Author: Les Beletsky
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 332
Book Description
The Red-winged Blackbird is not only one of North America's commonest birds, but also its best studied. It exemplifies the contribution that in-depth species studies can make to many of the central issues in behavioral ecology. In this book, Les Beletsky calls on 20 years experience of redwings to provide an up-to-date, comprehensive summary of all the major work done with these birds. These studies on the redwings' polygynous breeding system, strong territoriality, complex vocal communications, and broad distribution shed light on many themes of key interest to behaviorists and ecologists interested in the evolution of mate choice and species adaptations to habitats which vary in character in different parts of their range. An extra dimension is added in the consideration of redwings as pests, a widespread and often serious problem in crops of rice and corn. This book is written in an easy style, and will serve as an introduction, to both student and layperson, to redwings and what they can teach us of behavioral ecology. The Red-winged Blackbird provides the research worker with a balanced summary and comprehensive bibliography of one of ornithology's widest and deepest studies. Key Features * Covers perhaps the most studied bird in North America * Presents model species for studies in mating systems, habitat selection, vocal communication, and territorial behavior * Includes a comprehensive bibliography * Presented in an accessible style, ideal for student use
The Red-winged Blackbird
Author: Les Beletsky
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 332
Book Description
The Red-winged Blackbird is not only one of North America's commonest birds, but also its best studied. It exemplifies the contribution that in-depth species studies can make to many of the central issues in behavioral ecology. In this book, Les Beletsky calls on 20 years experience of redwings to provide an up-to-date, comprehensive summary of all the major work done with these birds. These studies on the redwings' polygynous breeding system, strong territoriality, complex vocal communications, and broad distribution shed light on many themes of key interest to behaviorists and ecologists interested in the evolution of mate choice and species adaptations to habitats which vary in character in different parts of their range. An extra dimension is added in the consideration of redwings as pests, a widespread and often serious problem in crops of rice and corn. This book is written in an easy style, and will serve as an introduction, to both student and layperson, to redwings and what they can teach us of behavioral ecology. The Red-winged Blackbird provides the research worker with a balanced summary and comprehensive bibliography of one of ornithology's widest and deepest studies. Key Features * Covers perhaps the most studied bird in North America * Presents model species for studies in mating systems, habitat selection, vocal communication, and territorial behavior * Includes a comprehensive bibliography * Presented in an accessible style, ideal for student use
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 332
Book Description
The Red-winged Blackbird is not only one of North America's commonest birds, but also its best studied. It exemplifies the contribution that in-depth species studies can make to many of the central issues in behavioral ecology. In this book, Les Beletsky calls on 20 years experience of redwings to provide an up-to-date, comprehensive summary of all the major work done with these birds. These studies on the redwings' polygynous breeding system, strong territoriality, complex vocal communications, and broad distribution shed light on many themes of key interest to behaviorists and ecologists interested in the evolution of mate choice and species adaptations to habitats which vary in character in different parts of their range. An extra dimension is added in the consideration of redwings as pests, a widespread and often serious problem in crops of rice and corn. This book is written in an easy style, and will serve as an introduction, to both student and layperson, to redwings and what they can teach us of behavioral ecology. The Red-winged Blackbird provides the research worker with a balanced summary and comprehensive bibliography of one of ornithology's widest and deepest studies. Key Features * Covers perhaps the most studied bird in North America * Presents model species for studies in mating systems, habitat selection, vocal communication, and territorial behavior * Includes a comprehensive bibliography * Presented in an accessible style, ideal for student use
The Call of the Red-Winged Blackbird
Author: Tim Bowling
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781989496428
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 250
Book Description
"Nearly sixty years of life, with all of its diversities and social pleasure, its joys and sorrows, successes and failures, a whole changing theatre cast of characters, some still loved and on the stage, others long since slipped into the darkened wings, and I remain most entranced by the simple glories of a fruit tree and a songbird. Why should it be so?" In this lush collection of essays Tim Bowling picks up the common questions, and beauties, of life and examines them closely. From questions of love and money, to the search for solitude in a clamouring world, to poetry and the place of art today, Bowling writes beautifully and thoughtfully on what it means to be alive now. And in the end, we come back to the moon, the trees, the salmon that swim to the sea and the call of the red-winged blackbird, which his mother imitated to call him inside at night, as a child.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781989496428
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 250
Book Description
"Nearly sixty years of life, with all of its diversities and social pleasure, its joys and sorrows, successes and failures, a whole changing theatre cast of characters, some still loved and on the stage, others long since slipped into the darkened wings, and I remain most entranced by the simple glories of a fruit tree and a songbird. Why should it be so?" In this lush collection of essays Tim Bowling picks up the common questions, and beauties, of life and examines them closely. From questions of love and money, to the search for solitude in a clamouring world, to poetry and the place of art today, Bowling writes beautifully and thoughtfully on what it means to be alive now. And in the end, we come back to the moon, the trees, the salmon that swim to the sea and the call of the red-winged blackbird, which his mother imitated to call him inside at night, as a child.
