SEARCH · USGS Science
Search indexed USGS publications on groundwater, aquifers, geologic maps, mineral resources and earthquakes. Explore source records by subject and place.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
During 11-15 March 1986, we visited Cat Island in the Bahamas. Here we report on 27 species of birds whose status on Cat Island is poorly known, including eight for which no pervious records exist.
Three light-weight, low-canopy mist-net systems were developed and tested in dry tropical scrub, mangrove and forest habitats. One plastic (polyvinyl chloride) and two aluminum pole systems (with and without pulleys) were used to support mist nets to heights of up to 7.3 m. Although the aluminum telescoping-pole system (without pulleys) was expensive initially ( 79-141/unit (US)), its use reduced capture of nontarget species and may have increased capture of target species when compared with ground-level netting. In one year, its use also reduced labor costs by 756, which completely offset the higher cost of the aluminum telescoping-pole system when compared to the plastic-pole system ( 19/unit). Unlike the plastic-pole system, the aluminum telescoping-pole system was adjustable to any height within its range of 1.8 to 7.3 m, was 1.5 m higher, was more efficient to operate in the field, and was easily moved to new locations. For capture of psittacines, the pulleys of the aluminum telescoping-pole system were not necessary, but their use may assist in efficiently retrieving large numbers of birds from the nets. The aluminum telescoping-pole system was efficient in capturing psittacines, columbids, passerines and possibly chiropterans in habitats with canopies lt 10 m or in the forest subcanopy.
We discuss 44 instances of the use of generic, specific, or subspecific names that differ from those generally in use for North American (sensu AOU 1957) birds. These names are generally older than the names presently used and have been revived on the basis of priority. We examine the basis for the proposed changes and make recommendations as to which names should properly be used in an effort to promote nomenclatural stability in accordance with the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature.
Breeding Bird Surveys (BBS), which are widely used to monitor trends in avian populations (e.g. Robbins et al. 1989, Sauer and Droege 1993), are conducted along roads but are used to infer changes in regionwide populations. Such inferences may be inaccurate if trends in habitat along roads differ from regionwide trends. For example, if forest cover regionwide remained constant but forest cover along roads declined (due for example to development), then BBS data for species found primarily in the forest might show declines despite regional populations being stable. We investigated this issue by measuring change in forest cover in western (i.e. unglaciated) Ohio (Fig. 1). Change in forest cover between 1963 and 1988 was determined for: (a) the complete study area; (b) areas 0 to 140 m from a road (inner roadside strip); and (c) areas 141 to 280 m from a road (outer roadside strip).
This is the first supplement to the previous published four-part series on avian longevities (Clapp et al. 1982, 1983; Klimkiewicz et al. 1983; Klimkiewicz and Futcher 1987). R ecords processed in the Bird Banding Laboratory through August 1988 are included, as well as several corrections to the original series. One hundred-seven of the 147 entries in this supplement are new longevity records for species or forms listed previously. Another 37 entries represent taxa not listed before, and the remaining three records correct previous listings that were in error.
A pilot Breeding Bird Atlas was initiated during 1971 in Montgomery County. A second atlas was begun during 1973 in Howard County. The Montgomery project was completed in 1973 and the Howard project in 1975......A total of 138 species were recorded for the two counties (129 confirmed, 7 probable, 2 possible). Montgomery County had 135 species recorded (122 confirmed, 9 probable, 4 possible) and Howard County had 127 species (110 confirmed, 7 probable,10 possible)......Thirty-two species were found in all 5-km blocks and eight were found in all 5-krn and 21/2-km blocks. Two species were confirmed in all blocks.......There were 11 new Montgomery County breeding records and eight new Howard County records. Nine species were found only in Montgomery County and two only in Howard County. Twelve species were confrmed in Montgomery County but not in Howard; five were confirmed in Howard County but not in Montgomery. Ninety-eight species were confirmed on active nests in Montgomery County and 85 in Howard County.
