April 2015

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Remembering Herman D'Entremont

Wed, 01 Apr 2015 00:00:00 GMT

Herman D’Entremont on his 80th birthday (Photograph courtesy of the author).

It was around 1960 when a young man out hunting saw something beautiful at the other end of his sights. Wanting to learn more about the birds he was hunting, Herman almost stumbled upon a group of birdwatchers called the Brookline Bird Club. I think he found them in the Boston Globe, which announced a bird walk at Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Concord led by a teenager named Peter Alden. Herman soon discovered there were more birds than ducks. They made sounds, too. He traded his gun for binoculars and a telescope.

During the 60s he was a quick learner and hobnobbed with the best birders of the times at what became his favorite birding spot—Plum Island and adjacent Newburyport. In a short time, he was leading trips and helping out beginners as the leaders before did with him. Herman became one of the elite, one of those whom beginners, intermediates, and even experts would ask for an opinion and receive an accurate answer.

Herman’s hearing was excellent, still very good into his 80s, and he had a good command of bird song. He could identify most of the birds he heard. This came at a time when one had to learn song the old-fashioned way—by chasing down the sound and seeing its source. During the late ’60s, ’70s, and early ’80s there were none better. He was in company of such notables as Nancy and Alden Clayton, Ruth Emery, Stella Garrett, Ida Giriunas, Dick and Dora Hale, Warren Harrington, Larry Jodrey, Dennis and David Oliver, Evelyn Pyburn, Rod Sommers, Gerry Soucy, and Herman Weissberg, just to name a few.

He volunteered his time not only as a leader but also as a board member of the Brookline Bird Club for over 20 years and of Bird Observer of Eastern Massachusetts (now Bird Observer) for about 20 years. He authored the first "Where to Go Birding" in Bird Observer—“A Good Day at Cape Ann”—in 1973. (Reprinted on page 89). Herman also was program chairman of the now defunct Needham Bird Club for almost 30 years and assisted at the banding station at Manomet.

Herman gave of himself as well. He would take young and new birders to all corners of the state. Once he moved to Somerville, he befriended visiting birders by opening his home for them to stay and then going birding in their free time. Herman traveled extensively to all parts of the continent and the world. He birded in all 50 states, going to Hawaii in his 81st year.

His work with novice birders, young or old, was second to none. His quiet demeanor drew people toward him and he would always help locate birds for those having difficulty or not recognizing bird song. If he knew you had not seen a bird, he tried hard to get you on it. Always the patient birder, he would stay just five more minutes to locate what others had passed by.

Over the years the birding community has not had a better ambassador. A lot of us are probably in it because of Herman or someone like him.

Glenn D’Entremont is the nephew of Herman D’Entremont.

Editor’s Note: Herman D’Entremont was one of the founding members of Bird Observer, which was originally called Bird Observer of Eastern Massachusetts. Herman wrote the .ftrst Bird Observer article about where to find birds, reprinted in this issue, from Volume 1 Issue 1, Jan.–Feb. 1973.

A Good Day at Cape Ann

Wed, 01 Apr 2015 00:00:00 GMT

Returning to Gloucester, I saw a small flock of Snow buntings in Stage Fort Park. Near the famous Fisherman’s Statue there were Great cormorant, Horned grebe, Common eider, and more Common goldeneye. This is also a good spot to search for wintering Barrow’s goldeneye and white-winged gulls.

At the intersection of Rtes. 127 and 128, I turned right onto East Main Street, the scenic shore drive, toward Eastern Point. Approaching this landmark, one fines two stone pillars with a sign that states that this area is private. A guard is stationed here in summer, and if a birder is stopped he should say that he is going to the Massachusetts Audubon Society sanctuary at Eastern Point; your membership card may be necessary.

This road follows the shore to the right for 1.4 miles, through a second set of pillars to a parking lot at the Coast Guard station, where a sign painted on a rock tells this is for the M.A.S. Note the breakwater extending from the Coast Guard station southward into Gloucester harbor.

Though it was bitter cold and windy, I walked to the end of breakwater, and was rewarded with: Horned grebe, Common loon, Great cormorant, Common eider, Razorbill, Thick-billed murre, Bufflehead, Red-breasted merganser, Dovekie, Purple sandpiper, and Black guillemot. A short-eared owl even flew overhead toward land. Alcids and an owl in the same place!

Driving back toward the stone pillars, I stopped at Nile’s Pond. Depending on the weather and the ice on the pond, one can find Glaucous and Iceland gulls mixed in with the Black-backs and Herrings. Before reaching the pillars, I turned right onto S-shaped Bemo Avenue to a beach called Brace’s Cove. The rocks of both sides of the cove’s entrance hold food for Purple sandpipers. On the beach were Killdeer, Dunlin, and Sanderling; on the water, gulls – Iceland, Bonaparte’s, Ring-billed, Black-backed, and the ever-present Herrings. This place is also frequented by Horned and Red-necked grebes, loons, scoters, and other sea ducks.

