August 2010

Second Edition of Birds of Peru

By in Book Reviews

Princeton University Press has recently released the second edition of the Birds of Peru by Thomas Schulenberg, Douglas Stotz, Daniel Lane, John O’Neill and the late Ted Parker.  This edition is a revised version of the award-winning 2007 first edition.

This guide covers all of the 1,817 species found in Peru. Subspecies, sexes and morphs are illustrated with O’Neill and Lane’s appealing illustrations.  Twenty-five species not covered in the first edition are included.  Additional plates are included in the second edition as well.

This guide is a model for presenting lots of information in a minimum of space.  The organization follows the usual field guide format with text on the left-hand page and illustrations of those species described on the right.  At the top of each left-hand page, a paragraph is devoted to all the species (usually five or six) on that page.  Each species is then covered with data on length and concise text on distribution, habitat, behavior and identification feature.  Information on voice and non-vocal sounds (like wing whistles in some doves) is provided as well.  A small map is given for each species in the left-hand margin.

For me, a mark of a great field guide is my desire to pick the guide up and read random pages.  In short, to hold the book.  This guide certainly qualifies in that regard.  It is a treasure.

At 664 pages, the book is a substantial volume.  But at 5.75 x 8.5 inches in size, the book can be taken into the field in a small shoulder or lumbar pack or even in a generous vest pocket.

Having returned recently from a birding trip to Ecuador, I realize now that I should have carried a copy of Birds of Peru with me in the field.  There are only 14 species of endemic birds in Ecuador so the vast majority of the Ecuadorean avifauna is covered in the Birds of Peru.  The Birds of Peru is certainly easier to carry into the field than the voluminous guide to the birds of  Ecuador written by Robert Ridgely and Paul Greenfield.

Early North American Bird Field Guides

By in Field Guides Tags:

1934 was an important year for birding in North America. That is when Roger Tory Peterson published A Field Guide to the Birds, a seminal guide for identifying the birds of eastern North America in the field.

Peterson was an accomplished artist and prepared all the plates used in his guide. However, the revolutionary aspect of the guide came to be the use of arrows on the bird portraits to indicate important characteristics for the identification of each species.

This guide sold its first run of 2,000 copies in less than a week. The importance of these and subsequent Peterson guides can hardly be overstated in improving the skills of birders and in bringing new birders into our fold.

However, the Peterson guide did not spring from a sudden inspiration. There were field guides prior to Peterson, most of which are little known now. Several of these were authored by women.

Florence Merriam lived in San Diego and developed an interest in bird identification near the turn of the 20th century. Her brother, Hart Merriam, headed the federal Bureau of Biological Survey; field biology was a family interest.

At the time, the major guide to North American birds was Robert Ridgway’s Manual of North American Birds. With more than 600 pages and over 100 plates of drawings of the various parts of birds, Ridgway’s guide was a resource to be consulted after a birding expedition, not carried into the field. The text was technical and dry.

Perhaps influenced by the daunting Ridway text, Florence Merriam published Birds through an Opera-Glass in 1889. This guide is much more welcoming than the dense text of Ridgway. If you visit googlescholar.com and search for the title, you can see selected pages of the book. It is delightful and decidedly non-technical. For instance, here is a portion of the account of the Chimney Swift: “And what a noise these swifts make in the chimneys! Such chattering and jabbering, rushing in and scrambling out! If you could only get your spyglass inside the chimney.”

A line drawing served as a visual aid to identification for each species but the drawings were rather crude. Merriam considered her guide to be a failure because she claimed that only about 90% of birds can be identified with an opera-class. The others (like flycatchers and vireos) she claimed needed to be shot to be identified.

Merriam followed up her first book with Birds of Village and Field in 1898. She provided technical material in small type at the beginning of each count and then devoted the rest of the space to anecdotes in a larger, more inviting font. The wood engravings Merriam used as illustrations were quite useful. The full book can be seen on GoogleScholar

Mabel Osgood Wright was a New Englander and a contemporary of Florence Merriam. In 1895, she published Birdcraft, a field guide to 166 species of eastern birds. Wright cobbled together images from Aududon and other bird artists with photographs of fine bird art onto 15 color plates. The color of the plates was reproduced poorly and the illustrations were not detailed enough to be useful for tricky identifications. Nevertheless, this book went through at least nine editions over the next three decades.  The book was too large to serve as a field guide. Rather it was an accessible reference to be conferred after a birding expedition.

