Grackle Prankster

Texas Governor Rick Perry is somewhat of a prankster, apparently. According to this source, while attending college at Texas A&M, Perry "left a few grackles and a bunch of bird seed in a classmate’s dorm room over Christmas break. The birds left a nasty smelling mess." Being as how grackles and other blackbirds didn’t receive Federal protection until 1972, the same year that Mr. Perry graduated, I’ll give him a break on this one, though animal welfare activists might not be so kind.


I can’t be as forgiving of former Texas Governor and U.S. President George W. Bush who mistook a Killdeer, a protected shorebird, for a Mourning Dove on a very public hunt while campaigning for governor and killed it dead. Mr. Bush was issued a citation and fined $130 for the offense, the maximum penalty for this violation being $500.

Memoirs and Ivory-billed Woodpeckers: Altered Realities

An article by Daniel Mendelsohn in the January 25, 2010, issue of The New Yorker (pp. 68-74) on the seemingly unrelated topic of memoirs, especially fraudulent ones, may offer some insight into the propensity for some people to make fantastic claims about sightings of Ivory-billed Woodpeckers (Campephilus principalis) that, upon close examination, lack convincing details, and for others to accept them without question.

In the following paragraphs, I highlight a few things about fraudulent memoirs—which reveal something about our human psyches—that seem to have a connection to purported sightings of Ivory-billed Woodpeckers. All of the quotations that follow are taken directly from Mendelsohn's article.

"One of the most interesting defenses of memoirs that turn out to be 'enhanced' or downright invented is that they accurately reflect a reality present not in the world itself, . . ., but in the author's mind." In other words, the mere process of believing something, no matter how outlandish, makes it true.

In defending what was later revealed to be a fraudulent memoir, one author is reported to have said, "It is not the actual reality—it was my reality."

"The seemingly pervasive inability on the part of both authors and readers to distinguish their truth from the objective truth [emphases added] is nothing new in the history of . . . literature." Perhaps the same can be said of some "scientists" and the literature they publish.

"When readers defended . . . [the author of a fraudulent memoir] on the ground that his book, however falsified its 'memories' were, had nonetheless (as he had hoped) provided them with the genuine uplift they were looking for, they were really defending fiction; an uplifting entertainment that can tell truths but cannot tell the truth."

Reacting to the discovery that some of the events in a memoir describing government atrocities against indigenous Guatemalans had not happened in the way related by the author, one sympathetic college professor proclaimed, in a scholarly journal, "Whether her book is true or not, I don't care." So much for objectivity!

Mendelsohn concludes that the public's "susceptibility [to improbable claims] suggests how an immoderate yearning for stories that end satisfyingly [as in, for example, enhancing a belief in the continued existence of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker] . . . makes us vulnerable to frauds and con men peddling pat uplift."

Claims of sightings (or even photographs) by folks like Steve Sheridan and Daniel Rainsong, and others before them, help perpetuate the fiction of the continued existence of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker among people who, for whatever reason, want to believe that this species remains alive. In the minds of these people, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker will forever live among us, however flimsy the evidence.

Disclaimer: The preceding article was originally posted as a Comment on Bill Pulliam's Notes from soggy bottom blog in response to his review of the recent history of fraudulent Ivory-billed Woodpecker claims. It has been slightly modified from the original.

Drought and Birds: Snail Kite

In one of the first Federally-funded field studies of an Endangered species in the United States, Paul W. Sykes Jr. (1979) examined population status, nesting success, and movements of the Snail Kite (Rhostrhamus sociabilis plumbeus)—formerly known as the Everglade Kite—in the human-altered marshes of south Florida over a span of 11 years, 1968-1978. The bill of the Snail Kite is uniquely adapted for feeding almost exclusively on apple snails (Pomacea sp.), which makes them wetland obligates, and thus particularly susceptible to drought.

Drought-related impacts on Snail Kites are emphasized in this excerpt from Sykes’s Summary:

The severe drought of 1971 resulted in a significant decrease in the population for that year and 1972, with no nesting attempts being observed in the dry year. From 1974 through 1978 the population increased significantly (r = 0.92, P < 0.025), apparently the result of favorable water conditions and increased food supply. The loss of suitable habitat is the major problem facing the species in Florida. A high water level is essential, as it affects food supply and its availability, as well as nesting success.

More specifically, in the two drought-influenced years (1971-1972), nesting attempts and number of young fledged were reduced to 3 and 1.5/year, respectively. By contrast, these same variables averaged 15 and 16/year in three pre-drought years (1968-1970) and 33 and 26/year in four post-drought years (1973-1976). In other words, drought conditions reduced nesting attempts to 20 and 9 percent of pre- and post-drought levels, and number of young fledged to 9 and 6 percent of pre- and post-drought levels.

