Natural History Of Birds Research Articles

J. A. Leach’s

An Australian Bird Book by J. A. Leach, published in 1911, was the first field guide to Australia’s avifauna. Unlike today’s field guides, it was not tightly focussed on identification, instead devoting more than half its words to an expansive dissertation on the natural history of birds. This article scrutinises and contextualises Leach’s Bird Book to illuminate some of the interconnections between science, birdwatching, recreation and conservation in early twentieth-century Australia. It shows how Leach’s heavy weighting on natural history was integral to his promotion of birdwatching as an edifying recreation that would lead people not merely to be able to name the birds they saw but also, more importantly, to understand, cherish and protect them.

Chipe encapuchado (Setophaga citrina) y otros registros notables de aves de Guerrero, México

Presentamos una lista de registros de distribución notable para 12 especies de aves en el estado de Guerrero, México, las cuáles observamos y colectamos durante el trabajo de campo llevado a cabo de 2006-2013 en diferentes ambientes del estado. Uno de los registros (Setophaga citrina) es nuevo para el estado, y otras cinco especies (e.g., Pelecanus erythrorynchos, Mycteria americana, Setophaga dominica) ampliaron su distribución geográfica a una provincia biótica donde su presencia no había sido previamente registrada. Confirmamos la presencia de otras seis especies (e.g., Elanus leucurus, Setophaga palmarum) con escasa información distribucional. Los registros presentados en esta nota científica muestran la importancia de continuar el trabajo de inventario en ambientes inexplorados e incluso en áreas que aparentemente están bien documentadas. Este tipo de información junto con estudios sobre la biogeografía, taxonomía y ecología, ayudarán a comprender mejor la historia natural de las aves y su conservación.

Up and away the fishes flew

Up and away the fishes flew

Stomach contents of some poorly known Brazilian birds with focus on species from the Caatinga biome

Studies on feeding biology comprise one of the most basic knowledge about natural history of birds. Here, we report detailed descriptions of the stomach contents of 12 species ( Eupsittula cactorum, Neomorphus geoffroyi, Picumnus pygmaeus, Synallaxis hellmayri, Megaxenops parnaguae, Myrmorchilus strigilatus, Hylopezus ochroleucus, Herpsilochmus sellowi, Formicivora serrana, Scytalopus speluncae, Arremon franciscanus and Lanio pileatus ). Most species are from the Caatinga biome and many have none or vague information about their diet. We report consumption of soil from termite nest by E. cactorum , almost exclusively arachnids including large spiders for N. g. dulcis , a diverse composition of arthropods for S. speluncae , and the unrecorded importance of Isoptera for F. serrana . Finally, we briefly discuss the importance of some items such as Isoptera, Formicidae, Coleoptera and Lepidoptera larvae in the diet of most birds from the Caatinga biome.

“The absurdity of animals having the passions and the faculties of man”: Charlotte Smith’s Fables (1807)

In both The Natural History of Birds and Beachy Head; with Other Poems, Charlotte Smith includes bird‐poems cast as fables in which she portrays elements of her own personal and poetical history. Signalling her indebtedness to past fabulists like La Fontaine, Pilpay (Bidpai), and Aesop, she recreates their vignettes as dark tales of spousal betrayal, neglect and abuse, self‐deception, and overweening vanity. Smith’s fables thus move beyond their source material, exploring with psychological depth not only the base emotions of others but also past representations of herself.

The origin of modern ornithology in Europe

During the nineteenth century and into the early twentieth century, ornithology was deeply subdivided into systematic ornithology and field ornithology (natural history of birds). In the early 1920s, Erwin Stresemann (1889–1972) in Berlin, Germany, initiated the integration of both branches into a unified New Avian Biology through a change of the editorial policy of Journal für Ornithologie and through the publication of his large volume Aves (1927–1934) in Handbuch der Zoologie which became the founding document of modern ornithology in central Europe (“Stresemann revolution”). It was quickly recognized that birds are well suited for studies into the problems of functional morphology, physiology, ecology, behaviour, and orientation of animals. The “Stresemann revolution” went unnoticed in Great Britain, where the established editorial policy of the leading ornithological journal, The Ibis, from the 1920s to the mid-1940s was to publish articles based on a traditional definition of science, fact-gathering rather than answering open questions. Several authors who had published biological studies since 1900 remained on the fringes of British ornithology. One of these was David Lack (1910–1973) who, during the mid-1940s, was able to introduce the New Avian Biology to the United Kingdom against the resistance of the majority of conservatively minded older British ornithologists. As his own contributions to the New Avian Biology, Lack added the broad fields of evolutionary ecology and population biology of birds which, under his leadership, became the major research topics of the Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology at the University of Oxford.