Polygyny and Sexual Selection in Red-Winged Blackbirds
Author: William A. Searcy
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400863937
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 331
Book Description
The purpose of this book is to explain why red-winged blackbirds are polygynous and to describe the effects of this mating system on other aspects of the biology of the species. Polygyny is a mating system in which individual males form long-term mating relationships with more than one female at a time. The authors show that females choose to mate polygynously because there is little cost to sharing male parental care in this species, and because females gain protection against nest predation by nesting near other females. Polygyny has the effect of intensifying sexual selection on males by increasing the variance in mating success among males. For females, polygyny means that they will often share a male's territory with other females during the breeding season and will thus be forced to adapt to frequent female-female interactions. This work reviews the results of many studies by other researchers, as well as presenting the authors' own results. Studies of red-winged blackbirds have ranged from long-term investigations of reproductive success and demography, to research on genetic parentage based on modern molecular methods, to a variety of experimental manipulations of ecological circumstances and behavior. Since the red-winged blackbird is one of the best studied species of any taxa in terms of its behavior and ecology, the authors have a particularly extensive body of results on which to base their conclusions. Originally published in 1995. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400863937
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 331
Book Description
The purpose of this book is to explain why red-winged blackbirds are polygynous and to describe the effects of this mating system on other aspects of the biology of the species. Polygyny is a mating system in which individual males form long-term mating relationships with more than one female at a time. The authors show that females choose to mate polygynously because there is little cost to sharing male parental care in this species, and because females gain protection against nest predation by nesting near other females. Polygyny has the effect of intensifying sexual selection on males by increasing the variance in mating success among males. For females, polygyny means that they will often share a male's territory with other females during the breeding season and will thus be forced to adapt to frequent female-female interactions. This work reviews the results of many studies by other researchers, as well as presenting the authors' own results. Studies of red-winged blackbirds have ranged from long-term investigations of reproductive success and demography, to research on genetic parentage based on modern molecular methods, to a variety of experimental manipulations of ecological circumstances and behavior. Since the red-winged blackbird is one of the best studied species of any taxa in terms of its behavior and ecology, the authors have a particularly extensive body of results on which to base their conclusions. Originally published in 1995. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Ecology and Management of Blackbirds (Icteridae) in North America
Author: George M. Linz
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 135164355X
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 311
Book Description
Shortlisted for the 2018 TWS Wildlife Publication Awards in the edited book category The various species of new world blackbirds, often intermingled in large foraging flocks and nighttime roosts, collectively number in the hundreds of millions and are a dominant component of the natural and agricultural avifauna in North America today. Because of their abundance, conspicuous flocking behavior, and feeding habits, these species have often been in conflict with human endeavors. The pioneering publications on blackbirds were by F. E. L. Beal in 1900 and A. A. Allen in 1914. These seminal treatises laid the foundation for more than 1,000 descriptive and experimental studies on the life histories of blackbirds as well as their ecology and management in relation to agricultural damage and other conflicts such as caused by large winter roosting congregations. The wealth of information generated in over a century of research is found in disparate outlets that include government reports, conference proceedings, peer-reviewed journals, monographs, and books. For the first time, Ecology and Management of Blackbirds (Icteridae) in North America summarizes and synthesizes this vast body of information on the biology and life histories of blackbirds and their conflicts with humans into a single volume for researchers, wildlife managers, agriculturists, disease biologists, ornithologists, policy makers, and the public. The book reviews the life histories of red-winged blackbirds, yellow-headed blackbirds, common grackles, and brown-headed cowbirds. It provides in-depth coverage of the functional roles of blackbirds in natural and agricultural ecosystems. In doing so, this authoritative reference promotes the development of improved science-based, integrated management strategies to address conflicts when resolutions are needed.
