Flock formation and the role of plumage colouration in Ardeidae

2005 ◽  
Vol 83 (5) ◽  
pp. 683-693 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Clay Green ◽  
Paul L Leberg
Keyword(s):  
Bird Species ◽  
Flock Size ◽  
Wading Birds ◽  
Plumage Colouration ◽  
Wading Bird ◽  
White Plumage ◽  
Fourth Experiment ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Colour Morphs ◽  
Egretta Rufescens

It has been hypothesized that white plumage facilitates flock formation in Ardeidae. We conducted four experiments using decoys to test factors involved in attracting wading birds to a specific pond. The first three experiments tested the effects of plumage colouration, flock size, and species-specific decoys on flock formation. The fourth experiment examined intraspecific differences in flock choice between the two colour morphs of the reddish egret, Egretta rufescens (Gmelin, 1789). Wading birds landed at flocks of decoys more often than single or no decoys (P < 0.001) but exhibited no overall attraction to white plumage (P > 0.05). White-plumaged species were attracted to white decoys (P < 0.001) and dark-plumaged species were attracted to dark decoys (P < 0.001). Snowy egrets (E. thula (Molina, 1782)), great egrets (Ardea alba L., 1758), and little blue herons (E. caerulea (L., 1758)) landed more often at ponds that contained decoys resembling conspecifics. At the intraspecific level, all observed reddish egrets selected flocks with like-plumaged decoys. Our results suggest that plumage colouration is an attractant for species with similar plumage, but white plumage is not an attractant for all wading bird species. White plumage may facilitate flock formation in certain species but does not serve as a universal attractant for wading birds of varying plumage colouration and size.

Deflighting zoo birds and its welfare considerations

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Reese ◽  
M Ladwig-Wiegard ◽  
L von Fersen ◽  
G Haase ◽  
H Will ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Interest ◽  
Surgical Techniques ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Scientific Data ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Specific Level ◽  
Welfare Implications ◽  
Reduce Risk ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Over Time

For over a century the practice of deflighting has taken place in zoological collections in order to ensure birds remain in open-topped enclosures. Over time, efforts have been made to improve or develop new (surgical) techniques, reduce risk of complications during deflighting and minimise stress and pain during the procedure. However, increased public interest in issues of animal welfare has coincided with a questioning of the practice of removing a birds ability to fly. The ensuing debate, which continues to progress among a variety of differing stakeholders, has led to various legislative adjustments across a number of countries. Despite significant legislation, the dialogue has been both subjective and highly emotive. A plethora of opinions exist as to why deflighting should be outlawed, why it is necessary, or how it has the potential to improve a birds living conditions. However, most are based on assumption or issues unrelated to welfare. To the authors knowledge, to date, no scientific data have been published on the welfare implications of deflighting for the commonly deflighted bird species, such as waterfowl, flamingos (Phoenicopteridae), pelicans (Pelecanidae), storks (Ciconiidae), cranes (Gruidae) and herons (Ardeidae). The aim of this study is to present an overview of the relevance of deflighting to zoo husbandry, the species primarily affected, the techniques currently in use, the legality in differing countries and the extent of scientific knowledge as regards potential ethological and welfare concerns. An urgent need for evidence-based studies is highlighted, to further inform this practice at a species-specific level.

scholarly journals Use of endodontic paper points and Schirmer strips for measurement of tear flow in red-lored parrots (Amazona autumnalis)

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
René Oswaldo Silva-Castillo ◽  
Samuel Flores-Ceballos ◽  
Adriana Margarita Ducoing-Watty ◽  
Ricardo Itzcóatl Maldonado-Reséndiz
Keyword(s):  
Measurement Techniques ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Good Alternative ◽  
Diagnostic Methods ◽  
Test Strips ◽  
Dental Procedures ◽  
Tear Flow ◽  
Schirmer Tear Test ◽  
Species Specific