Neltje Blanchan published Bird Neighbors in 1897. Blanchan’s guide was a photographic one. However, the photos were of stuffed birds, often in poses that were decidedly not lifelike. Blanchan’s volume was large like Wright’s book, certainly not small enough to carry into the field.

The first successful pocket guide to bird identification was Bird Guide: Land Birds East of the Rockies by Chester Reed . The guide as first published in 1906. Copies are available for download at http://openlibrary.org/. Reed was an artist and his paintings of birds were quite good. For his Bird Guide, he had selected paintings photographed as viual aids to identification..

The account for each species covered identification features, song, nesting structure and the geographic range of the species.

Roger Tory Peterson received a copy of the Reed Bird Guide when he was in the seventh grade. The National Audubon Society was giving copies to all members of the Junior Audubon Club. The Reed guide was Peterson’s first field guide and must have inspired him to produce even a better field guide 28 years later.

The inspiration for this article was a 2009 article by Thomas Dunlap in Forest History Today See his article for a fuller treatment of the topic.

[Originally published on July 18, 2010]

Recent Ornithological Literature

By in Recent Ornithological Literature, Reproduction

In this column, I will provide a synopsis of several scientific papers that recently appeared in ornithological journals.  All of the papers deal with birds that occur regularly in Maine and some of the research was performed in our state.

The practice of laying eggs in the nests of other species of birds is a hallmark of the Brown-headed Cowbird.  This sneaky trick, called brood parasitism, poses a huge conservation threat to many species of eastern birds.  These cowbirds have only been in the east for less than two centuries.  Prior to the European colonization of North America, Brown-headed Cowbirds were found on the western plains, following bison to feed on the insects the bison displaced while grazing.

With the conversion of eastern forests to pasture land, habitat was created that allowed cowbirds to spread east.  The various species of birds that are hosts to the cowbirds’ eggs and nestlings had no prior experience with cowbird brood parasitism and in many cases have not had time to adapt.

Mélanie Guigueno and Spencer Sealy published a recent article in the Condor that examines the behavior of Yellow Warblers whose nests contain one or more Brown-headed Cowbird eggs.

For species that are able to distinguish a cowbird egg from their own eggs, several behaviors are available to thwart the efforts of the cowbird to pawn off the rearing of her own young.  Sometimes, a host grasps the cowbird egg in its bill and ejects the egg from the nests.  This efficient method requires a fairly large bill (15 millimeters long). Unfortunately, the Yellow Warbler’s bill is too short.  Some hosts will puncture a cowbird egg, pick it up with its bill and eject the egg over the side of the nest.  Yellow Warblers cannot do puncture-ejection of the eggs.

However, Yellow Warblers do have a unique way of fighting back against cowbird brood parasitism.   They construct part of a new nest (embedded burial) or an entirely new one (true burial) over the parasitized clutch of eggs and start the egg-laying process over again.  Sometimes, the pair of Yellow Warblers will simply desert a parasitized nest and seek a new nesting site.

The authors studied 132 nests over 13 years. They found that burial of parasitized clutches occurred about two-thirds of the time and desertion was the strategy in the other cases.

We are fortunate in Maine to have two breeding species of sparrows that frequent salt marshes: Nelson’s Sparrow and Saltmarsh Sparrow.  Both were formerly united as a single species, the Sharp-tailed Sparrow.  Saltmarsh Sparrow has a more southerly distribution, breeding as far south as Virginia.  Nelson’s Sparrow along the Atlantic coast breeds from New Hampshire northward.  In places like Scarborough Marsh, both species can be found in the same marsh, sometimes hybridizing.

Chris Hill and colleagues recently published an article in the Auk on Saltmarsh Sparrows.  This species has an unusual life history compared to other sparrows.  Males do not maintain a territory and do not form pair bonds with females.  The males are deadbeat dads; they do not participate in the rearing of the young.

Using DNA comparisons, the researchers found that multiple partners were typical for female Saltmarsh Sparrows.  Fifty-seven of 60 broods with at least two chicks resulted from females having two or more male partners.  About a third of the broods had a different father for each chick.  The most common result though was for one male to have fathered two or more but not all the chicks in a nest.

The males moved around in the salt marsh, siring chicks in nests up to a mile apart.  The life history of this species is really quite different from the strongly territorial reproduction of related species like Song Sparrows.

A team of researchers including Maine ornithologists Tom Hodgman and Peter Vickery published a comparison of home range sizes and habitat use by Nelson’s Sparrow and Saltmarsh Sparrows in the Wilson Journal of Ornithology.  This work was done in Scarborough Marsh.

