The Song of Meadow Lark

An unquestionably pathetic, if not mournful, the song rises from our meadows in spring and early summer which may be attributed to the Meadowlark. This bird is one whose slurred whistle conveys an impression quite the opposite of cheerfulness. The strain is a dolorous one and the most optimistic interpreter could never clear it of a certain plaintive quality. That is wholly due to the bird’s habit of slurring his notes. 

It would be impossible to represent these notes by dots—only a series of curves can describe his indecisive attempts at hitting a tone: If you whistle the three curves above—providing there is such a thing as a curving whistle—you will get the Meadowlark’s song. In other words, a tone must be given descending or sliding to the first tone below, then repeated with a slide to the fourth tone below, and then repeated the third time exactly as it was given at first. 

But that is, of course, one song, and we must remember if fifty of the birds sing there will be fifty songs! And in every one of them, the principle of the slur is absolutely maintained. In the summer of 1903, I heard in Nantucket a bird which sang with charming accuracy the following first two bars from Alfredo’s song in La Traviata: But this was sung in the same pathetic way in which Violetta sings it a little later in the same act when she finds she must give up Alfredo. 

There is an unmistakable pathos in the bird’s song. It is not always the case, however, that the music is pathetic. One afternoon, while crossing the downs of Nantucket, I heard a bit which was decidedly reminiscent of the song and dance with castanets in which Carmen attempts, in the opera of her name, to lure Jose away from his duty: This, it must be admitted, was not sung in quite the lively way the libretto would demand, but the melody was correct: 

A moment later, however, another bird spoiled the whole effect by finishing the song the wrong way, thus: Meadowlarks, and birds in general, for that matter, are prone to take unwarranted liberties with operatic scores. A Meadowlark in the vicinity of Boston offered the following bit from Gilbert and Sullivan’s Ruddigore He hailed the bridegroom but drew the line at the bride. Why did he not finish? I am unable to say whether he had a grudge against the bride or simply forgot his part! Of all birds, the Meadowlark is the most provincial. 

He does not migrate very far from his breeding place, or perhaps does not migrate at all. As a consequence, his character is perfectly reflected in his song that, too, is strikingly provincial. The birds of Vermont sang a song so strange to me that at first, I did not recognize it. Again, the birds of Nantucket sang a different song. 

And now, after a disinterested consideration of the whole matter, I have come to consider the song of the birds in New Jersey is one of many forms, each of which is distinguished by some local characteristic. In every case, there is one thing we can rely upon as unchanging, and that is the descending slur.

Vitex: Chastetrees

This genus of more than 250 species is widely distributed in most tropical or subtropical regions of the world. Several species are grown as ornamentals, while others are valued for lumber; two have naturalized in southern parts of the U.S. Deciduous or evergreen trees and shrubs. Leaf Opposite, palmately compounds; 3–9 leaflets with margins entire, toothed, or lobed. flower Usually perfect, more or less bilateral, small, white, blue, or yellowish, borne in loose to dense racemes or spikes. Sepals 5, joined into a 5-toothed cup or tube; petals joined into a tube that extends beyond the calyx, flared into 5 lobes; stamens 4; ovary superior, 4-chambered, stigma 2-lobed. fruit Drupe.

Lilac Chastetree Vitex agnuscastus

L.a.k.a. Common Chastetree, Hemptree - The combination of the opposite, palmately 5-parted leaves, showy terminal racemes of often lavender flowers, and strongly aromatic foliage distinguishes Lilac Chastetree. Strongly aromatic deciduous shrub or small tree to about 7 m tall, 10 cm diam., with 1 or several erect trunks; crown rounded, dense. bark Reddish-brown or brown, smooth on young trunks, becoming finely fissured and scaly. twig Foursided, densely hairy. leaf Opposite, palmately compound; leaflets 3–9, usually 5, thin, about 10 cm long and 3 cm broad, lanceolate, tapering to a sharp tip, margins entire or rarely toothed. Upper surface dull green, hairless, moderately lustrous; lower surface grayish-green, finely hairy. Petiole is 1.5–7.5 cm long. flower About 1 cm long, corolla lavender, blue, or white; borne in erect terminal clusters 12–18 cm long. Apr.–Oct. fruit Round, dry, hard drupe containing a 4-chambered stone.

HABITAT /RANGE Introduced from Eurasia; sporadically escaped from cultivation and occasionally naturalized on roadsides, ditch banks, waste places, 0–1,200 m; Tex. eastward. Similar species The leaves of other naturalized species of Vitex have 3 or fewer leaflets. The palmate leaves of buckeyes (Aesculus, Sapindaceae) are much larger, with broader leaflets, and the fruits are large capsules with 1 to few large round seeds. Notes In the species’ native area its twigs were sometimes used in basketwork. The leaves resemble those of hemp (Cannabis). The fruits were once substituted for pepper, and the plants have been called Indian Spice, Monk’s Pepper, and Wild Peppertree. The white-flowered form has long been considered a symbol of chastity.

Chinese Chastetree Vitex negundo

L. Deciduous large shrub or small tree to 5 m tall. Leaf Opposite, palmately compounds; leaflets usually 3 (sometimes 5), to 11 cm long and about 4 cm broad, lanceolate, margins toothed. Flower About 3 mm long, 7 mm wide, violet, purple, or bluish; inflorescence to 42 cm long, 15 cm wide. HABITAT /RANGE Introduced from China; sporadically escaped from cultivation, 0–100 m; s. Tex. east to Fla.

Cattleya of Central and South America

Cattleya includes 40-65 species of epiphytic herbs from Central and South America. They are found from high-altitude cloud forests to coastal woodlands from Costa Rica to South Argentina. The genus is closely allied to Epidendrum. Cattleyas are the quintessential orchids to most people, commonly used in corsages. Leaves are usually oblong and stiff, attached to the ends of stalked pseudobulbs. Pseudobulbs are short, swollen stems that store water; they are typical of orchids that grow in seasonally moist/dry climates. New growth arises from the base of the previous pseudobulb (sympodial). Flowers have spreading tepals and a simple or lobed, often fringed or ruffled lip.

