scholarly journals Impacts of Housing Developments on Wood Thrush Nesting Success in Hardwood Forest Fragments

The Condor ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 107 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith Phillips ◽  
Erica Nol ◽  
Dawn Burke ◽  
Wendy Dunford
Keyword(s):  
Nest Predation ◽  
Molothrus Ater ◽  
Forest Edge ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Hylocichla Mustelina ◽  
Wood Thrush ◽  
Housing Developments ◽  
Las Casas ◽  
Wood Thrushes ◽  
Small Forest

Abstract We studied the impacts of low density, exurban housing developments on Wood Thrushes (Hylocichla mustelina) breeding in small forest fragments in two regions of rural southern Ontario. In both regions, Wood Thrushes breeding in woodlots with embedded houses (housing penetrating the forest border) experienced significantly higher rates of parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater) than Wood Thrushes breeding in woodlots with adjacent houses (houses within 100 m of the forest edge), or undeveloped woodlots (no houses within 100 m of the forest edge). Wood Thrushes breeding in Peterborough area woodlots with embedded or adjacent houses experienced significantly increased rates of nest predation compared to Wood Thrushes breeding in undeveloped woodlots. This increased nest predation resulted in significant reductions in seasonal productivity in developed woodlots. No increase in nest predation was experienced by Wood Thrushes nesting in developed woodlots in the Ottawa region. The effects of housing developments appear to be region-specific and may depend on other factors influencing the overall abundance of cowbirds. Impactos de la Construcción de Viviendas en el Éxito de Nidificación de Hylocichla mustelina en Fragmentos de Bosque Resumen. Estudiamos los impactos de la construcción en baja densidad de viviendas peri-urbanas sobre individuos de Hylocichla mustelina que se encontraron criando en fragmentos pequeños de bosque en dos regiones rurales del sur de Ontario. En ambas regiones, los individuos de H. mustelina que se reprodujeron en bosques donde había casas inmersas (que penetraban el borde del bosque) experimentaron tasas de parasitismo por Molothrus ater significativamente mayores que los individuos criando en bosques con casas adyacentes (dispuestas a menos de 100 m del borde del bosque), o en bosques no alterados por la presencia de casas (a más de 100 m del borde del bosque). Los individuos de H. mustelina que se encontraron criando en áreas boscosas de Peterborough, donde las casas estaban adentro o adyacentes al bosque, experimentaron incrementos significativos en las tasas de depredación de nidos comparados con individuos que criaron en bosques no alterados. Este incremento en la depredación de nidos llevó a reducciones significativas en la productividad estacional en los bosques con viviendas. No registramos un incremento en la depredación de nidos de H. mustelina en bosques con viviendas en la región de Ottawa. Los efectos de la construcción de viviendas parecen estar relacionados de modo específico con la región y podrían depender de otros factores que influencian la abundancia de M. ater.

scholarly journals Reproductive Success of Wood Thrushes in Forest Fragments in Northern Indiana

The Auk ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 117 (1) ◽  
pp. 194-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter T. Fauth
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Nest Predation ◽  
Forest Edge ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Forest Area ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Regional Demography ◽  
Source Sink ◽  
Wood Thrushes ◽  
Seasonal Fecundity

AbstractI monitored 278 Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) nests in 14 forest fragments (range 7 to 500 ha) in northern Indiana to explore patterns of brood parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater), nest predation, and reproductive success. Density of thrushes was negatively related to area of forest fragments. Cowbirds were common throughout the landscape, but I found no relationship between their abundance and forest area. Overall, 90% of the thrush nests were parasitized by cowbirds (x̄ = 2.4 cowbird eggs per nest). The number of cowbird eggs per thrush nest was not related to forest area, abundance of host species, or distance to a forest edge but was positively related to thrush abundance. Nest predation rates averaged 58% and were lower than those reported in much of neighboring Illinois but also were unrelated to forest area and distance to a forest edge. The combination of cowbird parasitism and nest predation resulted in relatively low reproductive success (x̄ = 0.6 thrush fledglings per nesting attempt). I estimated that Wood Thrushes in northern Indiana made an average of three nesting attempts per breeding season (based on 17 color-marked females) and had relatively low seasonal fecundity (x̄ = 0.9 female fledglings per adult female per season). Nonetheless, considerable annual variation in seasonal fecundity suggested that some sites exceeded the source-sink threshold in some years. Regardless, the overall landscape appeared to be part of a regional sink for Wood Thrushes, although its negative influence on regional demography was not as severe as elsewhere in the midwestern United States. The poor demographic balance in much of the agriculturally dominated Midwest suggests that conservation efforts for Wood Thrushes and other Nearctic-Neotropical migrants should be directed at preserving and enhancing possible source habitats in regions where parasitism by cowbirds and nest predation are reduced.