One should continue northward toward Rockport along Atlantic Road; a small pine grove on the right often shelters Red and White-winged crossbills. Many sea ducks congregate in the frequent inlets along this rocky coast. At one such place, called Bass Rocks, opposite Windmere Road and the Moorland Motor Inn, an Eared grebe has been seen for eight consecutive years. He was not here today, but Horned grebes and Buffleheads were.

I continued along Atlantic Road until it joined Route 127A, Thatcher Road, which I followed to Rockport town limits. I then turned right along Marmion Way. An old Coast Guard tower stands on a rocky ledge at "Straitsmouth" where one can find wintering Alcids, Grebes, and both Common and King eiders.

Just a couple of hundred feet offshore is Straitsmouth Island, owned by M.A.S. There I hoped to see a Snowy owl or Sparrow Hawk. A flock of King eiders wintered there in 1970–71, and for two weeks in January, 1970, a Red phalarope was seen.

Driving on, I turned right onto Oldgarden Road, where there is a little park at the intersection of Marraden Avenue. There I looked for Red-necked and Horned grebes as well as Iceland gulls. Farther on I turned left at Norwood Avenue then right at Highland to Mount Pleasant Street, which is 127A to Rockport Center.

The Rockport Fishpier, at the foot of Broadway, is favored by Alcids and White- winged gulls, but I continued along Route 127 toward Pigeon Cover. After passing the Cape Ann Tool Co., I turned right onto U-shaped Philips Avenue and continued straight through the next intersection. Past the Waldo Emerson Inn is a stone slope where a Rock wren stayed for four weeks, December 1965 to January 1966. But in any year this location is a good overlook for Barrow’s goldeneyes, Red-necked grebes, and other sea ducks.

Returning to the intersection, I made a right at Philips Avenue and continued to bear right to Point Dechene Avenue, which leads to Andrews Point. Another right brought me to a stone wall and a view of a rocky point where one or two Black guillemots usually winter. Here, too, all the Alcids have been found at one time or another. This site is excellent during northeasters, when Kittiwakes, Shearwaters, Gannets, Phalaropes, Jaegers, and Leach’s petrels, among others, can be blown by. Yet it is a good idea to check all the overlooks around Andrew’s Point in any weather.

Now I continued along Route 127 toward Gloucester via Annisquam, arriving at the Locust Grove Cemetery. Turning right at the second entrance to the cemetery, across from a Texaco gas station, I parked near a small building. By climbing a knoll adjacent to the right side of the road, I could peer directly across the road into a hole about 30 feet high, in the crook of a large branch. There, as he has been for five years, was the resident Screech owl.

It was getting late. As I turned homeward along route 127, I began to think of the many fine restaurants in the Rockport-Gloucester area, a fitting way to celebrate a fine day of winter birding. For the hardy, yes, but a way to turn our “poorest” season into one of the best.

A Commemoration of Birders at Mount Auburn Cemetery

Wed, 01 Apr 2015 00:00:00 GMT

Oakes Ingalls Ames 1893–1970 (Begonia Path)

Ames was the president of Mount Auburn Cemetery from 1934–1963 and again from 1967–1968. He was also a director of the Massachusetts Audubon Society. With lifelong interests in horticulture and conservation, he recognized and developed Mount Auburn’s resources as an arboretum and a bird sanctuary, and oversaw the cemetery’s restoration following the hurricane of 1938 with those resources in mind.

Francis Parkman Atkinson 1851–1874 (Palm Avenue)

Atkinson was one of the nine original members of the Nuttall Ornithological Club.

Outram Bangs 1863–1932 (Woodbine Path)

Bangs was elected a member of the Nuttall Ornithological Club in 1880. As a young man, he was known to his fellows as a boxer and a keen quail shooter, and admired for his dazzling waistcoats. As a curator of mammals and curator of birds at Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ), he built collections of worldwide fame, including a contribution of 24,000 of his own specimens. William E. Davis Jr. wrote about him in “Outram Bangs and the Creation of a World-Class Bird Collection at Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology” in Bird Observer December 1997.

Thomas Barbour 1884–1946 (Excelsior Path)

Professor of zoology at Harvard and director of the MCZ, Barbour was one of the foremost American naturalists of his time, specializing in herpetology but also a great generalist. He was a member of the Nuttall Ornithological Club and author of several books, including The Birds of Cuba (1923) and Cuban Ornithology (1943). William E. Davis Jr. wrote about him in “Thomas Barbour: The Last of the Gentleman Naturalists” in Bird Observer October 2001.