Cattleyas are divided horticulturally into 2 groups. Those in the bifoliate group have 2, or occasionally 3, leaves at the end of slender pseudobulbs. Flowers are small to medium, born in clusters. The unifoliate, or labiate cattleyas, have a single leaf at the end of a stout pseudobulb and 1-3 large flowers with showy lips. This latter group is the basis of most hybrids. In Costa Rica, certain orchids are sometimes so prolific, even growing between roof tiles, that they are considered pests. Cattleyas readily hybridize with a number of related genera. Intergeneric hybrid names are usually abbreviated; for example, LC is an abbreviation for the group xLaeliocattleya (Laelia x Cattleya).

Cattleya bowringiana - Synonym: C skinneri var. bowringiana. Belize, Guatemala, Honduras. Epiphytic herb; zones 10-11. Blooms fall. Regular moisture and humidity, dry when cool. Mount on tree-fern slab or limb, pot in orchid mix. Bright broken light. Flowers: to 3 in. wide, magenta, throat with white spot. Leaves: bifoliate, oblong, to 8 in.; pseudobulb elongated, stem like, to about 1 ft. long. Produces massive clumps. This species is similar but more prolific and with smaller flowers than C. skinneri, which blooms in late winter and spring. Spectacular when massed on stumps or sturdy limbs. Forgiving and pest resistant.

Cattleya xguatemalensis Natural hybrid (Central America), - C aurantiaca x C. skinneri. Epiphytic herb; zones 10-11. Blooms late fall, winter. Regular moisture and humidity; dry when cool. Mount on tree-fern slab or limb, pot in orchid mix. Bright broken light. Flowers: pinkish lavender to pinkish orange, lip tubular at base, tip red, throat orange; in many-flowered clusters. Leaves: bifoliate, oblong, to 6 in.; pseudobulb cylindrical, stem-like. A natural hybrid resembling the C. skinneri parent vegetatively. Cattleya percivaliana

CATTLEYA - Synonym: C. labiata var. percivaliana. Venezuela. Epiphytic or lithophytic herb; zones 10-11. Blooms winter. Moist and humid, dry when cool. Mount on tree-fern slab or limb, pot in orchid mix. Full sun to bright broken light. Flowers: tepals pink-lavender, to 5 in. wide, lip deep magenta at the tip, throat streaked with violet and orange; margins ruffled.

MARSH OWL "Asio capensis"

 IDENTIFICATION A medium-sized owl (29–38cm), generally disc. Upperparts sometimes with very fine speckles. Facial disc distinctly rimmed. A Blackish-brown area surrounds dark brown eyes. Erectile ear-tufts very tiny and mostly invisible, set near the center of the forehead. Wings and tail barred tawny and dark brown. In-flight shows prominent dark wrist-patch, visible from above and below; upper primaries with rather plain tawny bases. Below, diffusely vermiculated dusky on paler brown, appearing rather plain (birds from Madagascar more finely barred below). Tarsi feathered; toes partly covered with short plumes; outermost tips rather bare.

Similar species Short-eared Owl is generally pale yellowish-brown with distinct dusky streaking, especially on underparts; eyes pale yellow. Long-eared, Abyssinian Long-eared and Madagascar Long-eared Owls have prominent ear-tufts, yellow to orange eyes, and boldly patterned underparts. Tawny Owl is more boldly patterned, has a broad, rounded head and large blackish-brown eyes (lacks blackish mask), and has whitish outer webs to scapulars. African Wood Owl has barred underparts and a whitish scapular stripe. Eagle owls (Bubo) are larger, with prominent ear-tufts. African fishing owls have bare tarsi and toes. African Grass Owl is larger, dark brown above and pale below, has heart-shaped facial disc with relatively small, blackish eyes and relatively long legs with bristled toes.

VOCALISATIONS Little studied. Very different from all other members of this genus. Most common is a hoarse, grating call, uttered when perched or when circling overhead and clapping wings in the display, sounding like the noise produced by breaking a dry branch by bending it slowly, kerrrrrrrr; being repeated at variable intervals. This vocalization might be the territorial song, often accompanying wing-clapping. Also gives sequences of croaking, raven-like calls on the wing: quarrk-quarrk-quarrk.

Female utters similar but higher-pitched and softer calls. These vocalizations might perhaps express aggression against intruders. Female and fledged young utter far-carrying, wailing hisses with ventriloquially character: shooeeh. If disturbed at the nest, both sexes may fly around with croaking calls and high mewing screams. DISTRIBUTION Africa and Madagascar. An isolated population exists in extreme NW Africa in Morocco. Patchily earth-brown, with a rounded head and distinct pale facial distributed south of the Sahara from Senegambia and Ethiopia to the Cape.

MOVEMENTS In general resident, but partly nomadic within sub-Saharan Africa and an intra-African migrant. Stragglers have been observed in S Iberian Peninsula and The Canary Islands. Displacements are generally caused by responses to food abundance (e.g. rodent plagues) or shortage or are the result of bush fires, floods, etc.

HABITAT Open country from coastal marshes to savanna, with or without scattered trees and bushes; also, inland marshes, moors, and montane grassland, from sea-level up to c.3000m. Avoids extensive long grass, but favors terrain with short vegetation and some patches of long grass or weeds. Locally in rice fields and drainage strips in wooded savanna (‘dambos’), sometimes open areas near or even in human settlements. Absent from forested areas, rocky landscapes, and deserts.