The researchers used radio-transmitters to track the movements of 63 Nelson’s and 77 Saltmarsh sparrows.  Like the Saltmarsh Sparrow, Nelson’s Sparrows do not defend a breeding territory.  However, they do tend to spend most of their time in particular areas, overlapping with individuals of both species.  Theses areas are called home ranges rather than territories.

Using the location data from the radiotransmitters, the researchers found that the home range of male Nelson’s Sparrows was over twice as large as that of male Saltmarsh Sparrows (a whopping 300 acres compared to a still impressive 125 acres).  Females of both species had similar home ranges of 70 to 100 acres.

[Originally published on July 4, 2010]

Nesting Associations

By in Uncategorized

The reproductive success of birds depends in large part on the location of the nest.  A nest should provide protection from the elements.  It should be well hidden to prevent its discovery by egg or nestling predators.

Some bird species build their nests in the proximity of other species of birds. In today’s column, we will explore some of these nesting associations and learn the advantages of such arrangements.

This column was inspired by an observation that Bets Brown (my wife) and made on June 16.  Bets was conducting a Breeding Bird Survey and I came along as her data recorder.  At a stop in Monmouth, a pair of Ospreys had constructed a nest atop an electrical transformer tower.  Bets saw a couple of small birds disappearing into and emerging from the bottom of the massive nest.  Those birds were House Sparrows.  What better place to place a nest?  Potential predators of House Sparrow eggs or nestlings are likely to be deterred by the fearsome Ospreys.  As strict fish-eaters, Ospreys pose little threat to the House Sparrows.

A search of the literature revealed that House Sparrows have been reported nesting in Osprey nests in other areas.  Monk Parakeets, which build spherical stick nests, have also been seen using Osprey nests as a site for their own nest construction.

Although the pair of House Sparrows we saw likely benefitted from the association with Ospreys, we do not know if the House Sparrows particularly sought out the Ospreys or simply found the massive nests of the Ospreys to be a nice place to set up house.  I suspect it was the latter.  In any case, House Sparrows outnumber Ospreys by many orders of magnitude so a House Sparrow nest in an Osprey nest must be an exceptional event from the point of view of House Sparrows.

However, nearly 100 bird species clearly prefer to nest in proximity to a more aggressive species.  Most examples of protected associates are waterfowl, shorebirds and songbirds while the aggressive species sought out by the protected associate species are usually particularly aggressive shorebirds, falcons and sometimes stinging or biting insects.

In Ontario, Yellow Warblers prefer to nest close to Gray Catbird or Red-winged Blackbird nests.  Near Gray Catbirds, predation on the warbler nests is significantly reduced.   Brood parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbirds is greatly reduced in warbler nests near Red-winged Blackbird nests.  The redwings aggressively keep cowbird females out of their territories.

On Kent Island in the Bay of Fundy, Savannah Sparrows have two major nest predators: abundant but ineffective Herring Gulls and uncommon but ruthlessly effective American Crows.  The sparrows choose to nest near the gulls because the gulls keep the crows away.  The sparrows build their nests in dense microhabitats that the gulls avoid.

In the Siberian arctic, more than 80% of Red-breasted Geese nest close to either Peregrine Falcon or Snowy Owl nests.  Arctic Foxes are a major threat to goose eggs and goslings.  In 454 hours of observations, no nest predation by foxes was observed for nests in the vicinity of owls or falcons.  In fact, foxes only came within the defense area of the aggressive species twice and in both cases were quickly attacked.  The foxes fled with their tails literally between their legs.

In the Manitoba arctic, Long-tailed Ducks choose to nest near Arctic Tern nests.  In some habitats, the ducks place their nests within three meters of the aggressive terns.

We know at least one example where a protected associate has a negative influence on the aggressive species.  In Peru, Black Skimmers and two species of terns nest on beaches along the Manu River.  The terns and skimmers actively defend their nests against predators.  Sand-colored Nighthawks nest among the skimmers and terns, often in numbers exceeding the aggressive species.  The nighthawks never defend their nests, relying instead on the protection of the skimmers and terns.  The nighthawks had greater nesting success in association with the other birds.  However, their presence reduced the success of the terns and the skimmers because they spent more time in defense and less in parental care.  The nighthawks are essentially parasitizing the terns and skimmers.

