Showing papers on "Heron published in 1988"

National atlas of coastal waterbird colonies in the contiguous United States, 1976--1982

Abstract: This report contains information on the coastal breeding distribution and abundance in the contiguous United States of 56 species (and the Great White Heron, now considered a subspecies of the Great Blue Heron) of colonially nesting waterbirds in the orders Procellariiformes, Pelecaniformes, Ciconiiformes, and Charadriiformes. The primary source of population data was a series of regional atlases of coastal waterbird colonies published (or being published) by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in its former FWS/OBS series, now renamed the Biological Report series. Other data were gleaned from the literature and from survey results published by other federal, state, and private organizations and individuals. In many instances the summaries presented here constitute the first attempt to provide a nationwide overview of the coastal breeding populations of some of these species. We also have provided a general review of the nesting habitat use and have tried to indicate, where appropriate, geographical variation in habitat choice or use by each species. For each species discussed, this report contains a map showing the abundance of the species in the US Fish and Wildlife Service's 1:250,000-scale coastal map regions. For all but five of the species, it contains a population summary table and amore » colony-size frequency distribution table. For each state and coastal map region, the tables provide the estimated number of nesting birds and the number of colony sites censused. Mean colony size and colony-size frequency data are also provided on a state-by-state basis.« less

Suetonius "Nero" 41. 2 and the Date of Heron Mechanicus of Alexandria

Abstract: Modern scholarship has provided two probable fixed dates (or at least termini post quem) and one probable terminus ante quem for Heron of Alexandria. I wish here to propose a third date, which tends to confirm the first two. The probable terminus ante quem for Heron was established by Otto Neugebauer, who argued that Heron was independent of, and prior to, Ptolemy (fl. A.D. 127-48).' Fritz Krafft has more recently proposed a refinement of this terminus, suggesting that Heron was active before Marinus of Tyre (fl. A.D. 114).2 The first fixed date derives from Heron's Mechanica (3. 21), in which a new method of cutting female screw threads is described. Since Pliny (HN 18. 74 [317]) states that this method was discovered twenty-two years before he composed his Natural History (A.D. 77), Wilhelm Schmidt argued that the publication of the Mechanica should be dated to A.D. 55.3 Strictly, this argument is valid only if the screwcutter described by Heron was published for the first time in his Mechanica (which Heron does not claim) and if Pliny (and others) would have known about the method only through published works. Nonetheless, the simplest hypothesis would place invention and publication close together, so that A.D. 55 seems to be a probable terminus post quem for the composition of the Mechanica. In addition, Neugebauer demonstrated conclusively that A.D. 62 is a terminus post quem for the Dioptra, in which Heron uses the lunar eclipse of that year (13 March) to determine the distance from Rome to Alexandria.4 Drachmann subsequently argued that Heron himself probably witnessed the eclipse; for if he were willing to use an old eclipse, he could have chosen one better suited to his purpose.5 Though this argument, viewed strictly, is uncertain (Heron did not choose a well-suited eclipse, but we do not know why), the hypothesis that Heron himself witnessed the eclipse seems to be the simplest.

A White Heron and Other Stories

Abstract: The woods were already filled with shadows one June evening, just before eight o'clock, though a bright sunset still glimmered faintly among the trunks of the trees. A little girl was driving home her cow, a plodding, dilatory, provoking creature in her behavior, but a valued companion for all that. They were going away from whatever light there was, and striking deep into the woods, but their feet were familiar with the path, and it was no matter whether their eyes could see it or not.

Distribution and foraging behaviour of Grey Herons Ardea cinerea in adjacent tidal and non-tidal areas

Abstract: Draulans, D. and Hannon, J. 1988. Distribution and foraging behaviour of Grey Herons Ardea cinerea in adjacent tidal and non-tidal area. - Ornis Scand. 19: 297-304. Foraging activity and behaviour of Grey Herons were recorded in a tidal and an adjacent non-tidal brackish water area to investigate whether herons behaved differently in the two areas. This was not the case. Distribution of foraging herons and overall fishing success were similar, despite large differences in food availability. Foraging success did not vary much in the course of a day in the non-tidal area, but in the tidal area foraging was much more successful at high tide and almost impossible at low tide. This, however, did not seem to cause a shift of birds from the non-tidal to the tidal area. In neither area did numbers of foraging herons and fishing success vary much in the course of the winter. Weather variables, on the other hand, influenced heron distribution and foraging success, with herons shifting towards the tidal area during windy, rainy and cloudy weather, when foraging became relatively more efficient there. This could indicate that generally both areas are equally profitable to herons, despite large differences in the spatial and temporal availability of prey. D. Draulans and J. Hannon, Laboratory of Ecology and Fauna Management, Zoological Institute, Naamsestraat 59, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium. Present address of D. Draulans: Institute for Nature Conservation, Kiewitdreef 3, B-3500 Hasselt, Belgium.

Current status and distribution of the Ciconiiforms nesting in Wyoming

Abstract: Five species of Ciconiiforms breed in Wyoming: the American Bittern ( Botaurus lentiginosus ), Great Blue Heron ( Ardea herodias ), Snowy Egret ( Egretta thula ), Black-crowned Night-Heron ( Nycticorax nycticorax ), and White-faced Ibis ( Plegadis chihi ). Field surveys conducted from 1984 through 1986 indicate that at least 151 Great Blue Heron colony sites exist in Wyoming, making it the most abundant and widespread Ciconiiform in the state. Only small breeding populations have been discovered for the remaining species. Except for the Snowy Egret, where numbers of active nests have remained relatively stable, population trends are unknown for the other species. We believe most colonies have been found in Wyoming, but additional inventories may result in the discovery of other nesting areas, especially for the Great Blue Heron.