Podilymbus Podiceps Research Articles

The Nasal Mites of Birds from Louisiana. I. Dermanyssids (Rhinonyssinae) from Shore and Marsh Birds

New species, host records, and geographic records of nasal mites of several rhinonyssine genera (Dermanyssidae) are reported from aquatic and semiaquatic birds in Louisiana. Two new species, Rhinonyssus podilymbi from Podilymbus podiceps and Tinaminyssus neoixobrychi from Ixobrychus exilis, are described. New host records are established for Rhinonyssus rhinolethrum from Aix sponsa and Fulica americana, Rallinyssus verheyeni from Rallus elegans and R. limicola, Larinyssus orbicularis from Sterna hirundo, and Tinaminyssus belopolskii from Florida caerulea, Butorides virescens, and Leucophoyx thula. New geographic records are established for these mites as well as Rhinonyssus coniventris, R. himantopus, R. strandtmanni, Rallinyssus caudistigmus, and Tinaminyssus bubulci. The systematics, affinities, and host relationships of these genera and species are discussed. Nasal mites of North American birds have been the subject of numerous investigations (Brooks and Strandtmann, 1960; Clark, 1958, 1963, 1964; Fain and Hyland, 1963; Fain and Johnston, 1966; Furman, 1957; George, 1961; Hyland, 1961a, b, 1962; Hyland and Clark, 1959; Strandtmann, 1948, 1951, 1952, 1956a, b, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962; Strandtmann and Clifford, 1962; Strandtmann and Furman, 1956; Strandtmann and Wharton, 1958). However, there have been no published accounts of an intensive survey for these acarids in any region of this continent. In the present study, an effort was made to determine, as far as possible, the occurrence of mites of the families Dermanyssidae (Rhinonyssinae), Ereynetidae, and Epidermoptidae from the nasal passages of birds in Louisiana. This paper is concerned with the Rhinonyssinae, exclusive of the genus Sternostoma, from aquatic and semiaquatic birds. MATERIALS AND METHODS All birds were collected within a radius of 150 miles of New Orleans, Louisiana. Hosts were examined for nasal mites as quickly as possible after death according to the methods outlined by Fain (1956). Nasal mites were fixed alive in hot (70 to 80 C) 80% ethyl alcohol. This usually provided good extension of the legs and extrusion of the chelicera. Exfoliation of the cuticle or rupture of the specimens sometimes occurred when they were fixed at temperatures above 80 C. Specimens were stored in 80% ethyl alcohol at least a week. Mites were mounted directly from alcohol into Hoyer's medium on glass slides and Received for publication 5 August 1971. covered with 12-mm no. 0 cover slips. Some heavily sclerotized forms (Larinyssus, Rallinyssus) were cleared in warm lactic acid a few minutes prior to mounting. This procedure was avoided when possible since it often resulted in rupture of the specimens. Slides were placed in a drying oven at 40 C at least a week prior to ringing with 2 coats of fingernail polish and a final coat of Glyptol (G. C. Electronics, Rockford, Ill.). Specimens were examined with a compound light and phase contrast microscopes. Figures were made with the aid of a camera lucida. All measurements are in microns unless otherwise indicated. Designations used in the following descriptions are as follows and are taken largely from Fain and Hyland (1962a).

Feeding Interactions between Pied-Billed Grebes and Herons

Feeding Interactions between Pied-Billed Grebes and Herons

More on the giant pied-billed grebe of lake Atitlán, Guatemala

More on the giant pied-billed grebe of lake Atitlán, Guatemala

Osteology and Myology of the Head and Neck of the Pied-Billed Grebes (Podilymbus)

Osteology and Myology of the Head and Neck of the Pied-Billed Grebes (Podilymbus)

Specificity of a Black Fly, Simulium euryadminiculum Davies, toward its Host, the Common Loon

AbstractThe attraction of large numbers of the ornithophilic black fly, Simulium euryadminiculum Davies, to its host, the common loon, Gavia immer (Brünnich), to the place where the loon skin had been washed, and to a dried museum skin of the loon, is described. The fly was not attracted to museum skins of a pied-billed grebe, common merganser and herring gull. The data suggest a system of olfaction in host location, probably involving volatile, air-borne substances. It is possible that the colour or pattern on the head and neck of the loon serves to attract the fly to this area of the host.