scholarly journals Wood Thrush Movements and Habitat Use: Effects of Forest Management for Red-Cockaded Woodpeckers

The Auk ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 119 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason D. Lang ◽  
Larkin A. Powell ◽  
David G. Krementz ◽  
Michael J. Conroy
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Pinus Taeda ◽  
Loblolly Pine ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Picoides Borealis ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Hylocichla Mustelina ◽  
Wood Thrush ◽  
Dispersal Distances ◽  
Wood Thrushes

Abstract We monitored adult and juvenile breeding-season movements and habitat use of radio-tagged Wood Thrushes (Hylocichla mustelina) at the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge, central Georgia, USA. We investigated the effects that management for Red-cockaded Woodpeckers (Picoides borealis), thinning and burning >30 year old loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) habitat, had on Wood Thrushes, a ground-foraging and midstory-nesting species. Adult Wood Thrush pairs regularly moved long distances between nesting attempts (range 1 to 17,388 m). The only experimental effect we found on adult movements was a decrease in weekly emigration rates (Ψ) from thinned and burned compartments after silvicultural management. Adult males preferred riparian hardwoods with sparse to moderate cover and those preferences increased following management. Juveniles remained near their nest site (x̄ = 177 m, SE = 113) for an average 24 days (SE = 6.3), and then dispersed a mean 2,189 m (SE = 342). Before dispersal, juveniles preferred upland hardwood–pine mixed habitat (P < 0.05) with moderate overstory cover (P < 0.05). We found no management effects on dispersal distances or predispersal habitat use. However, juveniles from thinned and burned compartments dispersed to hardwood habitats with dense cover, whereas birds from control compartments dispersed to pine-dominated habitats with sparse cover. All juveniles dispersed to areas with habitat similar to what they used before dispersal. Small-scale thinning and burning for Red-cockaded Woodpeckers may have had little effect on Wood Thrush habitat use and movements because typical movements were often larger than the scale (stand or compartment) targeted for management.

Song learning in the wood thrush

1987 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 1038-1042 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl L. Whitney ◽  
Joan Miller
Keyword(s):  
Song Learning ◽  
Hylocichla Mustelina ◽  
Wood Thrush ◽  
Young Males ◽  
The Third ◽  
Structural Types ◽  
Wood Thrushes

A typical wood thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) song has three phrases. The first (A) is a series of low pitched sounds, the second (B) consists of loud flutelike notes, and the third (C) is usually a trill. Males have repertoires of two to eight different B phrases, which they use in different songs. In a previous study, males reared in isolation of adult song developed songs that were normal except for the structure of the B phrases. We tutored young males (at age 20–80 days) with recorded B phrases. The phrases were of four previously defined structural types, with four variants of each type, giving a total of 16 phrases. The variants of each type differed only in frequency (Hz). The objectives of the experiment were to determine (i) if wood thrushes copy the structure of B phrases that they hear as juveniles, and (ii) if they copy selectively in such a way as to develop repertoires of highly contrasting phrases. Results were obtained for five males. The B phrase repertoires developed by four subjects consisted entirely of phrases (N = 17) copied from the tutor tape. The repertoire of the fifth subject was of phrases (N = 4) that appeared not to be copied. The males that copied from the tutor tape showed no tendency to develop repertoires of highly contrasting B phrases. Three of the four males developed multiple versions of one or more phrase types, while ignoring other types, and in some cases these versions were very similar in frequency and other details of structure.

scholarly journals A Productivity Model for Parasitized, Multibrooded Songbirds

The Condor ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 108 (2) ◽  
pp. 292-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larkin A. Powell ◽  
Melinda G. Knutson
Keyword(s):  
Simulation Model ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Hylocichla Mustelina ◽  
Wood Thrush ◽  
Driftless Area ◽  
Annual Productivity ◽  
American Redstarts ◽  
Complex Life History ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Wood Thrushes