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 135164355X
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 311
Book Description
Shortlisted for the 2018 TWS Wildlife Publication Awards in the edited book category The various species of new world blackbirds, often intermingled in large foraging flocks and nighttime roosts, collectively number in the hundreds of millions and are a dominant component of the natural and agricultural avifauna in North America today. Because of their abundance, conspicuous flocking behavior, and feeding habits, these species have often been in conflict with human endeavors. The pioneering publications on blackbirds were by F. E. L. Beal in 1900 and A. A. Allen in 1914. These seminal treatises laid the foundation for more than 1,000 descriptive and experimental studies on the life histories of blackbirds as well as their ecology and management in relation to agricultural damage and other conflicts such as caused by large winter roosting congregations. The wealth of information generated in over a century of research is found in disparate outlets that include government reports, conference proceedings, peer-reviewed journals, monographs, and books. For the first time, Ecology and Management of Blackbirds (Icteridae) in North America summarizes and synthesizes this vast body of information on the biology and life histories of blackbirds and their conflicts with humans into a single volume for researchers, wildlife managers, agriculturists, disease biologists, ornithologists, policy makers, and the public. The book reviews the life histories of red-winged blackbirds, yellow-headed blackbirds, common grackles, and brown-headed cowbirds. It provides in-depth coverage of the functional roles of blackbirds in natural and agricultural ecosystems. In doing so, this authoritative reference promotes the development of improved science-based, integrated management strategies to address conflicts when resolutions are needed.
Nature Notes from Maine: Puffins, Black Bears, Raccoons & More
Author: Ed Robinson
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781630850081
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
A collection of stories and images to celebrate the natural world around us. This book makes a great gift for anyone who loves Maine wildlife. It was written by Harpswell's Ed Robinson. All proceeds from the sale of the book will benefit the work of Harpswell Heritage Land Trust to preserve special places in Harpswell and educate and engage our community.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781630850081
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
A collection of stories and images to celebrate the natural world around us. This book makes a great gift for anyone who loves Maine wildlife. It was written by Harpswell's Ed Robinson. All proceeds from the sale of the book will benefit the work of Harpswell Heritage Land Trust to preserve special places in Harpswell and educate and engage our community.
Field Notes from an Unintentional Birder
Author: Julia Zarankin
Publisher: Douglas & McIntyre
ISBN: 1771622490
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 200
Book Description
When Julia Zarankin saw her first red-winged blackbird at the age of thirty-five, she didn’t expect that it would change her life. Recently divorced and auditioning hobbies during a stressful career transition, she stumbled on birdwatching, initially out of curiosity for the strange breed of humans who wear multi-pocketed vests, carry spotting scopes and discuss the finer points of optics with disturbing fervour. What she never could have predicted was that she would become one of them. Not only would she come to identify proudly as a birder, but birding would ultimately lead her to find love, uncover a new language and lay down her roots. Field Notes from an Unintentional Birder tells the story of finding meaning in midlife through birds. The book follows the peregrinations of a narrator who learns more from birds than she ever anticipated, as she begins to realize that she herself is a migratory species: born in the former Soviet Union, growing up in Vancouver and Toronto, studying and working in the United States and living in Paris. Coming from a Russian immigrant family of concert pianists who believed that the outdoors were for “other people,” Julia Zarankin recounts the challenges and joys of unexpectedly discovering one’s wild side and finding one’s tribe in the unlikeliest of places. Zarankin’s thoughtful and witty anecdotes illuminate the joyful experience of a new discovery and the surprising pleasure to be found while standing still on the edge of a lake at six a.m. In addition to confirmed nature enthusiasts, this book will appeal to readers of literary memoir, offering keen insight on what it takes to find one’s place in the world.