Ocular diseases are sub-diagnosed in bird species, partly because of limited diagnostic methods and lack of reference data. Placement of Schirmer tear test strips in the bottom of the conjunctival sac of birds for tear flow measurement can prove to be difficult, whereas paper tips commonly used for dental procedures may be easier to use, due to a more adequate size and shape. Hence, the aim of this study was to assess and compare tear flow values, using ABC Dental® # 30 color paper tips and TearFloTM Test strips in Red-lored Parrots (Amazona autumnalis) (n = 26). Captive birds of undetermined sex were housed in groups under similar environmental conditions and fed the same diet. All animals were deemed healthy through remote and physical examinations. Average tear flow values of 0.6365 ± 0.032 cm/min and 0.5942 ± 0.032 cm/min were obtained with the Schirmer strips test and the endodontic tips respectively. Lack of difference in observed values between measurement techniques (p = 0.3629) indicates that endodontic tips may be a good alternative for tear flow assessment in Red-lored parrots. In addition, endodontic tips are more cost effective and may be less invasive. This study stresses the need to establish species specific ophthalmic reference values for clinical practice in birds, since differences have been reported even in specimens within the same genus.Figure 1. Measurement of tear flow in Red-lored parrots using TearFloTM Test Strips

scholarly journals Power to Detect Trend in Short-Term Time Series of Bird Abundance

The Condor ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 109 (4) ◽  
pp. 943-948
Author(s):  
Wayne E. Thogmartin ◽  
Brian R. Gray ◽  
Maureen Gallagher ◽  
Neal Young ◽  
Jason J. Rohweder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sample Size ◽  
Short Duration ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Population Monitoring ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Wet Prairie ◽  
Bird Abundance ◽  
Point Counts ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Species Specific

Abstract Avian point counts for population monitoring are often collected over a short timespan (e.g., 3–5 years). We examined whether power was adequate (power ≥0.80) in short-duration studies to warrant the calculation of trend estimates. We modeled power to detect trends in abundance indices of eight bird species occurring across three floodplain habitats (wet prairie, early successional forest, and mature forest) as a function of trend magnitude, sample size, and species-specific sampling and among-year variance components. Point counts (5 min) were collected from 365 locations distributed among 10 study sites along the lower Missouri River; counts were collected over the period 2002 to 2004. For all study species, power appeared adequate to detect trends in studies of short duration (three years) at a single site when exponential declines were relatively large in magnitude (more than −5% year−1) and the sample of point counts per year was ≥30. Efforts to monitor avian trends with point counts in small managed lands (i.e., refuges and parks) should recognize this sample size restriction by including point counts from offsite locations as a means of obtaining sufficient numbers of samples per strata. Trends of less than −5% year−1 are not likely to be consistently detected for most species over the short term, but short-term monitoring may still be useful as the basis for comparisons with future surveys.

scholarly journals Nesting Island Creation for Wading Birds

EDIS ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2005 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Leann White ◽  
Peter C. Frederick ◽  
Martin B. Main ◽  
James A. Rodgers, Jr.
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Preferences ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Wading Birds ◽  
Wildlife Ecology ◽  
Human Needs ◽  
Bird Populations ◽  
The Past ◽  
Wading Bird ◽  
Future Success ◽  
Wetland Habitats

Many long-legged wading birds such as little blue herons (Egretta caerulea), great blue herons (Ardea herodius), and great egrets (Ardea albus) nest together in large aggregations called breeding colonies. Although different species vary in their habitat preferences, wading birds have several common requirements for nesting. Colony sites must provide protection from predators, nesting materials, and nearby foraging areas (Hafner 2000). In the past, wading birds nested in natural wetland habitats that are becoming increasingly scarce as wetland habitats are continually altered or degraded to accommodate human needs. The future success of wading bird populations may be determined by how well they cope with manipulated foraging and nesting habitats. In this document, we make recommendations on the creation of nesting islands for long-legged wading birds.  This document is CIR1473, one of a series of the Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Department, UF/IFAS Extension. Original publication date May 2005. CIR1473/UW223: Nesting Island Creation for Wading Birds (ufl.edu)

scholarly journals Wading Birds of Northern Belize

EDIS ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (2) ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
Justin Dalaba ◽  
Venetia S. Briggs-Gonzalez ◽  
Jorge Eduardo Ruano ◽  
Frank J. Mazzotti
Keyword(s):  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Major Contributor ◽  
Wading Birds ◽  
Wildlife Ecology ◽  
Fact Sheet ◽  
Native Habitat ◽  
Bird Watching