Charles Foster Batchelder 1856–1954 (Excelsior Path)

Batchelder was elected a member of the Nuttall Ornithological Club in 1877, and was a founder of the New England Zoological Club in 1899. He was an associate in mammalogy and ornithology at the MCZ and author of An Account of the Nuttall Ornithological Club 1873 to 1919 (1937). William E. Davis Jr. featured him in “He Spanned Two Eras: Charles Foster Batchelder, Last of the ‘Shotgun’ Ornithologists” in Bird Observer February 1999.

Thomas Mayo Brewer 1814–1880 (Yarrow Path)

Brewer was an early ornithologist and a friend of Thomas Nuttall and John James Audubon, who named Brewer’s Blackbird after him; his friend John Cassin similarly honored him in the naming of Brewer’s Sparrow. He was the editor of a revised edition of Wilson’s American Ornithology (1840), and author of North American Oölogy (1857) and A History of North American Birds (with Spencer Fullerton Baird and Robert Ridgway, 1874). He was a trustee of Mount Auburn, 1870–1880, and was elected a member of the Nuttall Ornithological Club in 1876.

William Brewster, July 5, 1851 - July 11, 1919. "For, lo the winter is past, the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come."

William Brewster 1851–1919 (Larch Avenue)

Brewster was the founder of the Nuttall Ornithological Club in 1873 and the American Ornithologists’ Union (AOU) in 1884. The first president of the Massachusetts Audubon Society (1896), he also amassed one of the best collections of North American birds, which is now at the MCZ. He authored almost 300 papers and the book Birds of Cambridge Region (1906). Selections from his journals were published as October Farm (1936) and Concord River (1937). He was an early conservationist who understood the importance of preserving habitat. His studies of the Cambridge landscape were discussed by Michael W. Strohbach, Paige S. Warren, and Andrew Hrycyna in “‘Saturday, April 28th, 1866: Saw The First Chimney Swallow Today.’ 150 Years of Bird Observation In Western Cambridge” in Bird Observer August 2014, and his writings were showcased in a series of articles compiled by Robert H. Stymeist titled “Gleanings from the Journal of William Brewster” in Bird Observer October 2003 through October 2004.

Zebedee Cook Jr. 1786–1858 (Rose Path)

Cook was a horticulturist and a founding member of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society in 1829, as well as a founder and trustee of Mount Auburn Cemetery from 1832–1833. During the early years of the cemetery, he called for the protection and preservation of birds at Mount Auburn.

Ruthven Deane 1851–1934 (Beryl Path)

Deane was an original member of the Nuttall Ornithological Club and a fellow of the AOU. He was a businessman by profession, but President Theodore Roosevelt referred to him approvingly as a “heart ornithologist” (Osgood 1935). After moving to Chicago, he became the first president of the Illinois Audubon Society in 1897.

Ludlow Griscom, 1890 - 1959

Ludlow Griscom 1890–1959 (Palm Avenue)

Griscom became a curator at MCZ in 1927; prior to that, he was an ornithologist at American Museum of Natural History from 1917–1927. An expert on Mexican and Central American avifaunas, he was known for his brilliant field identification skills, encyclopedic memory, and enthusiasm for the sport of birding, to which he attracted a host of followers and protégés. He authored several works, including Birds of the New York City Region (1923), Modern Bird Study (1945), The Birds of Nantucket (with E. Folger, 1948), Birds of Concord (1949), Birds of Massachusetts (with D. Snyder, 1955), and Birds of Martha’s Vineyard (with G. Emerson, 1959). His birding experiences during World War I were recently recounted in “Birding from the Front: A Wartime Letter from Ludlow Griscom,” edited by David Swain, in Bird Observer October 2014; William E. Davis Jr. provided further biographical information in “Ludlow Griscom: The Birdwatchers’ Guru” in Bird Observer February 1993.

Harriet Lawrence Hemenway 1858–1960 (Thistle Path)

With her cousin Minna Hall, Hemenway cofounded the Massachusetts Audubon Society in 1896, spurred by outrage over the devastation of colonies of Snowy Egrets and other birds for the sake of using their plumage in women’s hats.

Juliet Appleby Kepes 1919–1999 (Oxalis Path)

Kepes was an artist and a writer and illustrator of children’s books including the Caldecott Medal recipient Five Little Monkeys (1953). She collaborated with her husband Gyorgy Kepes on a series of experimental enamel panels of bird and tree designs for the Morse School in Cambridge, Massachusetts (1955), and she also designed a series of bronze birds in flight set against a wall of a playground at Clarendon Avenue Park, Cambridge (1980). Her elegant monument bears several engraved images of her fine bird illustrations.