In Memoriam: Donald Wakeham Lamm, 1914-1996

Donald W. Lamm was born 14 September 1914 in Washington, D.C., and died 2 December 1996 in Tucson, Arizona, after a long illness. Donald joined the AOU in 1941 and became an Elective Member in 1977. He developed a lifelong interest in birds at an early age when he came under the influence of Alexander Wetmore, specifically using Wetmore's method of keeping field notes and collecting specimens. Donald was a career diplomat in the U.S. State Department until his retirement in 1964, when he settled in Tucson. He spent nearly his entire service abroad, choosing assignments to further his interest in ornithology. Postings included Japan (1936 to 1942; he was interned in Japan at the beginning of the war), Receife, Brazil (1943 to 1947), Australia (1947 to 1949, 1960 to 1964), Mozambique (1950 to 1952), and Ghana (1955 to 1957). He traveled abroad extensively, always with the purpose of observing birds. His adventures resulted in several papers on the distribution, abundance, and natural history of birds of Brazil, Ghana, Mozambique, Australia, Mexico, and Columbia, which were published in Auk, Emu, Ostrich, and Condor. Of particular interest are Contribution to the Study of the Ornithology of Sul do Save (Mozambique) with A.A. da Rosa Pinto (1953-1960, Parts I-IV, Memorias do Museu Dr. Alvaro de Castro) and Notes on the Birds of the States of Pernambuco and Paraiba, Brazil (Auk 65:261-283). In effect, he spent a lifetime carefully documenting avian diversity. During his retired years he remained active in the field. He participated in the banding study, initiated by Charles E. Cochran and with Phillip M. Walters, at the private Tanque Verde Guest Ranch, Tucson, for 23 years. He worked with Stephen M. Russell in Sonora, Mexico, for more than 20 years and continued to travel and work abroad (e.g. Colombia). Donald was a welcome and valued member of the Advanced Ornithology classes at the University of Arizona and always an eager participant in field trips. He maintained his detailed field notes until only recently, arising nearly every day at 0500 to write. Donald is survived by his son, Peter; two daughters, Judy and Susan; 10 grandchildren; and 5 great-grandchildren. His memories and example are with all of us who spent time with him in the field birding and around the campfire.

Thomas Jefferson and American Biology

work credits him with virtually nothing in the field; the 1974 edition makes brief references to his interest in agricultural affairs-no more. It need not surprise us that a political leader and statesman might excel in one or more segments of biology, for history is replete with examples of intellectual captains of great movements in politics, theology, literature, and philosophy who did. Even military leaders have made outstanding contributions to the development of biology. Goethe (1749-1832), renowned in literature, made significant discoveries in vertebrate anatomy and in the philosophy of plant growth and morphology. Frederick II (1194-1250), absolute monarch of the Holy Roman Empire, wrote expertly on the anatomy and natural history of birds.

Wing, Leonard W. Natural History of Birds. New York (15 East 26th Street): The Ronald Press Company, 1956. 539 P. $6.75

Science EducationVolume 41, Issue 4 p. 343-343 Book Review Wing, Leonard W. Natural History of Birds. New York (15 East 26th Street): The Ronald Press Company, 1956. 539 P. $6.75 First published: October 1957 https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.3730410467AboutPDF 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 onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume41, Issue4October 1957Pages 343-343 RelatedInformation

Natural History of Birds. A Guide to Ornithology.Leonard W. Wing

<i>Natural History of Birds. A Guide to Ornithology.</i>Leonard W. Wing

Book Reviews

THE author of this book has culled from many standard works on the folklore of peoples such myths, legends and fairy tales as relate to birds, and has recast them in simple language suitable for children. The result is a series of quite charming tales, delightfully told, which, in the pleasant guise of fable, include a considerable measure of true and salient facts about the form, habits and natural history of birds. Primitive man was always a close observer of natural things, and the myths which centre round natural phenomena are merely his attempts to find reasons for things which he could not otherwise explain.

The natural history of birds.

The natural history of birds.

Natural History of BirdsNatural History of Birds. Lectures on Ornithology.Grace Anna Lewis

Previous articleNext article FreeReviewsNatural History of Birds Natural History of Birds. Lectures on Ornithology. Grace Anna Lewis J. A. A.J. A. A. Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The American Naturalist Volume 2, Number 10Dec., 1868 Published for The American Society of Naturalists Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/270308 Views: 31Total views on this site PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.