Belize is home to over 605 bird species, many of them wading birds popular with bird watchers who enjoy their bright colors and charismatic behavior. Bird-watching is a major contributor to successful wildlife conservation and is important as native habitat loses ground to development. This 4-page fact sheet written by Venetia S. Briggs-Gonzalez, Jorge E. Ruano, Justin R. Dalaba and Frank J. Mazzotti and published by the UF/IFAS Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation presents photos and descriptions that will help identify some common and some rare wading birds.https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/uw469 Trifold brochure: WEC425/UW470, 4/2020 https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/uw470

scholarly journals Global abundance estimates for 9,700 bird species

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (21) ◽  
pp. e2023170118
Author(s):  
Corey T. Callaghan ◽  
Shinichi Nakagawa ◽  
William K. Cornwell
Keyword(s):  
Scale Up ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Heterogeneous Data ◽  
Feeding Guilds ◽  
Abundance Estimates ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
The World ◽  
Species Abundances ◽  
Species Specific

Quantifying the abundance of species is essential to ecology, evolution, and conservation. The distribution of species abundances is fundamental to numerous longstanding questions in ecology, yet the empirical pattern at the global scale remains unresolved, with a few species’ abundance well known but most poorly characterized. In large part because of heterogeneous data, few methods exist that can scale up to all species across the globe. Here, we integrate data from a suite of well-studied species with a global dataset of bird occurrences throughout the world—for 9,700 species (∼92% of all extant species)—and use missing data theory to estimate species-specific abundances with associated uncertainty. We find strong evidence that the distribution of species abundances is log left skewed: there are many rare species and comparatively few common species. By aggregating the species-level estimates, we find that there are ∼50 billion individual birds in the world at present. The global-scale abundance estimates that we provide will allow for a line of inquiry into the structure of abundance across biogeographic realms and feeding guilds as well as the consequences of life history (e.g., body size, range size) on population dynamics. Importantly, our method is repeatable and scalable: as data quantity and quality increase, our accuracy in tracking temporal changes in global biodiversity will increase. Moreover, we provide the methodological blueprint for quantifying species-specific abundance, along with uncertainty, for any organism in the world.

scholarly journals Identifying charismatic bird species and traits with community science observations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Stoudt ◽  
Benjamin R Goldstein ◽  
Perry de Valpine
Keyword(s):  
Species Conservation ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Digital Data ◽  
Color Contrast ◽  
Specific Effects ◽  
Multi Stage ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Community Science ◽  
Google Search ◽  
The Impact

Identifying which species are perceived as charismatic can improve the impact and efficiency of conservation outreach, as charismatic species receive more conservation funding and have their conservation needs prioritized. Sociological experiments studying animal charisma have relied on stated preferences to find correlations between hypothetical "willingness to pay" or "empathy" for a species' conservation and species' size, color, and aesthetic appeal. Recognizing the increasing availability of digital records of public engagement with animals that reveal preferences, an emerging field of "culturomics" uses Google search results, Wikipedia article activities, and other digital modes of engagement to identify charismatic species and traits. In this study, we take advantage of community science efforts as another form of digital data that can reveal observer preferences. We apply a multi-stage analysis to ask whether opportunistic birders contributing to iNaturalist engage more with larger, more colorful, and rarer birds relative to a baseline, from eBird contributors, approximating unbiased detection. We find that body mass, color contrast, and range size all predict overrepresentation in the opportunistic dataset. We also find evidence that, across 473 modeled species, 52 species are significantly overreported and 158 are significantly underreported, indicating a wide variety of species-specific effects. Understanding which birds are charismatic can aid conservationists in creating impactful outreach materials and engaging new naturalists. The quantified differences between two prominent community science efforts may also be of use for researchers leveraging the data from one or both of them to answer scientific questions of interest.

scholarly journals Self-care tooling innovation in a disabled kea (Nestor notabilis)