Capturing Waterfowl and Marsh Birds at Night with Light and Sound

A combination of light and sound proved economical and practicable for capturing fullwinged and flightless waterfowl and other marsh birds at night. A total of 107 hours of effort resulted in the capture of 1,146 birds of 27 species at an average cost between 50 and 60 cents per bird. Weather had only a minor influence on success of capturing flightless birds, but full-winged birds were caught more easily on darker nights. Finding birds was a problem because they were not usually found at night in the areas frequented during the day. This method is particularly useful in capturing species which are difficult to trap by conventional means. Increasing interest in success at the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge in capturing full-winged as well as flightless waterfowl by night-lighting suggests that our methods and results be summarized. We are indebted to D. T. Coggeshall for the photographs used in the figures. The use of light and sound in catching waterfowl for commercial purposes and for banding has been described only briefly by Scott (1938), U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (1956), W. G. Leitch (1958), and Lindmeier and Jessen (1961). The reports deal chiefly with capture of flightless ducks. The first attempts to use this technique in our area were made in the fall of 1954, when O. H. Hewitt, C. W. Dane, and L. S. Smith, Montezuma Refuge Manager, caught several coots (Fulica americana) and 28 ducks of eight species, including full-winged redheads (Aythya americana) and ruddy ducks (Oxyura jamaicensus) in 4 hours at the refuge. A flat-bottomed aluminum punt with a 10-hp motor was used. Lighting equipment consisted of two, 300watt, reflector floodlights mounted on a hand-held T frame and powered by a 1,000-watt portable gasoline generator. The response of many birds to the brilliant glare of the floodlights and the ear-splitting racket of two gasoline engines running simultaneously was amazing. Some ducks, blackbirds, and herons fled when we were still some distance away, but the majority of marsh birds, including full-winged as well as flightless ducks, often remained until we were almost on top of them. Most of the ducks swam slowly away, very low in the water, but it was not difficult to approach within a few feet (Fig. 1) and to capture birds with a dip net. Pied-billed grebes (Podilymbus podiceps), coots, and shorebirds sometimes did not move away, but preened or walked slowly about in the glare of the lights (Fig. This content downloaded from 157.55.39.102 on Thu, 23 Jun 2016 05:21:15 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms CAPTURING WATERFOWL AT NIGHT * Cummings and Hewitt 121

Breeding Habits of the Pied-Billed Grebe in an Impounded Coastal Marsh in Louisiana

ALTHOUGH the Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) is a common winter visitor in Louisiana (G. H. Lowery, Louisiana birds, Baton Rouge, Louisiana State Univ. Press, 1960; p. 104), only a few remain through the summer and nest. Breeding of the species in Louisiana has been recorded mostly in the interior, although R. J. Newman (Aud. Field Notes, 9: 383, 1955) reported a nest in a large impounded freshwater marsh on Lacassine National Wildlife Refuge near the coast. In the spring of 1961, I found Pied-billed Grebes nesting in a small impoundment of brackish water on Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge. Virtually all previous reports of the nesting of this species refer to fresh water, although R. A. Miller (Cassinia, 32: 25, 1942), writing of the Philadelphia region, has already expressed the thought that the birds might nest under saline conditions where deep water without tidal fluctuation was found. Because nesting of this species has so seldom been noted along the Louisiana coast, and in view of the absence of previous records of nesting in brackish water, in Louisiana or elsewhere, I undertook this study, in which special attention was paid to breeding habits and success.