With a slight change in title, this is the second edition of Edwards' (1974) Coded List, from which it differs significantly. First, it covers only nonpasserines instead of all the birds of the world; presumably a list of the passerines will follow soon. The code is different, the format is expanded, and the information content is greater (3,798 species are listed as opposed to 3,656). This edition is clearly a new entry in the world-list field.
Review of: Behle, William H. 1985. Utah Birds: Geographic Distribution and Systematics. Occasional Publication No. 5, Utah Museum of Natural History, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah. 147 pp.
John Cassin was one of the leading American ornithologists of the 19th century. Appointed Honorary Curator of Birds at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia in 1842, he built and studied the collections of that institution (although engaged full time in business) until his death in 1869. This book represents perhaps his most important and least well known endeavor.
Six month old Lesser Scaup and nestling Tree Swallows were injected intraperitoneally with beta-naphthoflavone (BNF) or vehicle. Nestling Tree Swallows were also collected from five sites with differing levels of contaminants. Liver samples were taken and stored at -80C until microsome preparation and monooxygenase (MO) assay. Skin and heart samples were placed in buffered formalin until immunohistochemical (IMHC) analysis for cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A). Scaup treated with BNF at 20 or 100 mg/kg body weight showed approximately 20- to 65-fold increases in four MOs. Responses of two of the four MOs were as high at 20 mg/kg as at 100mg/kg. There was no IMHC response in the vehicle-injected ducks, while in skin the IMHC response was the same for both dose levels of BNF and in heart there was response in two of four samples at 20 mg/kg and in all five samples at 100mg/kg. Tree Swallows injected with BNF at 100, but not at 20 mg/kg showed significant increases (ca.5-fold) in two MO activities. There was no IMHC response in control swallows. In skin and heart there were IMHC responses in one of five swallows at 20 mg/kg and four of five swallows at 100mg/kg. There was poor correlation between individual skin IMHC responses and MO activities and PCB concentrations in 47 field-collected Tree Swallow samples, but 14 of the 16 skin samples with positive IMHC responses were from the location with the highest MO activities and PCB concentrations. Although present data do not allow construction of significant dose response curves, the responses in skin make it well worth continuing study on this potential nonlethal technique for biomonitoring contaminant exposure of birds.
High concentrations of mercury from past mining activities have accumulated in the food chain of fish-eating birds nesting along the mid to lower Carson River. Activities of nine plasma and tissue enzymes, and concentrations of other plasma and tissue constituents were measured for black-crowned night-heron, Nycticorax nycticorax, (BCNH) and snowy egret, Egretta thula, (SE) nestlings from two high mercury sites and one low mercury site. Geometric mean blood Hg concentrations for BCNHs at the high mercury sites were 2.6 and 2.8 ppm (ww) and 0.6 ppm at the low mercury site. Blood concentrations for SEs were 3.6 and 1.9 ppm at the high mercury sites and 0.7 ppm at the low mercury site. In BCNHs plasma glutathione peroxidase (GSH peroxidase) activity was lower in both high mercury sites relative to the low mercury site. Butyryl cholinesterase (BuChe), ALT, glutathione reductase (GSSG-reductase) and LDH-L activities were lower in one high mercury site. In SEs significant differences were lower BuChe and LDH-L, but elevated GGT activities. Evidence of renal stress in both species at high mercury sites included increased plasma uric acid, blood urea nitrogen, and creatinine concentrations as well as oxidative stress in the kidney tissue itself where oxidized glutathione increased. A number of the mercury site-related effects, including decreased plasma GSH-peroxidase and hepatic G-6-PDH activities, higher GSSG-reductase activity, and lower hepatic concentrations of reduced thiols have been reported in methylmercury feeding studies with great egrets and mallards. These findings suggest the utility of herons and egrets for monitoring mercury sites.
