BLACKBIRD AND STARLING ROOSTING DYNAMICS: MPLICATIONS FOR ANIMAL DAMAGE CONTROL

Each winter an estimated 350 million starlings, red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus), common grackles (Quiscalus quiscula), and brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) congregate in roosts in the southeastern United States (Meanley 1971, Meanley and Royall 1976). These birds have been of increasing concern because of agricultural damage claims (Stickley et al. 1976, Dolbeer et al. 1978), reputed health hazards (Monroe and Cronholm 1977), and other nuisance problems associated with them. Historical population trends (Dolbeer and Stehn 1979) and the source of winter-roosting blackbirds (Meanley 1971, Meanley and Dolbeer 1978, and Dolbeer 1978) have been summarized, but little information on the number of consecutive nights a bird returns to the same roost (roost fidelity) or the dynamics of a winter roost is available. The purpose of this paper is to present information on roost fidelity and population dynamics needed to better understand and manage winter blackbird and starling roosts.

EXPERIMENTAL TREE TRIMMING TO CONTROL AN URBAN WINTER BLACKBIRD ROOST

Every fall millions of blackbirds come down the Mississippi Flyway to return to their winter roosts in Arkansas, Louisiana, and East Texas. When these roosts are located in urban areas, public pressure makes the more common chemical means of control impractical. A less destructive and more permanent method of control was sought. At Rice University, in Houston, Texas, there has been a blackbird roost of various sizes and durations since 1956. For the past two years we have had the opportunity both to study roosting blackbird biology and experiment with habitat alteration as a control method. This particular report concentrates on the results and interpretation of the tree- trimming program initiated in August 1974. The birds involved are primarily Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater), along with Starlings (sturnus vulgaris), Common and Great-tailed Grackles (Quiscalus quiscula and Cassidix mexicanus), Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoenicus) and Robins (Turdus migratorius). The campus comprises 121 ha and was planted with live oaks (Quercus virginiana) in 1912. These trees retain their foliage throughout the winter and now form a closed canopy over some 5-6 ha. In the 60s and early 70s most of the birds that came to Houston for the winter roosted in a 64-ha woodlot 10 km north of campus. In January 1970, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Roosting Survey reported one million birds at this site we call the North Loop. Fifteen- thousand birds were estimated at Rice.

Color variation in museum specimens of birds: effects of stress, pigmentation, and duration of storage

Animal coloration often serves as a signal to others that may communicate traits about the individual such as toxicity, status, or quality. Colorful ornaments in many animals are often honest signals of quality assessed by mates, and different colors may beproduced by different biochemical pigments. Investigations of the mechanisms responsible for variation in color expression among birds are best when including a geographically and temporally broad sample. In order to obtain such a sample, studies such as this often use museum specimens; however, in order for museum specimens toserve as an accurate replacement, they must accurately represent living birds, or we must understand the ways in which they differ. In this thesis, I investigated the link between feather corticosterone, a hormone secreted in response to stress, and carotenoid-basedcoloration in the Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) in order to explore a mechanistic link between physiological state and color expression. Male Red-winged Blackbirds with lower feather corticosterone had significantly brighter red epaulets than birds with higher feather corticosterone, while I found no significant changes in red chroma. I also performed a methodological comparison of color change in museum specimens among different pigment types (carotenoid and psittacofulvin) and pigments in different locations in the body (feather and bill carotenoids) in order to quantify colorchange over time. Carotenoids and psittacofulvins showed significant reductions in red brightness and chroma over time in the collection, and carotenoid color changed significantly faster than psittacofulvin color. Both bill and feather carotenoids showed significant reductions in red brightness and red chroma over time, but change of both red chroma and red brightness occurred at a similar rate in feathers and bills. In order to use museum specimens of ecological research on bird coloration specimen age must be accounted for before the data can be used; however, once this is accomplished, museum- based color data may be used to draw conclusions about wild populations.

Contrasting histories of avian and mammalian Mhc genes revealed by class II B sequences from songbirds.