DESCRIPTION A. c. capensis Adult Sexes alike, but males generally paler than females; individually variable in tone. Facial disc pale buff, with the dark brown area around eyes; distinct facial rim dark brown with buff speckles. Ear-tufts earth-brown, very tiny and barely visible, set near the center of the forehead. Upperparts plain earth-brown, crown, and nape finely vermiculated buff, upper tail-coverts barred buff. Primaries with rather plain, pale tawny-buff bases, contrasting with a dusky patch at the wrist; rest of flight feathers barred dark brown and tawny-buff. Tail dark brown, barred pale buff, with whitish tip. Underparts brown, finely vermiculated buff, becoming more uniform pale buff on thighs, belly, and under tail-coverts.

Underwing-coverts buff with dark brown wrist patch, very conspicuous in flight. Tarsi feathered pale tawny-buff; toes covered with pale buffish plumes, leaving tips bare. Juvenile Downy chick covered with buffish down, has pink skin, blackish bill, and pink toes. Mesoptile buff barred brown above; facial disc darker than an adult, with the marked blackish rim. After molt (at c.10 weeks), distinguishable from an adult by buff tips to scapulars and lower back feathers. Bare parts Eyes dark brown. Cere grey-brown. Bill blackish-horn. Bare parts of toes dark brown. Claws blackish.

MEASUREMENTS AND WEIGHT - Total length 31–38cm. Wing 284–380mm, tail 132–186mm. Weight 225–485g.

GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION - We distinguish three subspecies. A. c. capensis (A. Smith, 1834). Africa south of Sahara. See Description. Wing 285–330mm, tail 132–163mm. Weight: males 243–340g, females 305–376g. A. c. tingitanus (Loche, 1867). Morocco, rarely straggling to S Iberia and Canary Islands. Darker than nominate, with rufous wash and some small whitish markings, especially below. Wing 284–312mm, tail 132–153mm. Weight 310–350g. A. c. hova Stresemann, 1922. Madagascar. Largest subspecies. Underparts more barred and spotted; pale parts of primaries paler. Bill and talons are more powerful than in other races. Wing 322–380mm, tail 176–186mm.

Weight of one male 485g. HABITS Occurs singly or in pairs, sometimes in larger numbers (especially outside breeding season). Mostly crepuscular and nocturnal, but sometimes also active during cloudy days. By day, normally roosts on the ground in a hollow among grass or other vegetation. At dusk or by night, often perches on fence posts, stumps, or tops of bushes watching for prey. May be aggressive near the nest or feign injury in order to distract potential enemies. Flight very similar to that of a harrier Circus.

FOOD - Depends largely on availability. Normally small rodents form the major part of its diet, but sometimes small birds may be predominant; also takes other small vertebrates and insects. Prey includes mice, voles, rats, shrews, young hares, bats, birds up to the size of small ducks and doves, frogs, lizards, scorpions, beetles, grasshoppers, termite alates, etc. Most prey is captured by flying close to the ground with slow but powerful wingbeats, interspersed with fast swerves and hovering, before dropping on to victim; sometimes hawks flying insects, even those attracted by streetlamps in urban areas.

BREEDING - Monogamous and territorial. Sometimes nests in loose colonies. Territories are normally 0.8–2km2 in size, sometimes smaller when the population is denser; in South Africa, nests have been found c.75m apart. Hunting areas of neighboring pairs may overlap. Male claims territory by circling over it, clapping wings and croaking; during courtship, pair-members often fly in wide circles at dusk and on moonlit nights, with wing-clapping and croaking calls (song?). Copulation normally occurs on the ground. A hollow within a patch of tall grass or weeds, often beside a bush and with an ‘entrance tunnel’ from one side, is used for nesting, vegetation often being pulled over by the female to form a canopy. The depression itself is lined with some dry leaves to form a pad (this is probably done by the female but needs confirmation).

In Morocco, a nest was found c.4m above ground in an old corvid nest in a bush, the only known case of a nest not at ground level. Locally, nests in close vicinity to African Grass Owl; in one case the nests were only 20m apart. Nesting normally occurs towards the end of the wet season. The female lays 2–6 (normally three) white eggs (40 x 34.1mm), at intervals of about two days, and incubates alone, starting with the first egg. During incubation she is fed by her mate, who brings food to the nest in its talons, calling as he approaches. He lands at the nest, walks in through the tunnel, and delivers food mostly from bill to bill, but the female sometimes snatches it from his talons. If food is abundant, items may be cached at the nest by the female, or in deposits outside by the male. Incubation lasts 27–28 days for each egg.

Chicks’ eyes open at seven days, and by ten days the facial disc is well developed, already showing characteristic blackish mask and black rim. Up to this age, they are regularly brooded by the female. At 18 days (sometimes as early as 10–14 days), when young still appear downy, they begin to leave the nest and scatter in the surrounding vegetation. An adult defended its chicks by chasing off an African Marsh Harrier Circus ranivorus. Adults carry food directly to their offspring, the young indicating their position by calls and trampling movements. When 30 days old, young have acquired most contour feathers. By 70 days they are fully feathered but are able to fly earlier, by 29–35 days. Both parents care for them for some time before they become independent.

STATUS AND CONSERVATION Uncertain. The NW Moroccan population is declining and endangered by habitat loss and disturbance. South of the Sahara, locally common in years with abundant food. Is affected by bush fires, floods, overgrazing by cattle, and the use of pesticides. Some are killed by road traffic or by entanglement in barbed wire fences.

REMARKS This species, the ecological counterpart in Africa of the Short-eared Owl has been assumed to be a close relative of the latter, but we believe the similarities in ecology and external appearance are due to convergence and not to the relationship. Their totally different vocalizations support this view. In any case, it would be unwise to consider the two as comprising superspecies, and certainly not as members of the same species. The Marsh Owl’s vocalizations, behavior, reproductive biology, taxonomy, and DNA relationships need further study.