Elizabeth “Betty” Petersen 1943–2013 (Andromeda Path)

Petersen was a volunteer and staff member at the Manomet Center for Conservation Services working on bird surveys, bird banding, marketing, and the Birders’ Exchange Program, which delivers used binoculars, spotting scopes, and birding equipment to Latin American communities that would not otherwise be able to afford them. She joined the American Birding Association (ABA) staff in 2000 when the Birders’ Exchange Program transferred to the ABA. She was president of the Nuttall Ornithological Club from 2011–2013.

Horace Winslow Wright, 1848 - 1920. The Lord is the strength of my life.

Henry Augustus Purdie 1840–1911 (Mimosa Path)

Purdie was an original member of the Nuttall Ornithological Club and a fellow of the AOU.

Henry Munson Spelman 1861–1946 (Olive Path)

Spelman was elected a member of the Nuttall Ornithological Club in 1879 at the age of 18, one of the youngest members ever admitted and also one of the most active. He was a lawyer by profession and was the son of Israel Munson Spelman, who was president of Mount Auburn Cemetery from 1874–1905.

Wendell Taber 1897–1960 (Excelsior Path)

Taber was a member of AOU and the Wilson, Cooper, and Nuttall ornithological clubs. He edited some of the final volumes of Bent's Life Histories of North American Birds for the Smithsonian Institution. An investment counselor by trade, he was “one of the most active and enthusiastic amateur ornithologists in New England” (Unknown 1972). He was the brother of Elizabeth Taber Taintor.

Elizabeth Taber Taintor 1895–1955 (Excelsior Path)

A local authority on birds, Taintor was active in the Massachusetts Audubon Society’s work to interest children in the appreciation of birds. She was the sister of Wendell Taber.

Charles Wendell Townsend 1859–1934 (Rose Path)

A physician by profession, Townsend was a prolific amateur ornithologist. Author of Birds of Essex County, Massachusetts (1904), Supplement (1920), and many reports in Bent’s Life Histories of North American Birds, he was a member of the Nuttall Ornithological Club and a fellow of the AOU. He was also a member of the Cooper Ornithological Club, the Wilson Ornithological Club, the Deutsche Ornithologische Gesellschaft, and a charter member of the Essex County Ornithological Club. In addition, he was a member of the Boston Society of Natural History and, at the time of his death, a director of the Massachusetts Audubon Society.

Horace Winslow Wright 1848–1920 (Lily Path)

Wright was the author of Birds of the Boston Public Garden: a Study in Migration (1909) and a member of the Nuttall Ornithological Club.

Citations

Allen, G. M. 1935. In Memoriam: Charles Wendell Townsend. The Auk, 52 (3): 227–232.
Brewster, W. 1912. In Memoriam: Henry Augustus Purdie. Born December 16, 1840 - Died March 29, 1911. The Auk 29 (1): 1–15.
Davis, W. E. Jr. 1993. Ludlow Griscom: The Birdwatcher’s Guru. Bird Observer 21 (1): 15–21.
Davis, W. E. Jr. 1997. Outram Bangs and the Creation of a World-Class Bird Collection at Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology. Bird Observer 25 (6): 311–316.
Davis, W. E. Jr. 1999. He Spanned Two Eras: Charles Foster Batchelder, Last of the “Shotgun” Ornithologists. Bird Observer 27 (1): 12–18.
Davis, W. E. Jr. 2001. Thomas Barbour: The Last of the Gentleman Naturalists. Bird Observer 29 (5): 381–386.
Davis, W. E. Jr. 2011. Glover Morrill Allen: Accomplished Scientist, Teacher, and Fine Human Being. Bird Observer 39 (6): 327–337.
Heywood, J. 1992. Some Ornithologists & Benefactors of Birds at Mount Auburn. Pamphlet printed by Friends of Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Osgood, W. H. 1935. In Memoriam: Ruthven Deane, 1851–1934. The Auk 52 (1): 1–14.
Peters, B. J. L. 1933. Outram Bangs, 1863–1932. The Auk, 50 (33): 265–274.
Souder, W. 2013. How Two Women Ended the Deadly Feather Trade. Smithsonian Magazine March 2013. Accessed February 5, 2015.
Strohbach, M. W., P. S. Warren and A. Hrycyna. 2014. “Saturday, April 28th, 1866: Saw the First Chimney Swallow Today.” 150 Years of Bird Observation in Western Cambridge. Bird Observer 42 (4): 202–213.
Stymeist, R. H., ed. 2003–2004. Gleanings from the Journal of William Brewster. Bird Observer 31 (5) – 32 (5).
Swain, D., ed. 2014. Birding from the Front: A Wartime Letter from Ludlow Griscom. Bird Observer 42 (5): 293–297.
Taber, W. 1958. In Memoriam: Charles Foster Batchelder. The Auk, 74 (1): 15-24.
Tyler, W. M. 1943. In Memoriam: Glover Morrill Allen. The Auk, 60 (2): 163-168.
University of Brighton. 2015. Juliet Kepes, 1919–1999, Accessed February 5, 2015.
Unknown. 1972. Obituaries. The Auk 89 (4): 939.

