued on page 5 away with their feet. of blackbirds nesting in my suburban BirdTracks hawks and owls are among the most licly accepted “magic bullet” to either Another behavior to look for is the backyard seemed quite monogamous, territory rather than be paired monoga- c/o BWD important predators. Highly territorial scare the birds away from the crops or courtship chase, in which a male pursues making me wonder whether gregarious- Marsh Wrens peck holes in eggs and kill Feature Backyard Café Th e Backyard Watcher mously with a male holding an inferior PO Box 110 decimate their numbers. Red-winged Blackbird ......................... 1 Eating for the Season .......................... 2 Top 10 Things to Do in Winter .............. 4 a female at top speed in fl ight. If he over- ness and polygyny are mostly features territory. Marietta, OH 45750 nestlings with their sharp bills, presum- Meanwhile, I urge you to sit back takes her, he might grab her rump, caus- of populations nesting in extensive ably to lessen the competition for food and enjoy these colorful birds in your Birds In Depth Depending on where you live in North News on the Fly Specialized Feathers Serve as Tools ....