To explore the evolutionary dynamics of genes in the major histocompatibility complex (Mhc) in nonmammalian vertebrates, we have amplified complete sequences of the polymorphic second (beta1) and third (beta2) exons of class II beta chain genes of songbirds. The pattern of nucleotide substitution in the antigen-binding site of sequences cloned from three behaviorally and phylogenetically divergent songbirds [scrub jays Aphelocoma coerulescens), red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus), and house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) reveals that class II B genes of songbirds are subject to the same types of diversifying forces as those observed at mammalian class II loci. By contrast, the tree of avian class II B genes reveals that orthologous relationships have not been retained as in placental mammals and that, unlike class II genes in mammals, genes in songbirds and chickens have had very recent common ancestors within their respective groups. Thus, whereas the selective forces diversifying class II B genes of birds are likely similar to those in mammals, their long-term evolutionary dynamics appear to be characterized by much higher rates of concerted evolution.

2016 Flanders Virus Cases

Flanders virus was discovered in 1961 in the town of Flanders on Long Island, New York. The virus is in the virus family Rhabdoviridae, and it is widely distributed in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Flanders virus does not cause disease. The virus is frequently found in birds, such as Red-winged blackbirds, House sparrows, and starlings. It is also found in bird-feeding mosquitoes, such as the black-tailed mosquito (Culiseta melanura) and the northern and southern house mosquitoes (Culex pipiens and Culex quinquefasciatus, respectively). Presence of the virus in an area serves as a sentinel or warning for West Nile virus and as a trigger for public health control and prevention interventions targeting West Nile virus.

Blackbirds and corn in Ohio /

Mode of access: Internet.

BIRD DEPREDATION ON RICE AND OTHER GRAINS IN ARKANSAS

In Arkansas, blackbirds are responsible for appreciable damage to rice, grain sorghum, oats, wheat, rye, and corn. By far, the greatest damage is to rice. As is shown in the following table, the losses to rice producers amounted to an estimated $3,049,055 in 1968, the last year that a survey was made. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of this loss was to standing rice destroyed and to the cost of bird control measure in standing rice. The remaining losses ($2,140,320 ) are to seeding or to efforts to control bird depredations to new seeding, (see Table 1). Blackbird damage to grain sorghum and corn was mostly to standing grain; that to oats, wheat and rye, to seeding, although there is occasional damage to standing grain. Additional problems are caused by blackbirds in feed lots. The total losses to Arkansas agricultural producers due to blackbirds in 1968 was about $3,500,000. Bird damage in a specific locality and on specific crops seems to vary in intensity from year to year. However, surveys during the past ten years suggest a fairly consistent level of total damage state-wide. The damage in 1968-and I believe in 1969—was somewhat lighter than we have come to expect from past exper¬ience. (See table 2.) On a per acre basis the damage in 1968 showed a considerable decline when compared to previous years. A part of this decline is probably a temporary situation. Some of the decline in losses to rice and grain sorghum, however, are due to changes in varieties, such as development of bird-resistant milo, and to changes in cultural methods. Further appreciable reductions due to changes in these factors seem unlikely, (see table 3.) Since rice producers sustain the greatest losses to birds, they have generated the greatest demand for bird control programs. Three species are responsible for most of the damage to rice. They are the red-winged blackbird, common grackle and brown-headed cowbird. These birds have created problems for rice producers since the first successful rice crop was grown near Lonoke, Arkansas, in 1904.

The role of territory choice mate choice and arrival date on breeding success in the Savi's warbler (Locustella luscinioides)

We investigated how territory quality, settlement date and morphometry affected several components of yearly breeding success of a Swiss population of Savi's Warblers Locustella luscinioides. Territories occupied by males differed from unoccupied sites of similar size and location by having higher and denser reeds, a more extensive straw litter, and a thicker cover of dead sedge leaves. Territories with these characteristics were the ones first chosen by males upon spring arrival. These males, however, did not differ in morphometry from those that arrived later. Availability of suitable nesting sites; rather than food availability, appears to be an important choice criterion for territories. Early arriving males had higher breeding success than late males because of a higher mating success and more successful clutches. The positive correlation between male breeding success and territory quality was thus mediated through their common dependence on occupancy date. Female breeding success decreased with the date of first-clutch laying, mainly because late-nesting females fledged fewer broods. Breeding success in either sex did not correlate with morphometry. Our results provide clear support for territory choice by males, but not for mate or territory choice by females, and show the crucial role played by individual settlement date on many aspects of the breeding cycle of both sexes. We propose a lottery model of mate choice. arriving females obtain the best available territories even without choosing mates or territories; since males occupy territories sequentially and in order of decreasing quality, the few unpaired males available at any moment also occupy the best available territories.

