Sora (Porzana carolina) Parasitism of Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) Nests

Sora (Porzana carolina) is a conspecific brood parasite that also occasionally parasitizes nests of other species. Sora parasitism in nests of passerines is rare. Of 129 Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) nests found in North Dakota in 2009 and 2010, two (1.6%) were parasitized by Soras. The conditions favouring this rare parasitic behaviour may include competition for nest sites and high Sora density.

Sora ( Porzana carolina ) autumn migration habitat use

Palustrine wetland management across the USA is often conducted under a moist soil management framework aimed at providing energetic resources for non-breeding waterfowl. Moist soil management techniques typically include seasonal water-level manipulations and mechanical soil disturbance to create conditions conducive to germination and growth of early successional, seed-producing wetland plants. The assumption is that providing stopover and wintering habitat for non-breeding waterfowl will also accommodate life-history needs of a broader suite of migratory waterbirds including shorebirds, wading birds and marsh birds. Although studies of wetlands provide some evidence to support this assumption for shorebirds and wading birds, there is less information on how other marshbirds respond. Sora ( Porzana carolina ) are a species of migratory rail that depend on wetlands year round as they migrate across North America. It is a species for which the consequences of wetland management decisions directed towards non-breeding waterfowl are unknown. We conducted nocturnal surveys on 10 public properties in Missouri, USA during autumn migration during 2012–2016 to examine sora habitat use in wetland impoundments managed to enhance the production of moist soil vegetation. We found a positive relationship with sora presence and mean water depth and annual moist soil vegetation; sora used, on average, deeper water than was available across surveyed impoundments and used locations with a higher percentage of annual moist soil vegetation than was available. We found a negative relationship with sora use and upland vegetation, woody vegetation and open water. We found sora using deeper water than have previously been reported for autumn migration, and that moist soil management techniques used on Missouri's intensively managed public wetland areas may be compatible with sora autumn migration stopover habitat requirements.

Nuevos registros y notas adicionales comentadas sobre la avifauna de la ciudad de Xalapa, Veracruz, México

El conocimiento detallado de la avifauna en una región constituye una valiosa base de datos que permite examinar cambios temporales de la riqueza y tamaños poblacionales de las especies, para actualizar su estado de conservación y desarrollar planes de manejo. El objetivo de este artículo es actualizar la lista de aves de la ciudad de Xalapa, Veracruz, México y aportar datos específicos y puntuales sobre los registros considerados como nuevos a lo previamente publicado por González-García et al. (2014). Añadimos 12 nuevos registros para la avifauna de la ciudad de Xalapa e incluimos a 48 especies con información que consideramos relevante para la zona urbana de la ciudad. Los nuevos registros añadidos son de dos especies residentes y de diez especies migratorias neotropicales (i.e., Anas clypeata, Aythya americana, Aythya collaris, Podiceps nigricollis, Botaurus lentiginosus, Elanoides forficatus, Laterallus ruber, Porzana carolina, Tringa solitaria, Chlidonias niger, Ridgwayia pinicola y Setophaga nigrescens). Tomando en cuenta estas aportaciones, el número total de especies de aves registradas en la zona urbana de Xalapa durante las últimas tres décadas asciende de 329 a 341.