29 June 2010

 Aristotle put together a list of birds (n =170) of which 74 can easily be recognized today  Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) did much the same thing ◦ Also wrote that the people of Sri Lanka used birds to find their way to land  Frederick II of Hohenstuafen ( ) published The Art of Falconry  By the 16 th century, three encyclopedias published information about birds

 For the purposes of this class…  A bird-watcher is someone who enjoys watching birds ◦ May have a bird feeder set up but isn’t necessarily able to identify bird species correctly  A birder is someone who makes trips to see birds and is able to identify most species seen in the field correctly  An ornithologist is someone who uses the scientific method to study birds  Note that an ornithologist may not necessarily be a birder!

 For the period , the NSRE (National Survey on Recreation and the Environment) estimated that there were approximately 82 million people who watched or photographed birds  The 2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation estimated that 47.7 million people watched birds ◦ 19.9 million took trips away from home to observe and/or photograph wild birds ◦ 30 million fished, 21.5 million hunted See /IrisRec2.html for more information /IrisRec2.html

Image from try.uga.edu/nrrt/ns re/IRISRec/IrisRec2. html try.uga.edu/nrrt/ns re/IRISRec/IrisRec2. html

 “October 8 [1492] – There were many small land-birds and [the sailors] took one which was flying to the south-west. There were jays, ducks and a pelican.”  “October 9 [1492] – All night heard birds passing.” ◦ - Christopher Columbus  De Vaca (1528), Castenada ( ) noted birds  John White (1585) painted watercolors  The Ornithology of Francis Willughby (1678) by Willughby and John Ray was notable

 From and again from Mark Catesby explored the southeastern US with the goal of painting, describing and naming all birds ◦ Now known as the “Founder of American Ornithology”  In 1758, Linnaeus published Systema Naturae which set off a huge collecting spree across the world (including the US & Canada)  In 1791, William Bartram published Travels Through North and South Carolina and was one of the first Americans to contribute to ornithological knowledge  The two-headed eagle was proposed in 1776 as a US symbol but was not accepted  In 1782, Congress settled on a crested, stylized eagle

 Henry David Thoreau ( ) ◦ Published 20 volumes, most interested in birds in natural settings  John Burroughs ( ) ◦ Most important nature writer after Thoreau, hugely popular through 1920s  John Muir (1838 – 1914) ◦ One of the first modern preservationists ◦ Essays on nature & wildlife of Sierra Nevadas are still popular today ◦ Formed Sierra Club

 Alexander Wilson ( ) ◦ In 1802, Wilson decided to publish a series of books covering all north American Birds ◦ Illustrated 360 species over eight volumes, including 39 never before illustrated  John James Audubon ( ) ◦ Published Birds of America (4 volumes of watercolors) as well as Ornithological Biographies (life histories of birds)

 A descriptive science  No formal academic training was available  “Professional” ornithologists were typically curators at museums, many without college degrees  By late 19 th century bird clubs began spring up  The American Ornithologists’ Union was formed in 1883 ◦ This was the first national ornithological organization

 George Bird Grinnell wanted to create a national group to protect birds ◦ Only lasted from  In 1896, Harriet Hemenway and Minna Hall created an organization to discourage the use of feathers for ornamentation and to promote the protection of birds – the Audubon Society  This eventually grew into the National Audubon Society under the guidance of William Dutcher (chairmen of the AOU bird protection committee) Image from:

 Worked at the American Museum of Natural History  Acted as a bridge between amateur ornithologists and professionals  Published Bird-lore  Started Christmas Bird Counts in 1900, asking people to count birds on Christmas day rather than shooting them

 Traditionally, ornithologists collected specimens  However, many amateur bird-watchers were interested in contributing sightings  Ludlow Griscom ( ) believed that amateurs could learn to identify birds accurately ◦ "One need not shoot a bird to know what it was.“  Roger Tory Peterson ( ) took Griscom’s idea and added the idea of using arrows to identify birds

 During the early 20 th century, Cornell University was the leading institution for graduate training in ornithology ◦ Fueled in large part by the arrival of Dr. Arthur Allen  His students included Ludlow Griscom, John Emlen, Peter Paul Kellogg, Olin S. Pettingill, Jr. and George M. Sutton  Dr. Joseph P. Grinnell at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at UC – Berkeley established an impressive ornithology program  Today, most Tier I institutions will allow you to pursue a PhD in ornithology (although they may not call it by that name)

 1900 – The Lacey Act ◦ Made it a crime to poach game in one state and sell it in another. Also intended to regulate the introduction of non-native birds as well as add some protection to native birds  1918 – Migratory Bird Treaty Act ◦ All migratory birds and their parts (including eggs, nests, and feathers) were fully protected.  1973 – Endangered Species Act ◦ Protects species listed as “threatened” or “endangered”

 On your binoculars, you should see numbers such as 7 x 35 or 10 x 40.  The first number is the magnification ◦ Generally, ornithologists working with landbirds use 7x or 8x binoculars  The second number is the diameter of the binocular’s objective lenses ◦ This affects brightness  The best measure of a binocular’s brightness is the exit pupil diameter ◦ Divide the second number by the first number ◦ E.g. 40 / 10 = 4 mm ◦ The human eye ranges from 2-7+ mm

 Low quality optics will often have a grayish cast to the edges of the exit pupil area

 Easiest way: Pay attention to the world around you when you are outside  Can also… ◦ Sit in one place and wait quietly for 10+ minutes ◦ Pish ◦ Squeak ◦ Imitate screech-owl calls ◦ Playback singing birds (during the breeding season)

 “Pishing” (going pshhh… pshhh…) may be effective in calling in Passerines  “Squeaking” (loudly kissing the back of the hand) may also work ◦ Try to get high-pitch frequencies with this technique  The idea is that “pishing” and “squeaking” is like an alarm call, and so the birds will come to mob the predator

 Mimicking an Eastern Screech-Owl (Eastern & central US) or a Western Screech-Owl may also bring in birds ◦ Mimicking a Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl in the Neotropics also seems to work well  Using your hands as a soundbox can also cause birds to respond ◦ Mostly larger owls and doves ◦ Extra credit! – 5 pts worth of extra credit to anyone who can successfully use their hands as a soundbox by the test

 "the squeaking sound produced with the lips against the hand"...  it "elicits approach responses in a wide variety of wild birds and has been used extensively by field ornithologists as a lure.“  Concluded the birds will habituate to the sound ◦ Emlen, J.T The 'squeak lure' and predator mobbing in wild birds. Anim. Behav. 17:

 Many bird groups have distinctive silhouettes  How many can you name in this image?

 Many birds have a distinctive posture  With practice, it is possible to identify the birds without seeing other field marks

 Finches & woodpeckers fly in an undulating flight  Buteo (e.g. Red- tailed Hawks) and vultures circle on thermals  Crows fly straight – ravens glide & circle

 See the broken snag with fungi?  To the right is a double-trunked maple  Follow the right trunk up, look at second branch on right  The Screech-Owl is about halfway out from the trunk on the branch

 When pointing out birds to others, it may help to visualize a clock superimposed over the tree  It is also useful when on a boat

When you come across an unfamiliar bird, take good notes