British Birds Research Articles

The effects of organochlorine compounds on British birds of prey.

The effects of organochlorine compounds on British birds of prey.

British birds: Peregrines prey to nest thieves

British birds: Peregrines prey to nest thieves

Haematozoa of British birds

Haematozoa of British birds

A Correction Factor Table for Missing Point‐Center Quarter Data

EcologyVolume 62, Issue 2 p. 491-494 Article A Correction Factor Table for Missing Point-Center Quarter Data William Warde, William WardeSearch for more papers by this authorJames W. Petranka, James W. PetrankaSearch for more papers by this author William Warde, William WardeSearch for more papers by this authorJames W. Petranka, James W. PetrankaSearch for more papers by this author First published: 01 April 1981 https://doi.org/10.2307/1936723Citations: 55AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume62, Issue2April 1981Pages 491-494 RelatedInformation

Wintering Blackcaps in Britain and Ireland

Despite the severity of the 1978/79 winter, at least 1,714 Blackcaps were reported during a special survey; these were heavily concentrated in western and south-western counties. An increase over recent decades in the numbers of Blackcaps wintering in Britain and Ireland is correlated with expansion of north European breeding populations and with a rise in numbers of autumn migrants passing through British east coast bird observatories. Successful overwintering here is attributed to the way the birds have adapted to taking artificial foods at garden bird tables.

The effects of the 1978/79 winter on British bird populations

The effects of the 1978/79 winter on British bird populations

Polychlorinated naphthalenes, polychlorinated biphenyls and ΣDDT residues in British birds of prey

Tissue samples (muscle, liver and kidney) from small raptors (kestrels) have been extracted by steam extraction into hexane and the levels of ΣDDT, PCB, PCN and PCT determined by carbon skeleton-gas chromatography. A 3% palladium catalyst, and a 2% RbCl salt column coupled to a mass spectrometer were used for the determination. Significant quantities of ΣDDT and PCBs were found in all samples. Only trace amounts of PCTs were found. The relative concentrations of ΣDDT and PCB may be rationalised with the environment from which the sample was taken.

Resource variation and the structure of British bird communities

Data on the foraging microhabitats of British birds are reanalyzed with the aim of understanding how fluctuations in resource abundance affect niche relationships and community structure. At Marley Wood, overlap in the foraging sites of resident bird species increased during the late spring and summer and decreased during the fall and winter. Among bird species coexisting in the pine forests at Thetford Chase, spatial overlap and spatial niche widths were positively correlated with food abundance over a 4-year period. These results suggest that in variable environments similarity in spatial niches is an inverse function of the intensity of competition for food. As food supplies drop, consumer species must apparently occupy increasingly different foraging areas in order to coexist. In less variable environments, however, resource stability may allow finer partitioning of the available foraging space and greater spatial overlap within a given foraging area. The results of this paper also suggest a reinterpretation of MacArthur's study of resource partitioning among warbler species in the boreal forests of New England. Rather than providing an instance of niche segregation in order to avoid intense competition, MacArthur's warblers may actually represent another example of increased spatial similarity when food resources are abundant and competition is reduced.

Inhabitants of avian skin with special reference to ectoparasitic infestations and diseases of poultry skin

SynopsisEctoparasites of poultry in the United Kingdom are reviewed. Mention is made of poultry ectoparasites occurring in other parts of the world and of some ectoparasites of British birds. In south west Scotland ectoparasite infestations appear to have decreased following the intensification of the poultry industry. Occasional outbreaks of Dermanyssus gallinae, the red mite and Ceratophyllus gallinae, the hen flea have occurred in modern poultry units. Cases of louse infestation with Menacanthus stramineus have also been observed from farmyard chickens and bantams. The damage caused by ectoparasites and their role in disease transmission is discussed.Skin diseases of poultry caused by bacteria, fungi and viruses are reviewed. Skin conditions not induced by trauma are extremely rare in south west Scotland. Traumatic induced skin diseases still occur in modern poultry units and are associated with fighting or the use of poor materials in the structure of the house. Cases of staphylococcal wound infection and staphylococcal arthritis have been observed in poultry units where poor quality wire netting or hard spiky litter have been used as floor materials. Mention is also made of two pigeon diseases, pigeon pox and canker.

Haematozoa of British birds IV. Blood parasites of birds from Wales

Haematozoa of British birds IV. Blood parasites of birds from Wales

Salmonellosis in wild birds feeding at sewage treatment works.