Publisher: Douglas & McIntyre
ISBN: 1771622490
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 200
Book Description
When Julia Zarankin saw her first red-winged blackbird at the age of thirty-five, she didn’t expect that it would change her life. Recently divorced and auditioning hobbies during a stressful career transition, she stumbled on birdwatching, initially out of curiosity for the strange breed of humans who wear multi-pocketed vests, carry spotting scopes and discuss the finer points of optics with disturbing fervour. What she never could have predicted was that she would become one of them. Not only would she come to identify proudly as a birder, but birding would ultimately lead her to find love, uncover a new language and lay down her roots. Field Notes from an Unintentional Birder tells the story of finding meaning in midlife through birds. The book follows the peregrinations of a narrator who learns more from birds than she ever anticipated, as she begins to realize that she herself is a migratory species: born in the former Soviet Union, growing up in Vancouver and Toronto, studying and working in the United States and living in Paris. Coming from a Russian immigrant family of concert pianists who believed that the outdoors were for “other people,” Julia Zarankin recounts the challenges and joys of unexpectedly discovering one’s wild side and finding one’s tribe in the unlikeliest of places. Zarankin’s thoughtful and witty anecdotes illuminate the joyful experience of a new discovery and the surprising pleasure to be found while standing still on the edge of a lake at six a.m. In addition to confirmed nature enthusiasts, this book will appeal to readers of literary memoir, offering keen insight on what it takes to find one’s place in the world.
National Geographic Bird Coloration
Author: Geoffrey Edward Hill
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 1426205716
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 256
Book Description
Why is a cardinal red and a bluebird blue? How has color camouflage evolved? These are just a few of the fascinating questions explored in this work on coloration and plumage, and their key role in avian life. 200 full-color photos.
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 1426205716
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 256
Book Description
Why is a cardinal red and a bluebird blue? How has color camouflage evolved? These are just a few of the fascinating questions explored in this work on coloration and plumage, and their key role in avian life. 200 full-color photos.
Some Adaptations of Marsh-Nesting Blackbirds. (MPB-14), Volume 14
Author: Gordon H. Orians
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691209936
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 313
Book Description
The variety of social systems among the New World blackbirds (Family Icteridae) and the structural simplicity of their foraging environment provide excellent opportunities for testing theorics about the adaptive significance of their behavior. Here Gordon Orians presents the results of his many years of research on how blackbirds utilize their marsh environments during the breeding season. These results stem from information he gathered on three species during ten breeding seasons in the Pacific Northwest, on Red-winged blackbirds during two breeding seasons in Costa Rica, and on three species during one breeding season in Argentina. The author uses models derived from Darwin's theory of natural selection to predict the behavior and morphology of individuals as well as the statistical properties of their populations. First he tests models that predict habitat selection, foraging behavior, territoriality, and mate selection. Then he considers some population patterns, especially range of use of environmental resources and overlap among species, that may result from those individual attributes. Professor Orianns concludes with an overview of the structure of bird communities in marshes of the world and the relation of these patterns to overall source availability in these simple but productive habitats.
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691209936
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 313
Book Description
The variety of social systems among the New World blackbirds (Family Icteridae) and the structural simplicity of their foraging environment provide excellent opportunities for testing theorics about the adaptive significance of their behavior. Here Gordon Orians presents the results of his many years of research on how blackbirds utilize their marsh environments during the breeding season. These results stem from information he gathered on three species during ten breeding seasons in the Pacific Northwest, on Red-winged blackbirds during two breeding seasons in Costa Rica, and on three species during one breeding season in Argentina. The author uses models derived from Darwin's theory of natural selection to predict the behavior and morphology of individuals as well as the statistical properties of their populations. First he tests models that predict habitat selection, foraging behavior, territoriality, and mate selection. Then he considers some population patterns, especially range of use of environmental resources and overlap among species, that may result from those individual attributes. Professor Orianns concludes with an overview of the structure of bird communities in marshes of the world and the relation of these patterns to overall source availability in these simple but productive habitats.