Observations of Pellet-Casting by Horned and Pied-Billed Grebes

Observations of Pellet-Casting by Horned and Pied-Billed Grebes

Pied-Billed Grebes Mistake Highway for Water

Pied-Billed Grebes Mistake Highway for Water

Status of Grebes in Eastern Washington

SINCE 1947, Eastern Washington has been the scene of an extensive program of waterfowl breeding ground surveys and studies. Incidental to these studies, the authors have collected rather extensive data concerning the status of the five species of grebes found in the state. They are Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis), Red-necked (Holboell's) Grebe (Podiceps grisegena holbollii), Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus cornutus), Eared Grebe (Podiceps caspicus californicus), and Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps podiceps).

North American Migrants in the State of Veracruz, Mexico: A Summary

PRIOR to the appearance of a comprehensive report, now in preparation, on the more than 700 forms of birds known from Veracruz, it seems desirable to summarize the present status there of migrants from the north. It is hoped that this summary may prove useful to students of North American and Mexican birds, and at the same time by revealing gaps in our knowledge of migratory birds in Veracruz, that it may stimulate further work in this interesting, readily accessible, region. Scope.-Essentially, this paper is limited to birds of the A.O.U. Check-List (4th ed., 1931, and nineteenth through twenty-eighth supplements) which have been found in Veracruz but are not known to breed there. All but two, Wilson's Petrel (Oceanites oceanicus) and the Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus), nest in North America. For completeness, I have included the following migratory forms whose breeding status in Veracruz remains to be determined: Eastern Least Bittern (Ixobrychus exilis exilis), Florida Common Gallinule (Gallinula chloropus cachinnans), Wilson's Thick-billed Plover (Charadrius wilsonia wilsonia), Northern Black Skimmer (Rynchops nigra nigra), and American Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica erythrogaster). Certain other species, for example the Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx ruficollis), have one or more migratory northern races and another form nesting in Veracruz. In such cases, I have listed the northern race(s) when represented by critically determined Veracruz specimens. Among the migratory or partially migratory North American forms omitted from this summary for the reason that their breeding in Veracruz is established or quite probable are the Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps subspecies?), Eastern Green Heron (Butorides virescens virescens), Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax hoactli), Yellow-crowned Night Heron (Nyctanassa violacea violacea), Masked Duck (Oxyura dominica), White-tailed Hawk (Buteo albicaudatus hypospodius), American Coot (Fulica americana americana), Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus), Western Burrowing Owl (Speotyto cunicularia hypugaea), and Eastern Varied Bunting (Passerina versicolor versicolor). I have tried to indicate each bird's relative abundance in Veracruz, and, where sufficient data exist, its altitudinal preference and season(s)

New Species of the Genus Schistotaenia, with a Key to the Known Species

During the summer of 1947, two of my students in a course in parasitology at the University of Minnesota Biological Station on Lake Itasca, Minnesota (Messrs. R. L. Butler and E. J. Smith), collected some specimens of Schistotaenia from a Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) taken on the prairies about 30 miles west of Lake Itasca. When it appeared that these worms constituted a new species, these students kindly supplied the writer with all the available specimens for study. Mr. Robert Rausch, at the University of Wisconsin, kindly supplied material belonging to this genus, which he had in his collection, for study and comparison. In this material are specimens from grebes in Ohio and Michigan collected by himself, and also some specimens sent to him by Van Cleave from the Illinois Natural History Survey. All of these specimens except those from one grebe taken near Greenville, Ohio, appear to be cospecific with the Minnesota specimens, although showing wide variation, between individual hosts, in width of the worms. The specimens from the Greenville grebe, however, are strikingly different, and represent a welldefined separate species.