Agnes Ethelwyn Wetherald fonds

An accomplished poet, writer and journalist, Ethelwyn Wetherald’s works were present in all Ontario readers for school children. Among her most notable works are; The Indigo Bird, The Red-Winged Blackbird, and The Pasture Field. The above poem Legacies is one of her most famous works and appears on her gravestone. Wetherald was born in 1857 as the sixth child out of an eventual eleven. Although born in Rockwood Ontario, she spent most of her life in Fenwick (Pelham Township), Ontario, where she died in 1940. Wetherald used her surroundings as her inspiration and focused on nature. She has been coined a nature poet and journalist. Wetherald received her education at both the Friends boarding school in Union Springs, N.Y. and at Pickering College in Pickering Ontario. After her schooling she wrote numerous articles for the Toronto Globe under the pen name Bel Thistelwaite, derived from her Grandmother’s name. These articles lead to a position as Women’s editor of the Globe and later she was part of the Advertiser’s editorial staff in London Ontario. Wetherald continued writing after she was finished with the papers and published six volumes of poetry between 1895 and 1931. Her work was not only known amongst school children, but also attracted the attention of Earl Grey, Governor-General of Canada in 1907 and Sir Wilfred Laurier, Prime Minster of Canada in 1911. In 1921 she published a book entitled Tree Top Morning, which she dedicated to her daughter Dorothy Rungeling who also became an author. Recently Rungeling published Life and works of Ethelwyn Wetherald 1857-1940 : with a selection of her poems and articles about her mother. Rungeling, Dorothy W., Life and works of Ethelwyn Wetherald

Análise espermática de perdizes (Rhynchotus rufescens) criadas em cativeiro e suplementadas com selênio

Due to the commercial importance of the red-winged tinamou (Rhynchotus rufescens), for the past few years, the employment of reproductive biotechnologies has been attempted. Thirty animals were randomly assigned into two groups: control group (no selenium) and treatment group (supplemented with 0,2 a 0,8 mg selenium/ 1000 kg ration). Animals were allocated at the FCAV - UNESP/Jaboticabal (2007-2008). Semen collections were performed by digital manipulation and divided in pools of at least 150 μL. After the immediate evaluation of motility, vigour, concentration and morphology, an aliquot of 20 μL was diluted in 300 μL of physiologic solution in order to test acrosome and membrane integrities, which were performed by counting 200 cells for each test. Cells were evaluated as follows: 1) Intact acrosome: lilac acrosome; Non-intact acrosome: pink acrosome; 2) Live cells: non stained; Dead: stained. Data was statistically analysed using the SAS System for Windows. No differences were found between treatment and control groups for volume, motility, vigour, mean number of spermatozoa per animal, concentration, Intact acrosome, Intact membrane. The difference found on midpiece sperm defect (Se = 1,33 ± 0,53 and control = 3,78 ± 0,69, p = 0.0107) may be due to the damages caused by the selenium deficiency to the architecture of the midpiece, which compromises sperm mobility and fertilization capacity.

Efeitos genéticos e ambientais sobre o tempo de permanência em imobilidade tônica de perdizes (Rhynchotus rufescens)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Caracterização fenotípica e genética e do comportamento de reintegração social de perdizes (Rhynchotus rufescens) criadas em cativeiro

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Achados anatomopatológicos em perdizes (Rhynchotus rufescens) criadas em cativeiro

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Comportamento de casais Rhynchotus rufescens em cativeiro: relação com imobilidade tônica e eficiência reprodutiva

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Exigências de proteína bruta e uso de diferentes níveis de suplementação de selênio orgânico na dieta de perdizes (Rhynchotus rufescens) na fase reprodutiva

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)