Bright Wings
Author: Billy Collins
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231150873
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 288
Book Description
In this beautiful collection of poems and paintings, Billy Collins, former U.S. poet laureate, joins with David Allen Sibley, America's foremost bird illustrator, to celebrate the winged creatures that have inspired so many poets to sing for centuries. From Catullus and Chaucer to Robert Browning and James Wright, poets have long treated birds as powerful metaphors for beauty, escape, transcendence, and divine expression. Here, in this substantial anthology, more than one hundred contemporary and classic poems are paired with close to sixty original, ornithologically precise illustrations. Part poetry collection, part field guide, part art book, Bright Wings presents verbal and visual interpretations of the natural world and reminds us of our intimate connection to the "bright wings" around us. Each in their own way, these poems and pictures honor the enchanting creatures that have been, and continue to be, longtime collaborators with the poet's and painter's art. Poet and bird pairings include: Wallace Stevens and the Blackbird; Emily Dickinson and the Robin; Marianne Moore and the Frigate Pelican; Thomas Hardy and the Goldfinch; Sylvia Plath and the Pheasant; John Updike and the Seagull; Walt Whitman and the Eagle; Billy Collins and the Sparrow.
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231150873
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 288
Book Description
In this beautiful collection of poems and paintings, Billy Collins, former U.S. poet laureate, joins with David Allen Sibley, America's foremost bird illustrator, to celebrate the winged creatures that have inspired so many poets to sing for centuries. From Catullus and Chaucer to Robert Browning and James Wright, poets have long treated birds as powerful metaphors for beauty, escape, transcendence, and divine expression. Here, in this substantial anthology, more than one hundred contemporary and classic poems are paired with close to sixty original, ornithologically precise illustrations. Part poetry collection, part field guide, part art book, Bright Wings presents verbal and visual interpretations of the natural world and reminds us of our intimate connection to the "bright wings" around us. Each in their own way, these poems and pictures honor the enchanting creatures that have been, and continue to be, longtime collaborators with the poet's and painter's art. Poet and bird pairings include: Wallace Stevens and the Blackbird; Emily Dickinson and the Robin; Marianne Moore and the Frigate Pelican; Thomas Hardy and the Goldfinch; Sylvia Plath and the Pheasant; John Updike and the Seagull; Walt Whitman and the Eagle; Billy Collins and the Sparrow.
New World Blackbirds
Author: Alvaro Jaramillo
Publisher: Christopher Helm Publishers, Incorporated
ISBN: 9780713643336
Category : Blackbirds
Languages : en
Pages : 431
Book Description
A guide to the family Icteridae, known as blackbirds, troupials or New World Blackbirds. A diverse family, the Icterids range throughout the Americas, from Alaska to Cape Horn, and including the Caribbean. Despite the name blackbird", many of the 103 species covered in this book are very brightly coloured , and the group includes some of the most studied species in the world, Red-winged Blackbird and Brown-headed Cowbird for instance. This book depicts every species, showing races where relevant, and covering every aspect of the natural history and identification of the species treated. There are distribution maps and line drawings which illustrate aspects of bird behaviour."
Publisher: Christopher Helm Publishers, Incorporated
ISBN: 9780713643336
Category : Blackbirds
Languages : en
Pages : 431
Book Description
A guide to the family Icteridae, known as blackbirds, troupials or New World Blackbirds. A diverse family, the Icterids range throughout the Americas, from Alaska to Cape Horn, and including the Caribbean. Despite the name blackbird", many of the 103 species covered in this book are very brightly coloured , and the group includes some of the most studied species in the world, Red-winged Blackbird and Brown-headed Cowbird for instance. This book depicts every species, showing races where relevant, and covering every aspect of the natural history and identification of the species treated. There are distribution maps and line drawings which illustrate aspects of bird behaviour."