Regarding population movements, Sykes notes: "My field work, beginning in 1967, has shown that kites are nomadic in Florida. Since widespread water manipulation has affected their food supply, kites must be nomadic to survive." Sykes concludes that "The nomadic behavior exhibited by this kite in recent years, probably represents a normal response to changes in water levels and food availability."

In discussing mortality, Sykes adds that "some individuals probably starved in drier years."

Additional details are revealed in the Discussion:

Each year, following breeding, some birds disperse, but during the drought of 1971 they were scattered more widely than usual over the entire Florida peninsula. The reduced food supply resulting from dry conditions apparently raised the mortality rate. In 1971 there was no recruitment to the population and when the census was taken only 72 individuals could be found. Although dispersal might have affected the actual number of birds seen, it was obvious that the population had decreased. In 1972 nesting attempts were at least 60% below the 1968—1970 period, and only 65 individuals were recorded on the census. Dry conditions prevailed in 1974 and there was a corresponding decrease in the kite population (Figure 4).

Sykes’s article can be read in full by clicking on the highlighted title below.

Citation:

Sykes, Paul W., Jr. 1979. Status of the Everglade Kite in Florida—1968-1978. Wilson Bulletin 91: 495-652. [.PDF]

Drought and Birds: Dew Bathing

Early on the morning of August 26, 1961, Nicolaas A. M. Verbeek (1962) observed 29 individuals of 7 species bathing and washing themselves in the dew that had gathered on the leaves of a shrubby vine maple (Acer circinatum) near Vancouver, British Columbia. Engaged in this behavior were 2 Red-eyed Vireos Vireo olivaceus, 15 Black-capped Chickadees Poicele atricapillus, 2 Golden-crowned Kinglets Regulus satrapa, 7 Orange-crowned Warblers Vermivora celata, 1 Black-throated Gray Warbler Dendroica nigrescens, 1 Wilson’s Warbler Wilsonia pusilla, and 1 Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia.

Verbeek attributed this rarely observed or reported behavior to the local drought conditions prevailing at the time, “with only a little over a centimeter [0.39 inches] of rain recorded in the 50 days preceding the day of observation.” While July and August are typically the driest months of the year in Vancouver, an average of 7.87 centimeters (3.1 inches) of rain normally falls during that period, nearly 8 times the amount recorded in 1961.

While others have reported instances of dew bathing in the wild (see Nichols 1921, Abbot 1954, Douglas 1968, and Baptista 1973), Verbeek is the only one who has suggested a connection between this behavior and drought. It seems likely that dew bathing would be more common amongst species that inhabit arid regions. In fact, Jim Conrad reported his observation of Yellow-rumped Warblers Dendroica coronata and Clay-colored Sparrows Spizella pallida bathing in the dew that had collected on mesquite leaves in northern Chihuahua.

Verbeek’s article, as well as the other references, can be read in full by clicking on the highlighted titles below (all are in .PDF format).

Citations:

Abbot, Waldo G. 1954. Leaf bathing of the Mockingbird. Condor 56: 163-164.

Baptista, Luis F. 1973. Leaf bathing in three species of emberizines. Wilson Bulletin 85: 346-347.

Dow, Douglas D. 1968. Dew bathing and related behavior of the Cardinal. Bird-Banding 39: 227-228.

Nichols, J. T. 1921. Coereba bahamensis at Miami, Fla. Auk 38: 461-462.
http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Auk/v038n03/p0461-p0462.pdf

Verbeek, Nicolaas A. M. 1962. On dew bathing and drought in passerines. Auk 79: 719.

Drought and Birds: Introduction

Birds must deal daily with a host of weather variables, be it rain, snow, sleet, hail, lightning, tornadoes, hurricanes, or temperature extremes. One of the longer-term climatic factors with which birds must periodically contend is drought, the lack of precipitation.

The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS)—in cooperation with the National Drought Mitigation Center and the National Integrated Drought Information System—has asked its national network of observers to begin submitting reports of how their communities have been impacted by drought.

The CoCoRaHS "Drought Impact Reporting Guide" can be viewed at this slideshow.

Spurred by this interest in drought, I will endeavor to periodically summarize information about the impact of drought on birds, particularly in North America. My primary source of information will be the invaluable treasure-trove of ornithological literature available through SORA, the Searchable Ornithological Research Archive.

Stay tuned!

Comforting Crows

In her review of singer-songwriter Allison Moorer’s latest CD, Crows, in PasteMagazine.com, Jenna Woginrich manages to string together two head-turning statements in consecutive sentences. Quite a notable feat! Judge for yourself:

There’s something comfortable about crows—their trademark call, that unmistakable silhouette, and the fact that no matter where I reside, they’re always there.

I’m no ornithologist, but I think crows are a lot like the men in my life: clever little assholes that win you over with dark humor and reliable comfort.

Those of you not familiar with Moorer's music might want to check out a lovely little tune called Mockingbird.

Taylor Lautner of Twilight fame hot pics

Taylor Laughtner never looked hotter....