Recently added articles from The Wilson Journal of Ornithology:
New insight to old hypotheses: Ruffed Grouse population cycles.(Report)
Jun 01, 2008; Zimmerman, Guthrie S. ... The Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus) is a widespread and important game bird in North America (Rusch et al. 2000). Population size of grouse is known to fluctuate through time and, in some areas, these fluctuations follow a cycle of ~10 years (Keith 1963, Rusch et al. 2000). Their ...
Communal calling and prospecting by Black-headed Trogons (Trogon melanocephalus).(Report)
Jun 01, 2008; Riehl, Christina ... Trogons (Trogoniformes: Trogonidae) are among the most secretive of tropical forest birds. Many aspects of their behavior, particularly those relating to courtship, mate choice, nesting biology, and social interactions remain poorly understood or undescribed (Johnsgard 2000). Trogons are ...
Song variation in Buff-breasted Flycatchers (Empidonax fulvifrons).(Report)
Jun 01, 2008; Lein, M. Ross ... Most literature on song variation deals with oscine birds (Passeriformes, suborder Passeri) (Lovell and Lein 2004). Songs are learned in most or all oscines (Kroodsma 1996), which is a major factor generating song variation at individual, population, and geographic scales. Suboscine birds ...
Phylogenetic relationship and song differences between closely related Bush Warblers (Cettia seebohmi and C. diphone).(Report)
Jun 01, 2008; Hamao, Shoji ... Bush Warblers (Cettia spp.) radiated in southeast Asia and the southwest Pacific, although one species, C. cetti (Cetti's Warbler), is distributed in Europe. Molecular phylogenetics suggest the southwestern Pacific species (i.e., C. ruficapilla on the Fiji Islands, C. annae on the western ...
Autumn stopover near the Gulf of Honduras by Nearctic-Neotropic migrants.(Report)
Jun 01, 2008; Johnson, Andrew B. ... The geography of North America causes Nearctic-Neotropic migrants that breed across thousands of square kilometers of boreal and temperate forest to funnel through a small fraction of the land area in the forests of Central America during the nonbreeding season. This concentration of ...
Numbers of migratory birds stopping over in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA in relation to weather.(Report)
Jun 01, 2008; Yaukey, Peter H. ... Studies of the ecology and behavior of migratory birds during passage are important, given the significance of the migratory journey in their annual cycles. A key component of the migratory strategies of migrants is use of stopover sites for resting, re-hydrating, and refueling during ...
Mass changes of migratory landbirds during stopovers in a New York City park.(Report)
Jun 01, 2008; Seewagen, Chad L. ... Nearctic-neotropical migratory passerines engage in episodes of intense exercise during nocturnal migratory flights followed by periods of hyperphagia and rapid fat deposition during stopovers. Stopover habitats in which depleted energy stores can be promptly replenished are necessary for ...
Migration of Florida sub-adult Bald Eagles.(Report)
Jun 01, 2008; Mojica, Elizabeth K. ... Migration of Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) has been studied with some success using band recoveries and VHF radiotransmitters (Harmata et al. 1985, Hunt et al. 1992, McClelland et al. 1994, Wood and Collopy 1994, Harmata 2002). Using these methods, biologists found that eagles in ...
Wetland features that influence occupancy by the endangered Hawaiian Duck.(Report)
Jun 01, 2008; Uyehara, Kimberly J. ... The Hawaiian Duck or Koloa maoli (Anas wyvilliana), hereafter referred to as Koloa, is a monochromatic, non-migratory, endangered species allied with the North American Mallard (A. platyrhynchos) complex (Browne et al. 1993). With an approximate population of 2,200 birds (Engilis and Pratt ...
Habitat features associated with Barrow's Goldeneye breeding in eastern Canada.(Report)
Jun 01, 2008; Robert, Michel ... Barrow's Goldeneye (Bucephala islandica) has a discontinuous distribution; it occurs mostly in western North America (~180,000 individuals) with smaller populations in eastern North America (~6,000) and Iceland (~2,000) (Eadie et al. 2000, Einarsson et al. 2006, Robert and Savard 2006) ....