Great cormorant

 Great cormorant

Phalacrocorax carbo

TAXONOMY

Pelecanus carbo Linnaeus, 1758, Europe. Six subspecies.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

English: Black cormorant, white-breasted cormorant; French: Grand Cormoran; German: Kormoran; Spanish: Cormorلn

Grande.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

This largest species of cormorant has a body length of about 37 in (93 cm), with a pale-yellow bill, pale yellow cheek pouch

bordered by a white throat, glossy blackish plumage, black legs and feet, and males somewhat larger than females (males: 5.1

lb (2.3 kg); females: 4.2 lb (1.9 kg).

DISTRIBUTION

A very widespread species in temperate regions of the world, occurring locally in the Northwest Atlantic of North America,

more widely through Eurasia, and in parts of Southeast Asia, Africa, and Australia. They generally winter near their breeding

grounds.

HABITAT

Nests on sea cliffs feed in coastal waters.

BEHAVIOR

A highly social species that breed in colonies and aggregates in flocks. Like all cormorants, it catches fish by underwater pursuit.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

Feeds on small fish, crustaceans, and squid.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Normally, Great cormorant lays 3 to 4 eggs in a crude stick-nest on a cliff ledge. However, both sexes sharing the incubation for the 26 to 32 days and rearing of the chicks.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Not threatened. Rather abundant over much of its range.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

Not of great importance to humans over most of the range; however, in Japan, this is one of two species (the other is the Japanese cormorant, Phalacrocorax capillatus) trained by human fishers to help them catch fish.

Newton’s Parakeet "Psittacula exsul" (A. Newton)

 OTHER NAME - Rodrigues Parakeet.

DESCRIPTION Length 40 cm.

Newton’s Parakeet Presumably green and blue morphs existed, and mention is made in an early account by Julien Tafforet of a red alar patch being present in the adult male of the green morph. Only two specimens survive, and both are of the blue morph. ADULT MALE General plumage greenish-blue with a greyish cast, paler on underparts; head noticeably darker and without greyish suffusion; fine black line from cere to eyes; chin black; broad black stripe across lower cheeks to sides of the neck, then becoming narrow and continuing up to nape; lower back and rump paler, lighter blue; primaries deep greenish-blue; tail dark greenish-blue above, greyish underside; upper mandible red, lower mandible black; iris yellow (Vandorous); legs grey. 1 specimen: wing 199 mm, tail 207 mm (abraded); exp. cul. 25 mm, tars. 22 mm. ADULT FEMALE Very faint black line on the forehead; black stripes not extending beyond sides of neck; crown suffused grey; upper mandible black. 1 specimen (type): wing 192 mm, tail 212 mm, exp. cul. 24 mm, tars. 23 mm. JUVENILES Undescribed. DISTRIBUTION Formerly occurred on Rodrigues, in the The Mascarene Islands.

 

STATUS The last records of Newton’s Parakeet were made in the 1870s, and presumably, it became extinct at about that time. Only two specimens were collected, the first being a female, which was collected in 1871 by George Jenner, the then magistrate on the island. This specimen was preserved in alcohol and given to Edward Newton, a colonial administrator on Mauritius, who in turn sent it to his brother, and it was used by Alfred Newton to describe the species (Newton and Newton 1876). The second specimen, a male, was shot by a local resident William Vandorous on 14 August 1875 and given to the assistant colonial secretary William Caldwell, who in turn forwarded it to Edward Newton. Caldwell remarked that he had seen several birds but could not get near one. Henry Slater, a naturalist who stayed on the island for three months in 1874, reported to Newton that on 30 September in that year he saw a single bird in a forest towards the southwestern end of the island (in Newton 1875).

It has been postulated that the male collected by Vandorous may have been the same bird seen by Slater in the previous year.

Hume (2007) documents account from early visitors to Rodrigues and note that although Newton’s Parakeets survived until the 1870s, they were in decline from the 1760s. François Leguat reported that they were abundant at the time of his stay on the island between 1691 and 1692: There is an abundance of green and blew Parrot's, they are of a middling and equal bigness; when they are young, their Flesh is as good as young Pigeons. Hunting and fishing were so easy for us, that it took away from the Pleasure. We often delighted ourselves in teaching the Parrots to speak, there being vast numbers of them. We carried one to Maurice Isle, which talked French and Flemish. A live bird was received by the naturalist Philibert Commersen on Mauritius during the 1770s, where it was described as a long-tailed, greyish-blue parrot with a black collar (in Oustalet 1897).

Hume notes that the parrots were still common when Julien Tafforet was on Rodrigues in 1726 but had become rare by the time of a visit in 1761 by Abbé Alexandre Pingré, a French astronomer who had come to monitor the transit of Venus, and he referred to their continued presence on the southern islets (translation by Hume): On the 19th at Isle Mombrani, the multitude of grey terns on our side served exactly as a parasol; they fly about our heads, in the manner more or less to ease the heat of the sun. In an additional premium to this, there were tropic birds and their eggs. There are also some frigates, some tratras, some perruches. After the visit by Pingré, there was severe deforestation on the island and an increase in numbers of free-roaming livestock. In 1843, a government surveyor Thomas Corby was sent to Rodrigues to ascertain the suitability of the land to support cattle and he noted that the western side of the island, although severely deforested, contained the best stands of palms and Pandanus screwpines. Corby also referred to the presence of many wild bullocks, pigs, great flights of guinea fowl and green parrots, indicating that Newton’s Parakeets remained fairly numerous, but they had become extremely scarce by 1871 when the first the specimen was received by Alfred Newton.