Abstract We present an enhancement of a simulation model to predict annual productivity for Wood Thrushes (Hylocichla mustelina) and American Redstarts (Setophaga ruticilla); the model includes effects of Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) parasitism. We used species-specific data from the Driftless Area Ecoregion of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa to parameterize the model as a case study. The simulation model predicted annual productivity of 2.03 ± 1.60 SD for Wood Thrushes and 1.56 ± 1.31 SD for American Redstarts. Our sensitivity analysis showed that high parasitism lowered Wood Thrush annual productivity more than American Redstart productivity, even though parasitism affected individual nests of redstarts more severely. Annual productivity predictions are valuable for habitat managers, but productivity is not easily obtained from field studies. Our model provides a useful means of integrating complex life history parameters to predict productivity for songbirds that experience nest parasitism.

Gap-crossing by Wood Thrushes (Hylocichla mustelina)in a fragmented landscape

2011 ◽  
Vol 89 (11) ◽  
pp. 1091-1097 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. MacIntosh ◽  
B.J.M. Stutchbury ◽  
M.L. Evans
Keyword(s):  
Radio Telemetry ◽  
Fragmented Landscape ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Forest Fragment ◽  
Hylocichla Mustelina ◽  
Continuous Forest ◽  
Migratory Songbirds ◽  
Gap Crossing ◽  
Wood Thrushes ◽  
Gap Width

We used radio-telemetry to study the movement patterns of Wood Thrushes ( Hylocichla mustelina (J.F. Gmelin, 1789)) occupying small forest fragments (<5 ha) to examine gap-crossing between fragments and edge use within fragments. We found that 82% (8/11) of males and 33% (2/6) of females made at least one foray off of its resident forest fragment and we documented a total of 26 off-fragment forays (n = 79 h tracking). Males spent, on average, 23.5% of their time off their fragment, while females were gone 12.8% of the time tracked. Most forays were >150 m in distance and foray rate to adjacent fragments declined with increasing gap width. Males on fragments spent more time off their territory (23.5%) and traveled farther (392 m) than males occupying territories within a continuous forest (4.8% and 99 m, respectively). In fragments, 10 out of 17 individuals spent >80% of their time within 20 m of the fragment edge and edge use was significantly more than expected based on the amount of edge available in each fragment. This study adds to the growing evidence for migratory songbirds that during the breeding season, forest fragmentation may increase rather than impede daily movements.

IMPACTS OF HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS ON WOOD THRUSH NESTING SUCCESS IN HARDWOOD FOREST FRAGMENTS

The Condor ◽  
10.1650/7560 ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 107 (1) ◽  
pp. 97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith Phillips ◽  
Erica Nol ◽  
Dawn Burke ◽  
Wendy Dunford
Keyword(s):  
Nesting Success ◽  
Hardwood Forest ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Wood Thrush ◽  
Housing Developments

scholarly journals Quantifying Male Wood Thrush Nest-Attendance and its Relationship to Nest Success

The Condor ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 107 (1) ◽  
pp. 138-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth A. Schmidt ◽  
Christopher J. Whelan
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Nest Success ◽  
Nest Attendance ◽  
Success Rates ◽  
Hylocichla Mustelina ◽  
Wood Thrush ◽  
Cyanocitta Cristata ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Accipiter Striatus ◽  
Wood Thrushes

Abstract Male Wood Thrushes (Hylocichla mustelina) attend their nests by perching near its rim, a behavior common to many species and presumed to be for the purpose of guarding eggs or young in the nest. We classified nests into two groups based on whether or not we observed an attending male during any nest inspection. We found that nests attended by male Wood Thrushes had higher success rates (i.e., lower predation rates) than unattended nests in Illinois where Blue Jays were a dominant nest predator. In contrast, there was no significant difference in nest success between attended and unattended nests in New York where rodents (mice and chipmunks) and raptors, such as the Sharp-shinned Hawk, were important predators on nests and adults, respectively. Despite differences in risk to adults and nests between the two sites, the frequency of observing attendant males did not differ between sites. In contrast to studies in the literature, the frequency of nest-attendance in the New York population was negatively related to year-to-year variation in chipmunk density, an independent measure of the risk of nest predation. Cuantificación de la Presencia del Macho de Hylocichla mustelina en el Nido y su Relación con el Éxito del Nido Resumen. Los machos de Hylocichla mustelina se posan cerca del borde sus nidos aparentemente con el propósito de vigilar sus huevos o sus crías, lo que representa un comportamiento común en muchas especies. Clasificamos los nidos en dos grupos basados en la presencia o ausencia de un macho durante las inspecciones de los nidos. Encontramos que los nidos que presentaron machos de H. mustelina tuvieron mayores tasas de éxito (i.e., menores tasas de depredación) que los nidos sin machos en Illinois, donde Cyanocitta cristata fue el depredador de nidos dominante. En contraste, no hubo una diferencia significativa en el éxito de los nidos entre los que contaron o no con la presencia de machos en Nueva York, donde los roedores (ratones y ardillas listadas) y las rapaces (como Accipiter striatus) fueron importantes depredadores tanto de nidos como de adultos. A pesar de las diferencias en el riesgo al que están sujetos los adultos y los nidos entre los dos sitios, la frecuencia de observación de presencia de machos no difirió entre los sitios. En contraste con los estudios publicados, la frecuencia de la presencia de machos en los nidos en la población de Nueva York se relacionó negativamente con la variación interanual en la densidad de ardillas listadas, lo que representa una medida independiente del riesgo de depredación de los nidos.