Purple Finch project

Sarah Knutie, a graduate student at the University of Utah, is beginning a long-term monitoring project of Purple Finches.  She is soliciting volunteers who are willing to keep track of Purple Finch, House Finch and Pine Siskin abundance at their feeders from September through March.  The time commitment is modest, only 1-2 hours a month.  If you would like to help Sarah with her project, let her know of your interest by emailing her at [email protected]

[Originally published on June 26, 2010]

Maine Landscapes and Odonates of Massachusetts

By in Book Reviews, Odonates, Plant Communities, Uncategorized

Maine Landscapes

The Maine Natural Areas Program has recently published a book by Susan Gawler and Andrew Cutko entitled Natural Landscapes of Maine: A Guide to Natural Communities and Ecosystems.  Gawler and Cutko describe 104 natural communities in Maine, based primarily on the distribution and abundance of woody plants.  This book will be of interest to any naturalist in Maine, not just to botanists.

Some of the community types like Beech-Birch-Maple Forest, Hemlock Forest or Spruce-Northern Hardwoods Forest cover vast tracts of Maine.  Others like Atlantic Cedar Bog or Pocket Swamp or Jack Pine Woodland are much smaller in areal extent.  However, each community type is given equal treatment in a standardized format.  Two pages are devoted to each community.  Several photographs of the habitat or particular characteristic species are provided along with a map showing the occurrence of the community type in Maine.  A list of the characteristic plant species is provided along with a list of any rare plants found there.  Each account has a list of sites with public access so interested people can visit an example of that community type.

Each account also lists particular bird, butterfly, moth, dragonfly, and other animal species that occur in each community type.  The inclusion of this information makes the book a valuable resource for any birder looking for birds with restricted distributions in the state.  As examples, Red Maple Swamps provide good habitat for Louisiana Waterthrushes and Yellow-throated Vireos and Spruce-Fir Krummholz is the place to go for Bicknell’s Thrushes, Blackpoll Warblers and Spruce Grouse.

Dr. Mac Hunter, a faculty member in the Department of Wildlife Ecology at the University of Maine, provides an insightful foreword to the volume.  He writes about the value of natural community classifications as a tool for conservationists.  We can protect many species by preserving a particularly nice tract, for example, of Maritime Spruce-Fir Forest.  We know that all the many species found there will be protected.  This habitat-scale means of conservation is called a coarse-filter approach.  Of course, some species may need a fine-filter approach, conservation practices developed for the particular needs of a threatened species.    Protecting lakes would not eliminate the threat of mercury and organic contaminants for Common Loons on those lakes so a fine-filter approach is needed there.  For the coarse-filter approach, the landscape classifications developed by Gawler and Cutko are essential.

Serving in many respects as a field guide to the habitats of Maine, this book is worth owning by any Maine naturalist.  In addition, the book is a celebration of the amazing biodiversity of the state.  I enjoy picking up the book and just sampling a few of the landscape types.  We live in a state of great natural riches.

You can obtain a copy by contacting the Maine Natural Areas Program, Maine Department of Conservation, 93 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0093 or you can download an order form at: http://www.maine.gov/doc/nrimc/mnap/publications/community_classification.htm

The cost of the book is $20 including shipping (cash or checks only).

Dragonflies

A bird in flight is amazing in its grace and power.  But have you ever carefully watched a dragonfly in flight?  Dragonflies can fly at speeds up to 45 mph and their aerial acrobatics are unparalleled.

Dragonflies are such agile fliers that they are able to avoid most potential predators.  We do have one bird species in Maine, the Purple Martin, which preys regularly on dragonflies.  In the southeastern United States, breeding Mississippi Kites take dragonflies.  Veteran hawk-watchers believe that these kites rely heavily on dragonflies for food during their fall migrations through Central America, which coincide with southern migrations of some dragonflies.  (Most dragonflies are not migratory).

Besides spectacular flying abilities, dragonflies have other similarities to birds.  Some species of dragonflies maintain breeding territories just as many birds do.  Male dragonflies are generally more colorful than females, just as is the case with many birds.

The best resource for identifying Maine dragonflies and the related damselflies is A Field Guide to the Dragonflies and Damselflies of Massachusetts (2nd edition) by Blair Nikula, Jennifer Ryan and Matthew Burne.  Nearly all the species found in Maine are covered.  Each species account has a couple of high-quality photographs and text on identification.  Details on ordering a copy are available at http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/nhesp/publications/nhesp_pubs.htm

[Originally published on June 12, 2010]