There were no records after the second specimen was collected in 1875, and Hume suggests that the last few survivors may have been wiped out by a devastating series of cyclones in the following year. HABITATS Newton’s Parakeets presumably frequented native forest, and extensive destruction of this habitat was a major factor in their decline and subsequent extinction. HABITS Leguat commented on the partiality of Newton’s Parakeets to the nuts of bois d’olive Cassine orientale and made mention of the bois du buis Fernelia buxifolia being a food tree for Newton’s Parakeets and for Leguat’s Parrot Necropsittacus rodericanus (in Hume 2007). Nothing is known of habits of Newton’s Parakeets, though they probably were similar to the habits of Mauritius Parakeets. SPECIMENS AVAILABLE Both specimens (18/Psi/67/h/1

---

 type and 18/Psi/67/h/2 [1]) are held in the Museum of Zoology at Cambridge University, UK. Mascarinus Lesson, Traité d’Orn., livr. 3, 1830, p. 188. Type, by tautonymy, Mascarinus madagascarensis Lesson = Psittacus mascarin Linnaeus.

The extinct species belonging to this monotypic genus was a midsized parrot with a large red bill and a moderately long, broadly rounded tail. Traditionally, it has been associated with the Psittaculini and, apart from plumage coloration, it resembles the Tanygnathus parrots from Southeast Asia. Alternatively, it has at times been linked with Coracopsis from Madagascar and the Comoros Archipelago, probably because of a the similarity in the brown plumage coloration, and it has been noted that Coracopsis and Mascarinus are the only parrots that naturally lack psittacin in their plumage (in Hume and van Grouw 2014). An extraordinary finding from molecular analyses that a cytochrome b sequence from mitochondrial DNA of Mascarinus is embedded in Coracopsis has been questioned on the basis that the mitochondrial DNA was extracted from the damaged type specimen (MNHN 211) and alternative hypotheses concerning the placement of Mascarinus were not considered (see Kundu et al. 2012; Joseph et al. 2012).

Molecular analyses of DNA extracted from the only other specimen (NMW 50.688) indicates that the previously obtained cytochrome b sequence probably is an artificial composite of partial sequences from two other parrot species and that Mascarinus is indeed part of the Psittacula diversification, placed close to P. eupatria and P. wardi (Podsiadlowski et al. 2017). I strongly support this finding and am of the opinion that all three extinct monotypic genera from the Mascarene Islands – Mascarinus, Necropsittacus, and Lophopsittacus – can be placed in Psittaculini. Mascarinus formerly occurred on Réunion, and possibly on Mauritius, in the Mascarene Islands. 

Gray butcherbird – “Cracticus torquatus”

 Gray butcherbird – “Cracticus torquatus”

SUBFAMILY - Cracticinae

TAXONOMY

Lanius torquatus Latham, 1802, Port Jackson (Sydney), Australia. Three, possibly four subspecies; one large and dark with reduced white in wing in Tasmania (Cracticus torquatus cinereus), another small and dark with reduced white in wing in coastal southeastern Australia between the New South Wales-Queensland border and Melbourne (nominate torquatus), and a third (that may comprise east and west forms) small and paler with extensive white in wing throughout southern and inland Australia from the west coast to coastal Queensland south of Cape York Peninsula (C. t. leucopterus). The gray butcherbird forms a superspecies with the silver-backed butcherbird (C. argenteus) of northwestern Australia and the black-backed butcherbird (C. mentalis) of Cape York Peninsula and dry sectors of southeastern New Guinea.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

French: Cassican à collier;

German: Graurücken-Würgatzel;

Spanish: Pájaro Matarife Gris.

DESCRIPTION

Primary and tall secondary rainforests, particularly along edges and around openings such as tree falls, stream edges, and road cuttings. Densities have been estimated at two birds per 25 acres (10 ha) in suitable habitat. Widely but sparsely distributed year-round residents; solitary, in loose pairs or small family groups of three to five. Live mostly on top of forest canopies, perching upright and motionless for long periods on exposed vantage perches, from which they fly out in extended sallies. From perches and in flight, birds utter distinctive territorial and advertising calls at regular intervals; calls are a series of three or so well spaced mechanical double clicks over four to five seconds. At perches, the singer throws its head violently up and down at each click. Other calls include a harsh monarch-like wheeeit, possibly in warning or agitation, and a seldom-heard wrenlike twittering.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

Apparently wholly insectivorous, birds capture food in the air and from the surface of foliage with the bill on sallying flights. Most foraging is done in and above the forest canopy but sometimes extends to lower strata. Food, including dragonflies, beetles, grasshoppers, and other flying insects, is swallowed whole at a perch, without much beating.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Data lacking on timing and duration of events and respective parental contribution. Nests are small, compact cups of twigs and rootlets built-in often exposed positions in horizontal tree forks at the ends of branchlets at 20–115 ft (6–35 m) above the ground; and eggs, usually one per clutch, are cream to pale buff, with a ring of black-brown spotting at the larger end.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

10–12 in (25–30 cm); 2.8–4.0 oz (80–110 g). Medium-sized bull-headed bird with tapered body and black-, gray-, and white-patterned plumage. Head black with white lore spot (between eye and upper bill) and collar, back gray, rump white, tail and wings black with white tips and stripes respectively, and undersurface uniformly grayish white. Eyes dark brown, feet gray, and bills bicolored, with a black tip and gray-white base. Females are usually grayer-breasted and shorter billed than males. Juveniles dull-gray-billed and dully patterned, with dusky-olive and speckled upper parts and yellowish underparts.

DISTRIBUTION

Most of southern and inland Australia north to 20°S, including Tasmania but excluding treeless deserts.

HABITAT

Closed woodland and open forest of eucalypts and acacias, including mallee (Eucalyptus) and mulga (Acacia) scrubs, where the space between tree crowns is about the size of the crowns themselves. Densities range from one bird to about 12 to 49 acres (5–20 ha) in suitable habitat.

