ZO 501 Ornithology - Spring 2007[ Home ] [ Course Information ] [ Lab Information ] [ Sightings ] [ Student List ] [ Question of the Week ] [ Bird List ]
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ZO 501 Ornithology - Spring 2007
[ Home ] [ Course Information ] [ Lab Information ] [ Sightings ] [ Student List ] [ Question of the Week ] [ Bird List ]
[ Photos ] [ Archived News ] [Web Links ]Question of the Week
A correct answer submitted to Shiloh Schulte before the answer is posted earns 1 extra credit point. Submit a question that is chosen as the question of the week and earn 2 extra credit points. Submit a question that is posted and remains unanswered for 1 week and receive 5 extra credit points.
23 April - Identify all four species in this photo (sorry about the delay in getting the question up - I was in the field all weekend):
Congratulations to Jose Roques for his correct answer: From top to bottom: American Oystercatcher, Black-bellied Plover (winter plumage), Gull-billed Tern (winter plumage), and Short-billed Dowitcher
15 April - What do these two species have in common?Congratulations to Kelsey Obernuefemann for her correct answer. The Passenger Pigeon and the Red-billed Quelea share the distinction of being considered the world's most abundant bird (at different times). Flocks for both species have numbered in the millions. Both have been killed in enormous numbers, the Passenger Pigeon for food and amusement, and the Red-billed Quelea because it is considered a pest. These massive slaughters resulted in the extinction of the Passenger Pigeon, but the Red-billed Quelea still is a contender for the world's most abundant bird species.
Passenger Pigeon
8 April - What is this species, what is the behavior, and where is the bird (approximately)?
Congratulations to Kellett Babb, Oliver Connor, and Kelsey Obernuefemann for their correct answers. This Buff-breasted Sandpiper is waving his wings to show his white wing linings in a lekking display on the arctic tundra somewhere on the northern coast of North America.
1 April - The Black-legged Kittiwake is a long-lived colonial nesting seabird that typically lays 2-3 eggs in a clutch. The eggs are laid and hatch asynchronously, so the first chick may hatch 1-2 days before the next egg. In addition to the advantage conferred by hatching early, this first egg typically receives a larger parental investment, so the chick is proportionally larger and healthier at hatch. The vast majority of the time this first chick prevents the other chick(s) from getting food and in fact will actively attack and kill its siblings over a period of days. Why would Kittiwakes spend the reproductive effort to lay a second or third egg if the first chick is going to kill the others most of the time anyway?
Several people (Liani Zabala, Oliver Connor, Kellett Babb, Lexie Taylor, Jose Roques, Adam Hicks, and Katie Gensel) offered an explanation - Extra eggs are an insurance policy against depredation and unfertilized eggs. This is certainly one possibility and good enough for the extra credit point. There is another theory as to why this occurs, however, and I will give out 1 more point to the first person to come up with the answer. Consider that this strategy (multiple eggs, asynchronous hatching) is also observed in many raptors and other long-lived birds with a variable food supply.
Edit: Congratulations to Jose Roques for his correct answer: Food availability during the nesting season is unpredictable, so by laying extra eggs Kittiwakes are hedging their bets against a good food year when they are able to feed all of their chicks. The extra effort required to lay additional eggs each season is offset by the few extra chicks the adults are able to raise over their lifetime.
25 March - Name the four species of bowerbird that constructed these bowers (Thanks to Lexie Taylor for this question of the week):
Congratulations to Adam Hicks for his correct answer of 1) Satin Bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus), 2) Vogelkop Bowerbird (Amblyornis inornatus), 3) Spotted Bowerbird (Chlamydera maculata), and 4) Macgregor's Bowerbird (Amblyornis macgregoriae).
19 March - In the Everglades, alligators often form deep holes that fill up with water, creating what is commonly known as a 'gator hole'. Vegetation such as shrubs and trees often grow up around these holes as the edge of the hole is slightly higher in elevation than the surrounding landscape. Wading birds commonly form small colonies in the trees surrounding the holes. A major hazard of nesting right over alligator territory is that if your chick accidentally falls out of its nest, it may quickly become a snack for the alligator before it can climb back up to its nest. What ecological reason would make nesting above the alligators so attractive despite the potential hazard of young getting eaten if they fall out?