Unusual Occurrences of Pied-Billed Grebes

Unusual Occurrences of Pied-Billed Grebes

Some Observations on the Amabiliid Cestode, Tatria duodecacantha Olsen, 1939

Some 33 specimens of an amabiliid tapeworm, herein identified as Tatria duodecacantha Olsen, 1939, were found in the intestine of a piedbilled grebe (the type host), Podilymbus podiceps (Linnaeus, 1758), collected near Stillwater, Oklahoma, in August 1939. The worms were fixed in Bouin's fluid, stained in borax carmine, and mounted in toto. When a manuscript in which the parasite was described as new was submitted to the JOURNAL OF PARASITOLOGY, the writer was informed of Olsen's description then in press. Later, a direct comparison of the writer's specimens with paratypes of T. duodecacantha revealed the conspecificity of the two lots. In general the author's findings are in complete agreement with those of Olsen. Because of certain differences in interpretation the writer feels justified in offering for publication his drawings (Figs. 1-7) originally intended to illustrate a new species, his comment upon two differences in observation, and a new key to the species of Tatria to include T. fuhrmranni, unfortunately overlooked by Olsen.

A New Species of Trematode, Diasia podilymbae (Opisthorchiidae), from the Pied-Billed Grebe, Podilymbus podiceps (Linn.)

From the mesenteries of a pied-billed grebe, a number of mediumsized trematodes was collected by Mr. J. F. Bell of the Bacteriology Department of the University of Minnesota who sent them to the writer for identification. They were found to constitute an undescribed species of the genus Diasia Travassos, 1922. Ova discharged into the retaining mesenteries had been ingested by the flukes thus densely packing their digestive tracts with them. The genus Diasia as erected by Travassos was monospecific with D. diasi Travassos, 1922, as the type. Subsequent inclusion of additional species requires some slight emendation of the generic concept which is herewith given in its revised form.

Notes on the Winter Birds of Central Arkansas

PULASKI County is the centralmost county of Arkansas. The topography of the county is quite diversified. While a goodly portion of the area is given up to the city of Little Rock there are still many wooded sections in the northern part of the county and more or less bald cypress is to be found in the river bottoms of the southeastern portion. The Arkansas River enters the county at the northwestern corner and snakes its crooked way across the county finally making its exit at the southeastern corner. In the western part of the county lies an area of pine-clad hills where Pine Warblers and Kinglets were found in numbers while the eastern part of the county is mainly given up to cultivated fields where such species as the Prairie Horned Lark were found. The Arkansas River supplies many water bird records. In Prairie and Arkansas Counties, lying to the east of Pulaski County, is located the state's great rice growing territory and it is here that vast numbers of wild ducks congregate for the winter. Here is to be found one of the greatest duck hunting sections of the United States. The writer spent the winter of 1924-1925 in Little Rock and spent considerable time exploring the surrounding country. My field trips covered most of Pulaski County but as I also have numerous records for the surrounding counties it seems advisable to include these as I believe my list to be truly representative of the winter bird life of central Arkansas. Unless otherwise stated the localities given are in Pulaski County, and the dates, unless otherwise noted, refer to the winter of 19241925, that is the months of December, 1924 and January, February and March of 1925. Colymbus auritus. HORNED GREBE.-One observed at Willow Beach on January 29. Podilymbus podiceps. PIED-BILLED GREBE.-Single birds observed at different times in many localities. Anhinga anhinga. WATER TuRKEY.-One observed in the Arkansas River east of Little Rock on March 13.