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amalia P. M. Bastos ◽  
Kata Horváth ◽  
Jonathan L. Webb ◽  
Patrick M. Wood ◽  
Alex H. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Self Care ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Specific Behaviour ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Lines Of Evidence

AbstractTooling is associated with complex cognitive abilities, occurring most regularly in large-brained mammals and birds. Among birds, self-care tooling is seemingly rare in the wild, despite several anecdotal reports of this behaviour in captive parrots. Here, we show that Bruce, a disabled parrot lacking his top mandible, deliberately uses pebbles to preen himself. Evidence for this behaviour comes from five lines of evidence: (i) in over 90% of instances where Bruce picked up a pebble, he then used it to preen; (ii) in 95% of instances where Bruce dropped a pebble, he retrieved this pebble, or replaced it, in order to resume preening; (iii) Bruce selected pebbles of a specific size for preening rather than randomly sampling available pebbles in his environment; (iv) no other kea in his environment used pebbles for preening; and (v) when other individuals did interact with stones, they used stones of different sizes to those Bruce preened with. Our study provides novel and empirical evidence for deliberate self-care tooling in a bird species where tooling is not a species-specific behaviour. It also supports claims that tooling can be innovated based on ecological necessity by species with sufficiently domain-general cognition.

DIVERSITY AND RESIDENTIAL STATUS OF WADER BIRDS AT HODAL IN PALWAL DISTRICT, IN HARYANA, INDIA.

2021 ◽  
pp. 31-33
Author(s):  
Priyanka Chandna
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Avian Diversity ◽  
Wading Birds ◽  
Residential Status ◽  
Wading Bird ◽  
Nesting Sites ◽  
River Yamuna ◽  
River Narmada ◽  
Behavioural Adaptations

Waders belonging to order Charadriiformes are commonly found along shorelines and mudats that wade in order to forage for food (such as insects or crustaceans) in the mud or sand. Bogs, marshes, mudats, shorelines, ponds, and ooded areas are all popular habitats for wading birds. The waders include storks, spoonbills, cranes, herons, egrets and ibises. They have certain physical and behavioural adaptations for living on or near water. Wading birds depend on water as a source of food, shelter, and nesting sites. Wading birds wade into shallow water to obtain food, instead of swimming and diving in water in search of feed that is not found on land. If we study the morphology of wading birds, they have lots of characteristics and adaptations that are useful in a watery habitat. Long legs of the wading birds help them to keep their feathers high and dry when wading into water in search of food. A long neck and a long bill are adaptations that make it possible to strike at prey while walking around on long legs. The benets of wading bird′s long, thin, spread-out toes are three-fold: toes help them to keep their balance and also help them to walk in mud without sinking. While walking in water and mushy mud, thin toes are easier to lift and set down. Spread-out toes also prevent them from sinking into soft mud in the water and at the water's edge, and above all those toes also disperse the weight of these big, tall birds, helping them keep their balance over their long legs. Waders are ecologically dependent on wetlands, as they provide good habitat to them for feeding, roosting, breeding, nesting, pre-migratory requirements, migration and protection from predators. So, wet lands plays an important part in the life cycle of wading birds. Wetlands have got highest capacity and are often extremely rich in bird and animal life. The present study aims at the assessment of diversity and residential status of wading birds in Yamuna basin near Hodal in Palwal District. It is located at 27°53′39″N and 77°22′09″E having an average elevation of 190 meters. Many ornithologists pay lots of their attention on eld study of birds during the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth century and till today many more are involved in the study of avian diversity near rivers. Avian fauna of Kalesar forests in immediate vicinity of River Yamuna in Yamuna-nagar District has been analysed by Kalsi (1998). Kulkarni et al.(2011) reported 151 species of birds from river Godavari; Balapureet al. (2012) reported 63 avian species from river Narmada. Other workers like Bahuguna(2008), Taketal.(2010), Gupta & Kaushik (2011), Gupta et.al(2012), Anupma et al (2014), Ankita et al (2019) have studied wetlands birds in various regions along the banks of rivers.

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