Note for ornithologists who plan to use drones or model aircraft to study or monitor birds in the United States: The Airborne Hunting Act may prohibit the use of drones to study or monitor wildlife in the United States, except for state and federal agency personnel or their agents (i.e., someone who is working under contract to or in collaboration with state or federal agencies) or under a permit issued by one of those agencies. However, the USFWS will not issue such permits and only four states allow the use of drones for research. The Ornithological Council has asked the Office of the Solicitor of the Department of the Interior to determine if the use of SUA to study wildlife is subject to the AHA. Anticipating that the Solicitor will determine that the AHA does apply, The Ornithological Council has also filed a petition for rulemaking asking the USFWS to issue permits. Read more on this situation on OrnithologyExchange.org.

/pdf/guidelines-to-the-use-of-wild-birds-in-research-nt8fr62toe.pdf

Guidelines to the use of wild birds in research

Migratory bird needs must be met during four phases of the year: breeding season, fall migration, wintering, and spring migration; thus, management may be needed during all four phases. The bulk of research and management has focused on the breeding season, although several issues remain unsettled, including the spatial extent of habitat influences on fitness and the importance of habitat on the breeding grounds used after breeding. Although detailed investigations have shed light on the ecology and population dynamics of a few avian species, knowledge is sketchy for most species. Replication of comprehensive studies is needed for multiple species across a range of areas, Information deficiencies are even greater during the wintering season, when birds require sites that provide security and food resources needed for survival and developing nutrient reserves for spring migration and, possibly, reproduction. Research is needed on many species simply to identify geographic distributions, wintering sites, habitat use, and basic ecology. Studies are complicated, however, by the mobility of birds and by sexual segregation during winter. Stable-isotope methodology has offered an opportunity to identify linkages between breeding and wintering sites, which facilitates understanding the complete annual cycle of birds. The twice-annual migrations are the poorest-understood events in a bird's life. Migration has always been a risky undertaking, with such anthropogenic features as tall buildings, towers, and wind generators adding to the risk. Species such as woodland specialists migrating through eastern North America have numerous options for pausing during migration to replenish nutrients, but some species depend on limited stopover locations. Research needs for migration include identifying pathways and timetables of migration, quality and distribution of habitats, threats posed by towers and other tall structures, and any bottlenecks for migration. Issues such as human population growth, acid deposition, climate change, and exotic diseases are global concerns with uncertain consequences to migratory birds and even less-certain remedies. Despite enormous gaps in our understanding of these birds, research, much of it occurring in the past 30 years, has provided sufficient information to make intelligent conservation efforts but needs to expand to handle future challenges.

/pdf/conserving-migratory-land-birds-in-the-new-world-do-we-know-2adovih86l.pdf

Conserving migratory land birds in the new world: do we know enough?

Preface and Acknowledgments Part I Evolutionary Relationships, Anatomy and Morphology, and Breeding Biology 1 INTRODUCTION Diversity and Distribution Varied Ecomorphology Diverse Social Systems Globe- Trotting Migrants Wetland Dependence Conservation and Management Rationale for and Organization of this book 2 SYSTEMATICS, PHYLOGENY, AND PHYLOGEOGRAPHY Fossil History A Brief History of Shorebird Systematics Phylogeography Hybridization in Shorebirds Biogeography and Communities Conservation Implications 3 MORPHOLOGY, ANATOMY, AND PHYSIOLOGY Skeletal and Muscle System Integumentary System Sensory Apparatus, Foraging, and Digestion Digestive System Energetics and Thermoregulation Osmoregulation Reproductive System Conservation Implications 4 MATING SYSTEMS Defining a Mating System The Role of Ecological Factors Social versus Gene tic Relationships Parental Care Patterns Evolution of Polyandry Variance in Reproductive Success Size Dimorphism Sex Ratios Conservation Implications 5 BREEDING BIOLOGY Philopatry, Breeding Site Fidelity, and Dispersal Spring Arrival Schedules Courtship Behavior Breeding Densities Selection of a Breeding Site Eggs Incubation Hatching Chick Growth and Development Conservation Implications Part II Nonbreeding Ecology and Demography 6 MIGRATION Origins and Evolution Migration Strategies Physiology of Migration Hop, Skip, and Jump Populations and Flyways Conservation Implications 7 FORAGING ECOL OGY AND HABITAT USE Diets Foraging Maneuvers and Habitat Use Acquiring Energy Food Availability Individual Variation Conservation Implications 8 SHOREBIRDS AS PREDATORS Shorebird Predators and Their Prey Predicting Wetland Use Competition and Food Limitation Prey Reduction Community Ecology Conservation Implications 9 SPATIAL ECOLOGY AND WINTER SOCIAL ORGANIZATION Quantifying Spatial Distributions A Range of Social Organization Roosts Conservation Implications 10 POPULATION BIOLOGY Demography Survival Productivity Population Sizes and Trends Monitoring Programs Limiting Factors Human Impacts Conservation Implications Part III Management and Conservation 11 HABITAT CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT Decision Making in Wildlife Management Wetland Conservation Conservation Planning and Implementation Wetland Management Agricultural Lands Salt Ponds Sandy, Ocean- Fronting Beaches Conservation Implications 12 MANAGING PREDATORS Ethical Considerations and Decision Making Do Predators Limit Shorebird Populations? Methods of Control Conservation Implications 13 MANAGING HUMAN DISTURBANCE Definitions of Human Disturbance Characterizing Disturbance Responses to Disturbance Managing Disturbance Conservation Implications 14 EDUCATION AND OUTREACH Professional Groups Environmental Education Ecotourism and Birding Festivals Books and Online Resources Conservation Implications Appendix Index