AN ECOLOGICAL STUDY OF CARTAGENA LAGOON, PORTO RICO, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE BIRDS

A total of 105 species of birds are found at Cartagena Lagoon and its immediate vicinity. Of these, 42 are migrants from North America. Another 42 species breed there either regularly or occasionally. Two of these (Progne dominicensis and Vircosylva c. calidris) breed in Porto Rico but winter in South America, and it is possible that a third species (Himantopus mexicanus) does likewise. Twenty-one species come to the lagoon only to feed, though breeding in other parts of the Island. An average of 36 species of birds per day were recorded at the lagoon. The largest day's list was 48 species on April 11, 1924, and the smallest 26 species on August 13, 1924 (when the lagoon was nearly dry). The largest list in t he fall was 45 species on September 30, 1924. Of the 42 species of birds breeding at or in the immediate vicinity of the lagoon, 19 might be called typical lagoon species. Nine of these are entirely dependent upon the marsh for food and shelter, while 10 visit it primarily for food. Three of the ten, namely, Poecilonetta b. bahamensis, Butorides virescens maculatus and Oxyechus vociferus rubidus, visit it because they show a preference for marsh conditions and aquatic food. The other seven occur at the lagoon because of the abundance of food found there rather than on account of any special preference for marsh conditions or aquatic food. In this class I would include Zenaida zenaida lucida, Chaemepelia passerina trochila, Crotophaga ani, Tyrannus d. dominicensis, Agelaius xanthomus, Holoquiscalus niger brachypterus and Dendroica petechia bartholomica. Although some of these birds, namely, Zenaida zenaida lucida, Holoquiscalus n. brachypterus and Dendroica p. bartholomica, nest more or less regularly in the marsh, there are no birds which appear to visit the marsh primarily for shelter. Of the 9 species which are entirely dependant upon the marsh for food and shelter, Colymbus d. dominicus is almost entirely restricted to the cat-tail zone, and Podilymbus podiceps antillarum to the open-water association. Frismatura alleni prefers the sedge and cat-tail zones for nesting. Ixobrychus e. exilis is entirely restricted to the cat-tails for breeding. Porzana flaviventris is found chiefly among the cat-tails and sedges, but its nesting habits are unknown. Gallinula chloropus portoricensis and Fulica caribaea major are chiefly birds of the cat-tail, sedge and grass associations, while Ionornis martinicus prefers the cat-tails for nesting. Himantopus mexicanus prefers the grass association, but it is very adaptable, and establishes it self in almost any zone when it is molested in another.

Breeding of the Pied-Billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) near State College, Center Co., Pa.

Breeding of the Pied-Billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) near State College, Center Co., Pa.

Our Book Shelf

COUNTY lists of birds are still the order of the day. First we have Mr. Mansel-Pleydell's book on the Ornithology of Dorsetshire, a very neat little volume, compiled evidently with the greatest care. The author's long acquaintance with the country and his well-known love of natural history have rendered him the most competent authority on the subject, and he has been aided by many well-known naturalists in supplying him with instances of the capture of rare birds, so that the list is a very complete one. The inevitable Great Black Woodpecker (Picus martius) of course appears, on Pulteney's authority, but no recent specimen is extant, nor is likely to be. The Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps), which was first recorded by ourselves as a British bird, is placed between brackets, and considered to be “extremely doubtful” by the author. All we can say is that we should not have been godfather to the specimen, to add one more doubtful species to the already overburdened British list, unless we had felt tolerably certain of its authenticity, while the fact of the specimen being immature renders its occurrence as a chance wanderer much more probable than if it had been an adult bird in breeding-plumage. The bird has ten times more claim to a place amongst our stragglers than such species as Picus medius, Pycnonotus barbatus, and dozens of others. A most interesting history is given of the celebrated swannery at Abbotsbury, with a photographic plate, in which the birds are well depicted, but the keeper's face lacks expression! Some pretty woodcuts by Mr. Lodge are interspersed in the text. The author informs us that Puffinus obscurus (p. 113) should be P. griseus. The Birds of Dorsetshire: A Contribution to the Natural History of the County. By J. C. Mansel-Pleydell, &c. 8vo. pp. i–xvi., 1–179. (London and Dorchester: R. H. Porter, 1888.) Notes on the Birds of Herefordshire, contributed by Members of the Woolhope Club. Collected and Arranged by the late Henry Graves Bull., &c. pp. i–xxxii., 1–274. (London and Hereford: Jakeman and Carver, 1888.)