BEHAVIOR

Retiring and solitary, in pairs or small family groups, gray butcherbirds live in the mid-and upper strata of trees, spending much of their time perching still and coming to ground only to pounce on prey. They are sedentary, with pairs holding the same territory, 20–99 acres (8–40 ha), year-round, with a larger home range. Both male and female duet antiphonally in songs of fluted whistles and ringing caws, which are also given in alarm and aggression.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

Gray butcherbirds are raptorial perch-pouncers, watching from tree perches at 6.5–40 ft (2–12 m) up, then swooping down to ground or branches to snap up prey, which is mostly insects but also small birds, nestlings, reptiles, and mice. Fruit also contributes to the diet. Food is carried back to perch, wedged in crannies or forks and torn apart with the bill for eating; the small weak feet are not used for tethering prey.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Monogamous, forming pair bonds in breeding territories reinforced by much duetting during early breeding. Gray butcherbirds breed mostly between July and August and December and January throughout their range. The nest, a rough but tight cup of twigs lined with finer, often reddish fiber, is placed in upright forks in outer foliage at 10–50 ft (3–15 m) up and takes about four weeks to build. Eggs, in clutches of three to five, are 1.20–1.25 x 0.85–0.95 in (30–32 x 22–24 mm), brownish-green, and finely freckled in red browns, often in a zone around the larger end; they hatch in 22–24 days. The Female builds the nest and incubates unaided, while the male defends the territory. He may assist her in feeding young, which fledge around four weeks. Usually, only one brood is reared per year.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Not threatened, although many populations have declined locally because of habitat clearing and alienation.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

Some local populations frequent camping sites, feeding on scraps and garbage thrown out by campers. They are called commensals in such circumstances because they benefit from a close association with humans.

Hazards to birders in Michigan

Hazards to birders in Michigan are few and include biting insects, traffic, theft in urban areas, certain weather conditions, Poison-ivy and Poison Sumac, Black Bears, and even Moose in some areas, and, in a very few areas, a rattlesnake species. Biting insects are by far the most frequent hazard that birders may encounter. From May through September, mosquitos will be present in any wooded or wetland area statewide. 

Swampy situations and more northern areas are often the worst, and some may want to consider head nets in these areas. Every birder should consider using insect repellent, as mosquito-borne diseases such as West Nile Virus have been detected in Michigan. In more northern regions, Black Flies can be a problem in the summer months (June–August), and in some boggy and swampy areas, there can be swarms of them.

Insect repellent is recommended. Ticks are found statewide, most often Wood Ticks and precautions should be taken when walking in tall grassy areas. The much tinier Deer Tick, while less commonly encountered, is a more significant problem as it carries Lyme Disease, which has occurred in Michigan. Tucking your pant legs into your socks and using insect repellent on the socks and wearing long-sleeved shirts in these areas is usually sufficient protection.

Chiggers are relatively rare in Michigan but do occur in summer in drier prairie areas of the southeastern and southwestern corners of the state, though they are infrequently encountered by birders. Toxic vegetation in Michigan consists of two plants, Poison-ivy and Poison Sumac, both of which cause skin irritations and rashes with intense itching. Some people are immune to the effects of the plants’ oils (urushiol), but as one of the editors recently discovered, this immunity is not necessarily permanent!

Poison-ivy is found in shrubby and wooded areas statewide and is quite common. In northern areas, it is often little more than a ground cover, when is sometimes called Poison Oak (which does not occur in Michigan), but in the southernmost areas, it is often a vine that can be as thick as your finger to, exceptionally, as thick as your forearm. Some birds, most notably Northern Flickers, relish Poison-ivy berries in the fall.

Learn to recognize the “hairy” tendrils on the vines of this plant, and the leaf arrangement and shape—”leaflets three, let it be”. Virginia Creeper is similar to Poison-ivy, but typically has five leaflets, a woody vine without hairy tendrils, and often grows even larger. The distribution of Poison Sumac is quite patchy, confined to the Lower Peninsula, and typically restricted to the swampy or boggy lake and pond margins, and is infrequently encountered by birders. The appearance is similar to the very common Staghorn Sumac, but has fewer shinier leaflets, which also lack serrations on the edges.

Staghorn Sumac is infrequently found in the same habitats as Poison Sumac. Black Bears occur through the northern Lower Peninsula and the entire Upper Peninsula, though they are not as common as in many western states, and they are rarely a problem. Bears may be encountered at campgrounds, and precautions should be taken to properly stow food so as not to attract them. In a few areas of the western Upper Peninsula, Moose has been reintroduced and could possibly be encountered, though they are still somewhat rare. Never approach a Moose closely on foot, and never get between a female and her calf.

Michigan has a single venomous reptile, the Eastern Massassauga, a small rattlesnake. The Eastern Massassauga, a Threatened, protected species in Michigan, occurs in the southern two-thirds of the Lower Peninsula and is rarely encountered. It inhabits swamps, bogs, and some marshes, and its distribution is quite patchy. Sites, where the presence of this snake is known, are noted in the text.

Being one of the smallest of rattlesnakes (up to 30" and usually much smaller), the bite of the Eastern Massassauga is most serious only to small infants or the elderly (rarely fatal) but can cause considerable pain and illness even in a healthy adult. Most bites from this relatively even-tempered snake are caused by people attempting to move the snake off a trail.

The snake, while generally tolerant, interprets too much of this activity as harassment and reacts defensively as it would to any threat. The best strategy is to walk around the snake, giving it a wide berth, enjoy the fact that you’re experiencing something that few Michiganders ever have, and by all means leave the snake alone! Certain areas in Michigan, as in all states, are prone to crime.

No birding areas are located in high crime areas, but there are a few where caution is advised, some surprisingly far from urban areas. These few areas are noted in the text. By far the most frequent crime that birders fall victim to, and even this is rare, is theft. Precautions consist largely of making sure you do not leave valuables in sight inside your car. Take your valuables with you, or lock them in the trunk. The few weather-related hazards include snow and cold, thunderstorms, and tornados.