Regina Harrison is the executive assistant at Mount Auburn Cemetery and is an associate editor of Bird Observer. She is also engaged in a long-term habitat restoration project at her home in Woburn, Massachusetts, with an emphasis on providing year-round food and shelter for birds.

Birds of the World: A New Exhibit at the Harvard Museum of Natural History

Wed, 01 Apr 2015 00:00:00 GMT

Global diversity in your own backyard

Birds are extremely diverse—over 10,000 species are alive today. In Birds of the World, nearly 750 specimens are on display; taxidermied mounts as well as 13 articulated skeletons were selected from the Ornithology Collection and from other public exhibits. These birds were chosen to represent as many different families as possible. Due to the Museum of Comparative Zoology’s extensive collection of mounts, members of 178 living bird families —roughly 80%—are now included. Many of the old Thayer Hall North American specimens are back in the cases, although some groups, such as ducks, had to be winnowed to a few key genera. Instead of being grouped by their biogeographic area—the common organization in most natural history museums—the birds are now organized according to their evolutionary history.

The modern study of bird relationships relies on research combining many different types of data, from comparative anatomy to paleontological studies on fossils to current cutting-edge work using genomic data. In December 2014, a new phylogeny, or tree of life of birds, was published, based on genome sequencing of 48 key lineages (Jarvis et al. 2014). This is an immense increase in information; 10 years ago, the only bird with a sequenced genome was the domestic chicken. Recent work has greatly improved our understanding of bird relationships, and these new results are reflected in the exhibit’s organization. A large panel with a phylogeny tree shows the current relationships of the major groups. Smaller trees will soon be added to the individual cases so that interested visitors will have access to the underlying organization at a more detailed level. The average museumgoer may not care that penguins are the closest living relatives, or sister group, to albatrosses and tube-nosed seabirds; or that toucans are nested within the colorful smaller-billed barbets; or that sunbirds and hummingbirds, although superficially similar, are extremely distant cousins-but these stories are there if your curiosity is piqued.

The exhibit is not only about the birds, but also about evolution. Convergent evolution can be seen everywhere you look. When habitats or other selective forces are similar, animals often evolve to look, act, or sound like other species despite being only distantly related. The small size, iridescent plumage, long bill, and modified tongue of nectar-feeding sunbirds and hummingbirds exemplify convergent evolution, along with many other instances on display. Fulmars look like gulls, but they aren’t close kin. The quail-like body shape is apparent in a number of different groups; “quail” themselves have independent origins in the Old and New Worlds. Buttonquail are not true quail at all, but in fact are more closely related to gulls and shorebirds. Common names are particularly misleading. Vultures in the Americas are not most closely related to vultures in the Old World, but rather, with condors form a separate family, renowned for their sense of smell. If you have ever pondered the similarities in terrestrial habits and plumage shared by Ovenbirds and waterthrushes (Lovette et al. 2010), or wondered if auks and penguins are close relatives or merely look alike due to the demands of polar life, you can find answers in the new display cases.

Studies on the evolutionary history of birds have produced a number of surprises over the recent years. Flamingos and grebes are each other’s closest relatives, a finding that is backed up solidly by molecular work (Van Tuinen et al. 2001), skeletal similarities, and the discovery of intermediary fossil forms (Mayr 2004, Mayr 2005). This took many people by surprise, reflected in the new name for the group: the Mirandornithes, or wonderful birds (Sangster 2005). Parrots turn out to be more closely allied with songbirds than previously suspected, and falcons are more closely related to parrots than to other extremely similar-looking accipiters—the raptorial appearance and predatory lifestyle may have arisen independently (Hackett et al. 2008).

Macaroni Penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus), Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica). Penguins
and puffins are distant relatives despite their similar outward appearance. (Credit: Museum
of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University; Copyright © President and Fellows of Harvard College )

New studies of tanagers, the second largest family of birds after tyrant flycatchers, reveal other surprises. For instance, many species formerly belonging to this group, e.g., Scarlet Tanagers, are actually more closely related to cardinals. Conversely, many tropical species called cardinals, such as the Red-crested Cardinal and the Yellow Cardinal, both with striking pointed crests, are now grouped in the tanager family (Burns et al. 2014). Other unlikely members of the tanagers include the finch-like saltators, the tiny conebills, and the hooked-billed group of flowerpiercers. Bananaquits are also tanagers, as are their close relatives, the Darwin's finches, famous for their radiation throughout the Galapagos Islands. All this you can now see for yourself.