scholarly journals Are Traditional Methods of Determining Nest Predators and Nest Fates Reliable? An Experiment with Wood Thrushes (Hylocichla mustelina) Using Miniature Video Cameras

The Auk ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 119 (4) ◽  
pp. 1126-1132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary E. Williams ◽  
Petra Bohall Wood
Keyword(s):  
Hylocichla Mustelina ◽  
Wood Thrush ◽  
Traditional Methods ◽  
Glaucomys Volans ◽  
Predator Species ◽  
Video Cameras ◽  
Video Footage ◽  
Infrared Video ◽  
Wood Thrushes ◽  
Nest Predators

AbstractWe used miniature infrared video cameras to monitor Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) nests during 1998–2000. We documented nest predators and examined whether evidence at nests can be used to predict predator identities and nest fates. Fifty-six nests were monitored; 26 failed, with 3 abandoned and 23 depredated. We predicted predator class (avian, mammalian, snake) prior to review of video footage and were incorrect 57% of the time. Birds and mammals were underrepresented whereas snakes were over-represented in our predictions. We documented ≥9 nest-predator species, with the southern flying squirrel (Glaucomys volans) taking the most nests (n = 8). During 2000, we predicted fate (fledge or fail) of 27 nests; 23 were classified correctly. Traditional methods of monitoring nests appear to be effective for classifying success or failure of nests, but ineffective at classifying nest predators.

scholarly journals Wood Thrush (Hylocichla Mustelina) Nesting Ecology in Relation to Prescribed Burning of Mixed-Oak Forest in Ohio

The Auk ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 120 (3) ◽  
pp. 874-882
Author(s):  
Vanessa L. Artman ◽  
Jerry F. Downhower
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Fire Intensity ◽  
Hylocichla Mustelina ◽  
Wood Thrush ◽  
Nesting Ecology ◽  
Burned Areas ◽  
Wood Thrushes

Abstract Prescribed burning is increasingly being used to restore and maintain oak-dominated (Quercus spp.) forests in the eastern United States. We assessed effects of prescribed burning on the nesting ecology of the Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina). Recent declines in Wood Thrush populations have prompted concern about their conservation status. Low-intensity surface fires in mixed-oak forests resulted in reductions in midstory vegetation, a documented habitat requirement for Wood Thrushes, but local population levels of Wood Thrushes did not differ between burned and unburned areas. Wood Thrushes inhabiting recently burned areas selected nest sites where leaf litter cover, fern cover, densities of shrubs and saplings, and moisture levels were higher and where fire intensity was lower in comparison to random sites. Wood Thrushes also placed their nests higher off the ground, and in taller and larger-diameter trees and shrubs, in burned than in unburned areas. Reproductive success did not differ between burned and unburned areas. However, successful nests were placed higher off the ground and in areas with lower densities of shrubs and saplings than unsuccessful nests in both burned and unburned areas. Prescribed burning appeared to have minimal effects on nesting ecology of Wood Thrushes, given their flexibility in nest placement, with no adverse consequences in terms of reproductive success. Local variation in fire intensity and moisture levels also maintained availability of suitable nesting habitat within burned areas. Continued monitoring would be appropriate to further assess the response of Wood Thrushes to prescribed burning, particularly in consideration of their conservation status and the uncertainty associated with potential long-term effects of habitat change.

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