Severe winter conditions can be encountered by birders visiting the Upper Peninsula and even the northern Lower Peninsula, and appropriate precautions should be taken. Driving on unplowed roads is not advised, as getting stranded in deep snow miles from help, with temperatures below zero, could develop into a life-threatening situation. Serious winter trips into these regions mean bringing blankets, candles, extra food, etc. Wind, in combination with cold temperatures, will create wind chill that can cause frostbite on exposed skin in minutes.

Sometimes winter wind chills as low as -20 to -50°F can occur anywhere in the state, most often in the UP. Dangerous thunderstorms and tornados (most frequent in June and July) are easily avoided by birders, as such conditions are usually apparent. In early spring, many of the less-used backcountry roads can become very wet with deep mud-holes that can entrap the unwary birder.

Many of these same roads in sandy areas, particularly those used by ORVs, can be quite soft, sometimes resulting in standard cars becoming stuck. Thoroughly checking out these potentially hazardous conditions may prevent a long, expensive trip to the nearest towing facility. In May 2004, Michigan law was changed regarding pedestrian travel over the state’s beaches.

The law, which applies to beaches on private property, states that private landowners with beachfront property control all the land up to the water’s edge. Thus, the only way to avoid trespassing under this new law is to be in the water! It is unclear how this new law will play out, but for now, it is wise to exercise extra caution when walking on Great Lakes beaches in Michigan to avoid trespassing on private property.

Under most conditions, the breakwalls, piers, and jetties along the lake shorelines are reasonably safe for birding, though it is always a good idea to dress warmly. Be careful where you walk, as large cracks or uneven places in the concrete could cause injury. Dangerous conditions exist on all Great Lakes breakwalls during strong winds and icy conditions. DO NOT walk out on a breakwall if waves are breaking over it, or if it is icy. Falling off the breakwall into the water could result in drowning in strong currents in windy conditions, or death from the rapid onset of hypothermia during icy conditions.

Eurasian Eagle Owl Facts

Extremely variable habitat, from boreal coniferous and mixed deciduous forests to Mediterranean scrub, woody, and grassy steppes; also, rocky and sandy deserts; nests in the Alps up to 2100m (hunting to 2800m), in The Himalayas to 4500m, in Tibetian highlands to 4700m. Palearctic, from continental Europe and Scandinavia east across Russia to C Siberia, Sea of Okhotsk, Sakhalin , and Japan, in the south to the Mediterranean the region, Turkey, N Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Tibet, China, and Korea.

Plumage considerably darker in humid, oceanic regions than in arid continental areas; size increases from warm regions to cold northern areas or with altitude. Adult (nominate bubo: Europe, south to France, Sicily, Greece, Romania and Ukraine, east to Moscow).

Females, also in flight have the darkest race. Dorsal ground color golden-brown to tawny-buff; crown, mantle, scapular, and underwing-coverts with large black feather tips; hindneck and underparts broadly streaked black (Scandinavian birds are darkest in color). Eyes bright golden-yellow to red-orange; bill greyish-black to black, cere olive-grey; claws black; tarsi and toes densely feathered. Intergrades with slightly smaller and greyer hispanus from the Iberian Peninsula and (formerly) N Africa. Subspecies ruthenus, east of nominate bubo to western Ural river and south to lower Volga basin, and interpositus, south of nominating in Bessarabia, Crimea, Caucasus, Asia Minor, and Iran, are very similar in plumage, slightly greyer or the brown pattern darker, with less or more ochre wash.

Mesoptile (nominate bubo). Down long and soft, scapulars and greater upper wing-coverts like an adult; rusty-buff to dirty cream in color. Eyes pale yellow to pale yellow-orange; cere bluish grey. Juvenile (nominate bubo). Downy, long and soft, pale ochre and dirty cream mesoptile feathers. Eyebrows, the area surrounding eyes, lores and throat white; scapulars, greater upper wing coverts, secondaries and tail feathers like an adult, but narrower, with more pointed tips; primaries invisible or barely visible. Eyes yellow-orange.

Adult (sibiricus: W Siberia and Bashkiria to middle Ob and W Altai, north to limits of the forest). Female, also in flight. Pale ground color mixed cream and off-white or clear white. Crown, hindneck and underparts only narrowly streaked black; limited spots on back, scapular, and upper wing-coverts, indistinctly vermiculated grey, cream or white; belly and flanks finely streaked and vermiculated. Tarsi and toes white. In-flight shows darker upper wing-coverts and dark tips to greater primary coverts. Subspecies yenisseensis of C Siberia has slightly darker plumage, with pale grey and ochre predominating.

Male. Above, much darker and more brownish than yenisseensis; whitish belly more distinctly streaked and barred than sibiricus. 1f Adult (ussuriensis: SE Siberia to NE China, Sakhalin, Hokkaido and S Kuril Islands). Male. Much darker than jakutensis, distinctly darker than sibiricus. Below, more buffish, less whitish, and more streaked and vermiculated. Above, brown markings more extensive and diffuse, white areas are more limited. 1g Adult (kiautschensis: W, C and SE China, E Korea).

Female. Smaller, much darker, tawnier and more rufous than ussuriensis. Plumage duller than in nominating bubo; upperparts paler, more mottled, less heavily marked with brown; below, more ochre and less heavily streaked. Adult (turcomanus: Steppe between Volga and Ural River, east to Transbaikalia). Very pale and yellow race, resembling nikolskii and omissus, with paler streaking and vermiculations, with brown pattern less contrasting.

Adult (hemachalana: Tien Shan and Fergana to Pamir Mountains, north to Kara Tau, south to Baluchistan and Himalayas). Male. A pale and distinctly brown race, similar to swinhoei of S China and to the specifically distinct Rock Eagle Owl Adult (omissus: Turkmenia and adjacent Iran, Chinese Turkestan; intergrades with turcomanus and hemachalana). Male. Typical dessert form. Pale ochre ground color, less rusty than nikolskii; dark markings only slightly developed above and below.