A bird walk through deep time

The colorful tanagers occupy the last case in the Birds of the World exhibit. To follow birds through time, save it for last and walk clockwise, starting with the large, flightless bird case to the left of the stairwell as you arrive on the balcony. These birds, called the ratites, are the most ‘basal’ group of birds, a term scientists use to indicate that this group split off from the rest of birds earliest in their evolutionary history. They are not technically older than other birds—a common misconception. All living birds today have been evolving for the same amount of time, but ratites —the group known as Palaeognathae-were the first to have branched off, or diverged, from the rest.

The ratites include many flightless birds: kiwis, rheas, ostrich, emus, and the impressive casqued cassowary, as well as the extinct moas and elephant birds. Many of these giants are too big to fit into the museum's cases. A chick and an egg represent the ostrich, and a cast of an elephant bird’s enormous egg gives visitors a sense of its former stature. Surprisingly, recent research shows that Palaeognathae also includes the smaller South American tinamous, which can fly, raising questions about how many times flight was lost (Harshman et al. 2008, Haddrath and Baker 2012, Mitchell et al. 2014).

Yet more surprising to some visitors—to children in their “T. rex” phase and to some adults as well—might be the fact that birds are indeed dinosaurs and that crocodiles are their sister group. A juvenile saltwater crocodile winds its way beneath the rhea’s feet, raising the question of origins and unexpected relatives. Skeletons of theropods, the agile, raptorial, meat-eating dinosaurs from which birds evolved, can be found together with a cast of the famous Archaeopteryx in the galleries on the museum's third floor.

After the ratites come the Galloanseres, the combined group of waterfowl—ducks and relatives—and landfowl or gamebirds, which include turkeys, pheasants, grouse, quail, and of course, chickens, as well as lesser known groups like the moundbuilders and curassows.

The remainder of birds—indeed, the majority of birds—are called Neoaves. Many of the major groups within Neoaves diverged from one another in a short window of time, making relationships difficult to determine. With the new bird genome project, scientists were finally able to unravel some of these events: pigeons, including the small ground-doves and the enormous crowned-pigeons, comprise an early-branching group and are related to the sandgrouse and to Madagascan mesites. Other relatives include the unlikely pair of flamingos and grebes. Cuckoos, bustards and turacos also belong to this early radiation, as do the Strisores, the group containing hummingbirds, swifts, and nightjars (Mayr 2010). The enigmatic foregut-fermenting hoatzin, a family of its own, has been traditionally difficult to place; it likely split off from other birds at roughly the same time in the distant past as these other early Neoaves.

Red-billed Streamertail (Trochilus polytmus). Over 330 species of hummingbirds exist today—all in the Western Hemisphere, with most of the diversity in Central and South America. The earliest hummingbird fossils, however, are from Europe, indicating a wider range in the past. (Credit: Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University; Copyright © President and Fellows of Harvard College)

Other major divisions in the bird tree of life include a group of waterbirds and their relatives, and another group called landbirds. Within landbirds, the largest radiation
is that of the passerines, which includes over 5,000 species and is divided into the suboscines, or non-vocal-learning perching-birds, and the oscines, or songbirds, which likely arose in the Australasian region before spreading across the globe (Barker et al. 2004)

Songbirds are divided into a series of groups including crows and relatives, many of which are only found in Australia and Asia, such as birds-of-paradise, minivets, woodswallows, and the “true” orioles. North American orioles are in the icterid family, again misleadingly sharing a common name. Together, these are distinct from another songbird group, called the Passerida, which include the bulk of songbirds. Sister to the little-known rail-babbler (Eupetes), a specimen of which is on display, the Passerida include many of the songbirds familiar to North Americans: swallows, thrushes, wrens, tanagers, as well as the distinct groups of both warblers and sparrows from the New and Old Worlds.

Phylogenies are hard to describe in words; come to the museum to have them brought to life. In all of the display cases, recent research on each of the groups is surveyed so that closest relatives are placed close together. The exhibit is organized to be pleasing to the casual observer and informative to the bird sleuth. Other panels depict specializations of the bird body plan and maps of the radiation of passerines across the globe. New developments are in the works for the exhibit to become more multi-sensory in the future, maybe including bird songs and incorporating new interactive technology. As research continues and our knowledge about phylogenetic relationships changes, the exhibit will evolve as well.

Birds of the World exhibit information

The exhibit, made possible by a generous anonymous donation in memory of Melvin R. Seiden, Harvard AB 1952, LLB 1955, opened to the public on September 18, 2014. It is on permanent display at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Visiting hours are 9:00 am to 5:00 pm; Sunday mornings from 9:00 am to noon and Wednesday afternoons from 3:00–5:00 pm are free for Massachusetts residents.