Shorebird Ecology, Conservation, and Management

Our ability to link the breeding locations of individual passerines to migration stopover sites and wintering locations is limited. Stable isotopes of hydro- gen contained in bird feathers have recently shown po- tential in this regard. We measured hydrogen stable-iso- tope ratios (δD) of feathers from breeding, migrating, and wintering Wilson's Warblers. Analyses of feathers from museum specimens collected throughout the west- ern portion of the breeding range indicate that δD values are significantly negatively related to latitude of collec- tion (R 2 =0.52), which is an indication that δD values are a good descriptor of breeding latitude. Analyses of feath- ers collected from birds migrating through the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico (USA), revealed a significantly positive relationship be- tween δD values and the timing of autumn migration (R 2 =0.34), but not the timing of spring migration. This pattern indicates that Wilson's Warblers that bred fur- thest north migrated earliest in the autumn. Finally, anal- ysis of feathers collected on the wintering grounds indi- cate that the hydrogen isotope ratio is significantly posi- tively related to wintering latitude ( R 2 =0.80), which indi- cates that birds that bred furthest north wintered furthest south. In combination, these patterns suggest that in the western portion of their range, Wilson's Warblers have a leapfrog migration system in which the northern-most breeding birds pass through New Mexico early in the au- tumn to arrive on the wintering grounds in southern Cen- tral America, the southern edge of the Wilson's Warblers winter range. We know of no other literature document- ing or suggesting that Wilson's Warbler engage in leap- frog migration. We think the novelty of these results is a reflection of the potential for stable-isotope techniques to revise our understanding of bird migration.

https://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs_other/rmrs_2002_kelly_j002.pdf

Insights into Wilson's Warbler migration from analyses of hydrogen stable-isotope ratios.

1. Understanding the interactions between different periods of the annual cycle in migratory animals has been constrained by our inability to track individuals across seasons. In seabirds, virtually nothing is known about how diet quality during the non-breeding period, away from the breeding grounds, might influence subsequent reproductive success. 2. We used stable nitrogen (delta(15)N) and carbon (delta(13)C) isotopes to evaluate the effects of non-breeding diet quality on the timing of breeding and egg size in a population of Cassin's auklets (Ptychoramphus aleuticus) breeding on Triangle Island, British Columbia. Adult feathers are grown during two different periods of the annual cycle, which allowed us to estimate diet quality from the previous fall (October-November) and pre-breeding (February-March) period. 3. We found that the estimated proportion of energetically superior copepods (Neocalanus spp.) in the pre-breeding diet tended to be higher in females that bred earlier and laid larger eggs, whereas energetically poor juvenile rockfish (Sebastes spp.) were dominant in the pre-breeding diets of females that bred later and laid smaller eggs. We detected no effect of fall diet quality on breeding date or egg size, and no effect of pre-breeding diet quality on breeding date in males. 4. Pre-breeding diet quality was not related to body condition measured 1-2 days after laying, which suggests that females may need to attain a threshold condition before they initiate breeding and successfully rear young. 5. Our results suggest that changes in climatic conditions during the pre-breeding period may have severe consequences for reproductive success by influencing breeding date and egg size. Our work emphasizes the importance of determining how events are linked throughout the annual cycle for understanding the fitness and population dynamics of migratory animals.

/pdf/carry-over-effects-in-a-pacific-seabird-stable-isotope-2j55jgqcdr.pdf

Carry‐over effects in a Pacific seabird: stable isotope evidence that pre‐breeding diet quality influences reproductive success

https://bioone.org/journals/the-wilson-journal-of-ornithology/volume-121/issue-3/1559-4491-121.3.664/Identification-Guide-to-North-American-Birds-Part-II/10.1676/1559-4491-121.3.664.pdf

Identification Guide to North American Birds. Part II

Handbook of the birds of the world, volume 9: cotingas to pipits and wagtails

When writing can change your life, when writing can enrich you by offering much money, why don't you try it? Are you still very confused of where getting the ideas? Do you still have no idea with what you are going to write? Now, you will need reading. A good writer is a good reader at once. You can define how you write depending on what books to read. This the hummingbirds of north america can help you to solve the problem. It can be one of the right sources to develop your writing skill.

Hummingbirds of north america

Handbook of the birds of the world, volume 8: broadbills to tapaculos

As part of an effort to understand extensive, white phosphorus (P4)-induced waterfowl mortality at Eagle River Flats, Fort Richardson, Alaska (USA), we conducted a number of acute toxicity tests using penned mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) in 1993 and 1994. The 24-hr median lethal dose (LD50) for P4 dissolved in oil was 6.46 mg/kg in adult males and 6.96 mg/kg in adult females. Although the median lethal doses were not statistically different, the female dose-response curve had a statistically shallower slope than that of males. The LD50 for the ecologically more relevant pelletized form of P4 in adult males was 4.05 mg/kg. In mallards, one mechanism of P4 toxicity caused rapid (3 to 10 hr) mortality and had signs consistent with anoxia. A second, slower acting mechanism resulted in hepatic and renal pathology including extensive fat deposition in the liver and cellular necrosis. White phosphorus accumulated in adipose tissues, but only for a few days.

/pdf/toxicity-of-white-phosphorus-to-waterfowl-acute-exposure-in-1sp7ic6srn.pdf

Mary Gustafson

Papers

Identification Guide to North American Birds. Part II

Handbook of the birds of the world, volume 9: cotingas to pipits and wagtails

Hummingbirds of north america

Handbook of the birds of the world, volume 8: broadbills to tapaculos

Toxicity of white phosphorus to waterfowl: acute exposure in mallards