Congratulations to Kelsey O., Kellett B., and Lexie T. for their correct answers. Alligators function as spectacular 'guard dogs' for keeping raccoons out of wading bird colonies. Raccoons can wipe out an entire wading bird colony within days if water levels become low enough for them to walk across the marsh. Nesting around a deep alligator hole increases the likelihood that alligators will continue to be in the area even after water levels decline and the surrounding landscape is relatively dry.
11 March - Identify the the three bird species from the spread wing photos shown below
Congratulations to Nathan Tarr, Beth Folta, Liz Shirley, and James Wilson for their correct answers. The first wings belong to the Northern Flicker (yellow and red-shafted forms), the second wing to a Pileated Woodpecker, and the third wing to a Ruby-throated Hummingbird.
25 February - What record does the Ruppell's Griffon Vulture hold? - Thanks to Adam Hicks for suggesting this question
Congratulations to Beth Folta, Kellett Babb, Liz Shirley, Cindy Carr, James Wilson, and Jose Roques for their correct answers. Ruppell's griffon Vulture holds the record for the highest altitude observed for any bird. One was killed by a jet aircraft at 12,000 m.
18 February - Identify the structure indicated by the arrow. What does this structure do? What order of birds has this adaptation?
Congratulations to Beth Folta, Kellett Babb, and Kelsey Obernuefemann for their correct answers. The nasal tubes of the Procellariiformes are used to expel salt taken in during drinking and foraging in the ocean. These seabirds have a salt gland at the base of the tubes which processes the salt out of seawater. The nasal tubes may also serve to enhance their strong sense of smell.
11 February - Identify this species:
Congratulations to Adam Hicks, Liz Shirley, José Roques, Kelsey Oberneufemann, and Beth Folta for their correct answers of juvenile Sanderling. Thanks to Nathan Tarr for submitting this photo!
4 February - When, where, and why was this species introduced to the United States?
Congratulations to Kelsey Obernuefemann, Kellett Babb, James Wilson, and Beth Folta for their correct answers to the question of the week. The European Starling was introduced into North America when the "American Acclimatization Society" for European settlers released some 80-100 birds in Central Park (New York City) in 1890-91. The head of this particular organization, Eugene Scheiffelin, desired to introduce all birds ever mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare. (http://www.wbu.com/edu/starling.htm)
www.critterlight.com
29 January - The four species shown below are endemic to different islands in the Carribean. Give the nationalities for all four birds. (Thanks to José Roques for suggesting this question of the week).
Congratulations to Beth Folta for correctly identifiying the four species of Tody shown below:
Puerto Rican Tody
Cuban Tody
Broad-billed Tody (Dominican Republic)
Jamaican Tody
21 January - Which species of bird (living or extinct) has or had the longest wingspan? (Thanks to Beth Folta for suggesting this question of the week)
Congratulations to Cindy Carr, Kelsey Obernuefemann, Lexie Taylor, and Kellett Babb for correctly identifying the species with the longest wingspan as the extinct South American Teratorn (Argentavis magnificens). The teratorn existed 6 to 8 million years ago and had an estimated wingspan of 25 feet!! In comparison, the wingspan of the Wandering Albatross (Diomedea exulans) is just under 12 feet, the largest of any living bird.
14 January - What species is this immature bird? (Thanks to Cindy Carr for this question of the week photo!)
Congratulations to Nathan Tarr and Laurina Sigmon for correctly identifying this bird as an immature Red-tailed Hawk. Cindy Carr took this photo last July in her yard. Here is her description of the event: A hawk made a nest in the riparian buffer behind my house. We listened to the young birds' screaming for weeks until they finally fledged around the end of June. Before finally disappearing from our neighborhood, this one graced our flagpole on the morning of July 4th. This is a good example of why you should keep a digital camera handy! I was able to snap a couple of pics of it through the kitchen window before it flew away.
10 January - What is my story?
Congratulations to Cindy Carr who correctly identified this bird as a new species of Brush Finch discovered in a previously unexplored highland area in Columbia. Yariguies Brush-finch ( Atlapetes latinuchus yariguierum).http://www.proaves.org/article.php?id_article=232