References

Barker, F. K., A. Cibois, P. Schikler, J. Feinstein, and J. Cracraft. 2004. Phylogeny and diversification of the largest avian radiation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 101(30): 11040–11045.
Burns, K. J., A. J. Shultz, P. O. Title, N. A. Mason, F. K. Barker, J. Klicka, S. M. Lanyon, and I. J. Lovette. 2014. Phylogenetics and diversification of tanagers (Passeriformes: Thraupidae), the largest radiation of Neotropical songbirds. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 75: 41–77.
Hackett, S. J., R. T. Kimball, S. Reddy, R. C. K. Bowie, E. L. Braun, M. J. Braun, J. L. Chojnowski, W. A. Cox, K. Han, J. Harshman, C. J. Huddleston, B. D. Marks, K. J. Miglia, W. S. Moore, F. H. Sheldon, D. W. Steadman, C. C. Witt, and T. Yuri. 2008. A Phylogenomic Study of Birds Reveals Their Evolutionary History. Science 320(5884): 1763–1768.
Haddrath, O. and A. J. Baker. 2012. Multiple nuclear genes and retroposons support vicariance and dispersal of the palaeognaths, and an Early Cretaceous origin of modern birds. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 279: 4617–4625.
Harshman J., E. L. Braun, M. J., C. J. Huddleston, R. C. K. Bowie, J. L. Chojnowski, S. J. Hackett, K. Han, R. T. Kimball, B. D. Marks, K. J. Miglia, W. S. Moore, S. Reddy, F. H. Sheldon, D. W. Steadman, S. J. Steppan, C. C. Witt, and T. Yuri. 2008. Phylogenomic evidence for multiple losses of flight in ratite birds. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 105(36): 13462–13467.
Jarvis, E. D., S. Mirarab, A. J. Aberer, B. Li, P. Houde, C. Li, S. Y. W. Ho, B. C. Faircloth, B. Nabholz, J. T. Howard, A. Suh, C. C. Weber, R. R. da Fonseca, J. Li, F. Zhang, H. Li, Zhou, N. Narula, L. Liu, G. Ganapathy, B. Boussau, M. S. Bayzid, V. Zavidovych, S. Subramanian, T. Gabaldon, S. Capella-Gutierrez, J. Huerta-Cepas, B. Rekepalli, K. Munch, Schierup, B. Lindow, W. C. Warren, D. Ray, R. E. Green, M. W. Bruford, X. Zhan, A. Dixon, S. Li, N. Li, Y. Huang, E. P. Derryberry, M. F. Bertelsen, F. H. Sheldon, R. T. Brumfield, C. V. Mello, P. V. Lovell, M. Wirthlin, M. P. C. Schneider, F. Proscocimi, J. A. Samaniego, A. M. V. Velazquez, A. Alfaro-Nunez, P. F. Campos, B. Petersen, T. Sicheritz- Ponten, A. Pas, T. Bailey, P. Scofield, M. Bunce, D. M. Lambert, Q. Zhou, P. Perelman, A. C. Driskell, B. Shapiro, Z. Xiong, X. Yinqi, Q. Zheng, Y. Zhang, H. Yang, J. Wang, L. Smeds, F. E. Rheindt, B. Braun, J. Fjeldsa, L. Orlando, F. K. Barker, K. A. Jonsson, W. Johnson, K. Koepfli, S. O'Brien, D. Haussler, O. A. Ryder, C. Rahbek, E. Willerslev, G.R. Graves, T. C. Glenn, J. McCormack, D. Burt, H. Ellegren, P. Alstrom, S. V. Edwards, A. Stamatakis, D. P. Mindell, J. Cracraft, E. L. Braun, T. Warnow, W. Jun, M. T. P. Gilbert, and G. Zhang. 2014. Whole-genome analyses resolve early branches in the tree of life of modern birds. Science 346(6215): 1320–1331.
Lovette, I. J., J. L. Perez-Eman, J. P. Sullivan, R. C. Bank, I. Fiorentino, S. Cordoba-Cordoba, M. Echeverry-Galvis, F. K. Barker, K. J. Burns, J. Klicka, S. M. Lanyon, and E. Bermingham. 2010. A comprehensive multilocus phylogeny for the wood-warblers and a revised classification of the Parulidae (Aves). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 57: 753–770.
Mayr. G. 2004. Morphological evidence for sister group relationship between flamingos (Aves: Phoenicopteridae) and grebes (Podicipedidae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 140: 157-169.
Mayr, G. 2005. The Paleogene fossil record of birds in Europe. Biological Reviews 80: 515-542.
Mayr, G. 2010. Phylogenetic relationships of the paraphyletic ‘caprimulgiform’ birds (nightjars and allies). Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research 48(2): 126–137.
Mitchell, K. J., B. Llamas, J. Soubrier, N. J. Rawlence, T. H. Worthy, J. Wood, M. S. Y. Lee and A. Cooper. 2014. Ancient DNA reveals elephant birds and kiwi are sister taxa and clarifies ratite bird evolution. Science (344): 898–900.
Sangster, G. 2005. A name for the flamingo-grebe clade. Ibis 147: 612-615.
Van Tuinen, M., D. B. Butvill, J. A. W. Kirsch, S. B. Hedges. 2001. Convergence and divergence in the evolution of aquatic birds. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 268: 1345–1350.