Distribution, abundance, and nest-site characteristics of Black Swifts in the Southern Rocky Mountains of Colorado and New Mexico.(Report)
Jun 01, 2008; Levad, Richard G. ... Observers in the late 19th century believed Black Swifts (Cypseloides niger) nested in Colorado (Drew 1881, Bendire 1895), but the first breeding confirmation in the Southern Rocky Mountains did not occur until 1949 when O. A. Knorr found nests at two waterfalls near Silverton in San Juan ...
Nest reuse by Vermilion Flycatchers in Texas.(Report)
Jun 01, 2008; Ellison, Kevin S. ... Most passerine birds construct a new nest for each breeding attempt despite the potential for reusing their own nests. Strategies of nest construction or reuse differ in costs as construction of new nests requires time and energy. Reuse of nests or nest sites can be associated with costs ...
Natural history and breeding biology of the Rusty-breasted Antpitta (Grallaricula ferrugineipectus).(Report)
Jun 01, 2008; Niklison, Alina M. ... Breeding biology and life history traits of most neotropical birds are poorly known and antpittas are no exception (Krabbe and Schulenberg 2003, Rice 2005). The small antpitta genus Grallaricula comprises eight species (Krabbe and Schulenberg 2003). Nest descriptions and scanty breeding ...
Foraging ecology of parrots in a modified landscape: seasonal trends and introduced species.(Report)
Jun 01, 2008; Matuzak, Greg D. ... Knowledge about diets is fundamental for understanding species' niches, roles in communities, and potential impacts on other species (Moegenburg and Levey 2003, French and Smith 2005, Munshi-South and Wilkinson 2006). Knowledge of diet is also needed to design effective conservation and ...
The signal function of a melanin-based plumage ornament in Golden-winged Warblers.(Report)
Jun 01, 2008; McKinnon, Emily Anne ... Females, in many birds that exhibit sexual dimorphism, prefer and benefit from choosing more ornamented and older mates (Andersson 1994). Sexually selected plumage may have a role in maintaining species separation in sympatric populations of related species (Saetre et al. 1997) ....
Factors influencing fidelity of house finches to a feeding station.(Report)
Jun 01, 2008; Davis, Andrew K. ... House Finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) in North America have become the subject of intense study in the past decade. This species has become susceptible to a newly emerged disease, mycoplasmal conjunctivitis (e.g., Hartup et al. 2001, Roberts et al. 2001a, Farmer et al. 2002, Altizer et al ....
Gender identification of Caspian Terns using external morphology and discriminant function analysis.(Report)
Jun 01, 2008; Ackerman, Joshua T. ... Many seabird species are sexually monomorphic in plumage characteristics and gender cannot easily be assigned without extensive behavioral sampling (such as gender-specific breeding behaviors or vocalizations) (Coulter 1986, Chardine and Morris 1989, Phillips and Furness 1997, Casaux and ...
Effects of traffic noise on auditory surveys of urban White-winged Doves.(Report)
Jun 01, 2008; Breeden, Jeffrey B. ... Auditory point-count indices are commonly used to estimate abundance of avian populations. The assumption is the number of birds heard calling provides an accurate index to abundance (Sisson 1968, Keppie et al. 1970); however, the validity of indices recently has been questioned (Anderson ...
Specimen shrinkage in Cinnamon Teal.(Short Communications)(Report)
Jun 01, 2008; Wilson, Robert E. ... Specimen shrinkage during the process of drying is common. Shrinkage can cause analytical problems if not properly corrected in studies involving live or freshly killed birds and museum specimens (e.g., Winker 1996). Correction for shrinkage is needed before applying to live birds when ...
Breeding range extension of the Coastal Plain Swamp Sparrow.(SHORT COMMUNICATIONS)(Report)
Jun 01, 2008; Watts, Bryan D. ... The Coastal Plain Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana nigrescens) is restricted to tidal fresh and brackish marshes of the mid-Atlantic coast. The form is distinctive in having a larger bill, grayer plumage, and more black in the crown and nape compared to other Swamp Sparrows (Bond and ...