This is the second Supplement since publication of the 7th edition of the Check-list of North American Birds (American Ornithologists' Union 1998). It summarizes decisions made by the AOU's Committee on Classification and Nomenclature between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2001.
Analysis of Christmas Bird Count (CBC) data is complicated by the need to account for variation in effort on counts and to provide summaries over large geographic regions. We describe a hierarchical model for analysis of population change using CBC data that addresses these needs. The effect of effort is modeled parametrically, with parameter values varying among strata as identically distributed random effects. Year and site effects are modeled hierarchically, accommodating large regional variation in number of samples and precision of estimates. The resulting model is complex, but a Bayesian analysis can be conducted using Markov chain Monte Carlo techniques. We analyze CBC data for American Black Ducks (Anas rubripes), a species of considerable management interest that has historically been monitored using winter surveys. Over the interval 1966-2003, Black Duck populations showed distinct regional patterns of population change. The patterns shown by CBC data are similar to those shown by the Midwinter Waterfowl Inventory for the United States.
The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which certain species of birds contribute to the hazard to aircraft at Midway; to learn more about the population dynamics and habits of these species to determine what type of control measures might be possible without endangering the species; and to test methods of control which are suggested. Most of the study has been devoted to the two species of albatrosses and the sooty terns nesting at Midway because of the current belief that these species offered the greatest danger to aircraft safety.
Regression equations that use mensural data to estimate body condition have been developed for several water birds. These equations often have been based on data that represent different sexes, age classes, or seasons, without being adequately tested for intergroup differences. We used proximate carcass analysis of 538 adult and juvenile canvasbacks (Aythya valisineria ) collected during fall migration, winter, and spring migrations in 1975-76 and 1982-85 to test regression methods for estimating body condition.
The purpose of the research was to evaluate the efficacy of point count surveys in bottomland hardwood forests. The specific objectives were to determine: (1) whether the recommended distance measures for point count circular plots are useful in bottomland hardwood forests, (2) the optimum duration for each point count, (3) the optimum number of points to sample at each locality, (4) the optimum number of counts at each point during a season, and (5) the minimum sample size to accommodate the variation in bird species distribution and relative abundance throughout the lower MAV.
Data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey indicate a survey-wide decline in Black Terns (Chlidonias niger) at an average rate of 3.1% annually during 1966-1996. Black Terns in Canada decreased at an average annual rate of 3.5% during this interval, while the United States population showed no significant trends. These long-term declines largely reflect trends prior to 1980, when the continental, Canadian, and United States populations decreased at average annual rates of 7.5%, 5.6%, and 11.9%, respectively. Most population trends were reversed during the 1990s, causing trend estimates over the 1980-1996 interval to become more positive. Associations between patterns of change in Black Terns, Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), and numbers of ponds in the northern Great Plains suggest some relationships exist between habitat availability and the population trajectories.
We surveyed 7 species of predatory birds weekly during a 12-month period (December 1992 through November 1993) in the east Mojave Desert, California. The Common Raven (Corvus corax) was the most frequently observed species with an average of 6.9 sightings per 100 km. Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura), Red-tailed Hawks (Buteo jamaicensis), Loggerhead Shrikes (Lanius ludovicianus), American Kestrels (Falco sparverius), Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos), and Prairie Falcons (Falco mexicanus) were seen in decreasing order of frequency of observation through the study period. Ravens, Red-tailed Hawks, Loggerhead Shrikes, American Kestrels, and Prairie Falcons were seen throughout the year. Turkey Vultures were not present during winter months, while Golden Eagles were seen only during November and December. Turkey Vultures, Red-tailed Hawks, and ravens were most numerous on agricultural lands, while Loggerhead Shrikes were most Common at urban areas. Raven numbers increased with increasing number of linear rights-of-way parallel to the survey route. Perching was the most common behavior type, although Turkey Vultures and ravens were often observed soaring, flying, or standing on the ground near highways. Transmission powerline towers and telephone poles were used as perch sites disproportionately to availability.