THE GREAT POT00 IN COSTA RICA

There is very little known about the life history and behavior of the Great Potoo (Nyctibius grandis). Perhaps this species generally roosts in very tall trees in tropical forests. It’s coloration-white with brown mottling-matches closely that of the limbs on which it rests. The hunting as well as the roosting habits of N. grandis observations made above the canopy of a primary lowland wet forest at Finca La Selva (a research station of the Organization for Tropical Studies), near Puerto Viejo, Heredia Province, on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica.

Great Potoo first observation in 1978 from a platform where built 33 m up in a Monkey-pot tree (Lecythis costaricensis). It sat on a limb of a leafless, 46 m tall Hymenolobium sp. (Leguminosae) tree some 80 m away, within unbroken forest in the south corner of Washington Plot (a permanent research site at La Selva).

The bird was very difficult to distinguish, for it closely resembled the stump of a branch. This was the first time a Great Potoo had been seen in the area. The species has not been previously reported with certainty from Costa Rica, although expected, for it was known to occur in regions to the north and south.

The very few records from the north have come from Nicaragua, Guatemala and a sighting, but no specimens, from Honduras. On the afternoon the bird perched on the same limb as before at my level. It stood within a small area of bare bark, devoid of the usual encrusting lichens, suggesting that this was a regular perch site.

Over the next two months I visited the tree at varying intervals and nearly always found the bird there. I photographed it repeatedly, confirming the identification, and noted some of its behavior. When the potoo was not disturbed, it sat upright, facing forward, eyes closed, and with its head feathers erect so that it had an owl-like appearance.

My presence several meters away did not seem to disturb the bird. When I made abrupt moves that shook the tree or when I called out, the potoo apparently became alarmed and immediately raised its head until it faced vertically, with eyes closed and head feathers depressed. In this position it resembled even more closely a part of the branch. Often, in either position, the mouth was held partially open. The bird was probably panting as it always sat in full sun.

The mouth lining was a dull red. Occasionally, for no apparent reason, the potoo shifted its body to a horizontal orientation; its head however, remained facing out, never down. At other times it stretched its wings or turned its head and looked around. The bird perched on lateral limbs of the tree crown that ranged in diameter from about 15 cm to about 35 cm. It stayed within regions from one-half to two-thirds of the distance from the trunk to the periphery of the crown.

During the period of my observations, the Hymenolobium tree was in its reproductive phase. By the last two weeks of August, the fruit had become attractive to other birds, especially the Red-lored Parrot (Amazona uutumnulis). These parrots came to the tree in groups of up to twenty and foraged noisily. On 23 August, after several days of this activity, I searched for the potoo but it was not in the Hymenolobium.

On 1 September the potoo was in the tree again. At around 16:OO several Red-lored Parrots flew into the tree and began walking about the limbs looking for fruit. One parrot came to within a meter of the potoo, and the latter appeared to become agitated. It looked repeatedly toward the parrots as it made uncharacteristically quick movements and finally assumed its vertical alarm posture.

The bird was not in the tree the next day and it still had not returned by 15 September, when I left La Selva. The coloration of the potoo matches closely that of the lichen-covered limbs of Hymenolobium sp., and these trees, along with others that have similarly colored limbs, could be preferred perches. The species is probably more numerous than is generally realized but its cryptic coloring and habits make it difficult to find. Further inspection of canopy tree crowns may corroborate these conclusions.

Reference - DONALD R. PERRY

  

Short-tailed paradigalla "Paradigalla brevicauda"

 Description

This is a species of bird of paradise. Short-tailed paradigalla is endemic to Papua New Guinea highland forest. It is the least concern on the ICUN red list of threatened species.  This medium size species considered to breed polygynously.

 

SUBFAMILY

Paradisaeinae

 

TAXONOMY

Paradigalla brevicauda Rothschild and Hartert, 1911, Mount

Goliath, central Dutch New Guinea.

 

OTHER COMMON NAMES

English: Short-tailed wattled bird of paradise; French: Paradisier à queue courte; German: Langschwanz-Paradigalla; Spanish: Paradigalla de Cola Corta.

 

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

9.0 in (23 cm); female 0.4–0.38 (155–170 g), male 0.35–0.41 lb (160–184 g). Head, upperparts, and underparts a velvety black. Yellowish green crown to nape and small, light blue wattle at the mandible base. Conspicuous bright yellow fore face. Blackish bill and legs.

 

DISTRIBUTION

Western and central ranges of New Guinea mainland from the Weyland Mountains eastward to the Bismark Range at altitudes of 4,590–8,460 ft (1,400–2,580 m). Maybe on the Kratke Range, Papua New Guinea, but unrecorded to date.

 

HABITAT

Midmontane forests, including beech, forest/garden edges, secondary growth.

 

BEHAVIOR

Birds give a rising bell-like zheee call at about 490 ft (150 m) intervals in moss forest, suggestive of dispersed solitary males advertising from song posts. In-flight, wings make an audible rattling or rustling.

 

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

Omnivorous, predominantly frugivorous, but little known. Birds acrobatically cling to tree boughs and trunks to tear and probe into epiphytic plant growth for invertebrates and small vertebrates. Nestlings fed a large proportion (65%) of animals, including earthworms, insect larvae, crickets, beetles, mantids, katydids, spiders, frogs, and skinks.

 

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Polygynous, with presumed promiscuous males and exclusively female nest attendance. Breeding on the Tari Valley slopes recorded in all months except March and November. Nest is a substantial, deep, open cup and the clutch is one egg. Incubation lasts more than 19 days and a known nestling period was 25 days.

 

CONSERVATION STATUS

Not threatened.