Between June 1976 and August 1977 faeces were collected from 599 wild British birds caught during ringing operations at two sewage treatment works in south-east England. Samples were incubated with selenite-F broth to detect the presence of Salmonella. Salm. anatum was isolated from one bird, a Dunnock Prunella modularis an incidence of 0.17% of the total birds examined and 3.23% of the Dunnocks. Comparisons are drawn with previously reported studies and it is suggested that sewage treatment works play little part in the transmission of Salmonella infections to wild birds feeding there.

Haematozoa of British birds

Haematozoa of British birds

Haematozoa of British birds

(1977). Haematozoa of British birds. Journal of Natural History: Vol. 11, No. 6, pp. 597-600.

Polychlorinated terphenyls (PCT) in some British birds.

The samples which contained the highest amounts of PCT also contained the higher amounts of PCB, but the amounts of the latter were 1 to 2 orders of magnitude greater, possibly reflecting the relative usage of the polychlorinated materials. The relative amounts of the perchlorinated ortho-, meta- and para-isomers of terphenyl are of interest. Three peaks were detected on GLC; the identities of these, in order of increasing retention times, were assigned by DOGUCHI et al (1974) to the ortho-, para- and meta-isomers respectively. Their identity was confirmed during the present work by perchlorination of the respective terphenyl isomers. The ratios of the areas of the perchlorinated isomers in the standard preparation of PCT were ortho:para, 0.8 to 1 and meta:para, 1.4 to 1. With the exception of only one sample — a Barn Owl liver — the ratios for the sample extracts were all lower than those for the standard. DOGUCHI et al (1974) showed a similar result in their chromatogram of a Japanese human fat extract. This may be an indication that the ortho- and meta-isomers may be degraded more rapidly in the environment than the para-isomer; experiments showed that there was no change in the ratio of the isomers when the standard material was put through the complete method. It is hoped that further work with a wider variety of bird species may help to clarify the situation.

Breeding, Mortality and Movements of Kingfishers

The Kingfisher has an extended breeding season (more than half the year) and each pair needs to raise one-and-a-half young annually on average to compensate for the high juvenile and adult mortality rates, which exceed 75%. Movements of British and Continental birds are compared.

The Migration of the Pied Flycatcher from and through Britain

Analysis of British bird observatories' data and the ringing recoveries of the European schemes shows that Pied Flycatchers from the whole of their range have a ‘fattening ground’ in Iberia where they prepare for the trans-Saharan crossing. British birds may fly direct to Spain and Portugal.

British Birds of Prey, by Leslie Brown. Collins, New Naturalist, £6.

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A Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs, and Nestlings of British and European Birds

A Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs, and Nestlings of British and European Birds

A Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of British and European Birds. Colin Harrison

Previous articleNext article No AccessNew Biological BooksA Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of British and European Birds. Colin Harrison Dennis PulestonDennis Puleston Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The Quarterly Review of Biology Volume 51, Number 4Dec., 1976 Published in association with Stony Brook University Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/409660 Copyright 1976 Stony Brook Foundation, Inc.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

BREEDING BEHAVIOUR OF OSPREYS PANDION HALIAETUS IN SCOTLAND

SUMMARYOspreys Pandion haliaetus nested at a site near Loch Garten, Inverness‐shire continuously from 1959 to 1973. Each year the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has organized a continuous watch on the eyrie in the breeding season. The detailed records kept of the activities of Ospreys at the nest by those participating in the watch were analysed and the results presented here.Ospreys are migratory and arrived in the breeding area in early April. Nesting material was usually added to an existing eyrie platform. The male collected more material than the female. The female lined the nest cup. The extent of nest building activity and the frequencies of mating and other activities prior to laying varied markedly from year to year. These differences may have been related to changes in the identity of the nesting female, but the birds were not individually marked. Both sexes incubated but the female took the greater share and normally incubated at night. When the young hatched they were brooded by the female. The female stayed in the vicinity of the nest for most of the time until the young fledged at about 53 days old. The male Osprey caught almost all the fish eaten by his mate and young during the breeding season. The number of fish caught per day increased markedly after the young hatched. Pike Esox lucius and Trout Salmo trutta were the main species taken, and some Rainbow Trout Salmo gairdnerii were identified. There were seasonal and diurnal changes in the size and the species composition of the catch. The effects of weather conditions on hunting are examined. The occurrence of Ospreys other than the resident birds at the nest site is described.The behaviour of another pair of Ospreys which repeatedly failed to hatch eggs is described. There was an instance of egg eating in this pair, and some differences in behaviour were found between these birds and those at Loch Garten whose breeding success was good.The breeding biology of Ospreys is compared with that of other British diurnal birds of prey. In other species the female leaves the young unguarded at some stage in the nestling period and hunts food for them, whereas female Ospreys do not usually hunt in the nesting period.