Maude Baldwin recently finished her PhD in Professor Scott Edwards lab in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology. She has been researching how hummingbirds, which lack the mammalian sweet receptor, instead use their savory receptor to taste nectar sugars. In 2014 she helped with the redesign of the exhibit, synthesizing new studies on bird phylogenetics to reorganize the bird balcony with Jennifer Berglund, Janis Sacco, and the exhibits staff at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, along with Jeremiah Trimble and Kate Eldridge in the Museum of Comparative Zoology’s Ornithology Department.

Field Notes: A Hawk in Pigeon's Clothing

Wed, 01 Apr 2015 00:00:00 GMT

The pigeons all burst into flight, but much too late. The hawk was already among them and knocked one out of the air in a cloud of feathers.

I was stunned. It’s always shocking to witness a life-and-death drama like that, but a few seconds earlier I was simply seeing a pigeon flying in to join the flock when suddenly everything changed. And I wondered: How could I (and, more amazingly, a whole flock of pigeons) misidentify a Cooper's Hawk like that? The hawk was in plain view, flying over an open field. Admittedly I did not give it much attention in that first glance, but there was nothing that drew my attention. It “registered” as a pigeon, which made sense for a bird coasting across the field. The pigeons must have seen it the same way, because normally they would not just sit on the ground and allow a Cooper's Hawk to fly into their midst.

I considered the possibility that this was just a very lucky Cooper’s Hawk taking advantage of an opportunity with a flock of pigeons that either didn't see it or didn't think it was a threat. But I can't imagine a whole flock of pigeons not seeing this bird approaching, nor letting it get that close under any circumstances.

I think the most plausible explanation is that the pigeons saw the bird but didn’t recognize it as a hawk (the same thing that happened to me), and that this was due to some deliberate mimicry by the Cooper’s Hawk, a brilliant bit of acting.

Predators rely on surprise, so if there is any way they can camouflage or "disguise" themselves and sneak up on their prey, it makes sense that they would take advantage of that. The resemblance of Zone-tailed Hawk to Turkey Vulture is often cited as an example of this aggressive mimicry. Potential prey species don’t react to the common and benign presence of Turkey Vultures overhead, and a Zone-tailed Hawk can hide among the vultures and drop onto unsuspecting prey.

Zone-tailed Hawks are born looking like Turkey Vultures, and they take advantage of it. I believe this Cooper’s Hawk was doing something more deliberate and active, transforming its wingbeats and flight actions to mimic another bird.

I've seen raptors mimic the flight style of other species before. Several times at Cape May, New Jersey I saw Merlins adopt the undulating flight style of a Northern Flicker, or the irregular flicking wingbeats of a Mourning Dove. It was only for a second or two and always when they were low and actively hunting.

This behavior is so infrequent, and so brief, that I suspect it will be very hard to confirm that it is deliberate aggressive mimicry, but I believe that all of these predators are trying to disguise themselves in order to sneak up on their prey.

posted November 23rd, 2014; last edited November 24th, 2014 –– David Sibley

Since the age of seven, David Sibley has been watching and drawing birds, traveling throughout North America indulging his love of nature study. This work culminated in the publication of The Sibley Guide to Birds in 2000, which became the fastest-selling bird guide ever, and several companion volumes including The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior in 2001, Sibley’s Birding Basics in 2002, and The Sibley Guide to Trees in 2009. He lives with his family in Concord, Massachusetts.

Field Notes: A Barn Owl in Concord

Wed, 01 Apr 2015 00:00:00 GMT

We sent word out to a few locals who were interested in the sighting, and they corroborated the identification as Barn Owl. Some joined Jalen and Carter on the 12th to see the bird again.

On the next two days, various local birders observed the Barn Owl at the Pine Hill location. However, observers noted that the owl spent more time perched and less time flying and hunting than before. Far lower temperatures or accumulating stress due to lack of food may have contributed to this change in behavior. On Thursday the 15th, the sole birder at the location could not find the bird, and additional stakeouts each night until Sunday the 18th appeared to paint a picture of an intrepid southern wanderer that had succumbed to the cold of interior Massachusetts.

However, when David Swain reported an owl from a nearby spot on the following Tuesday (January 20th), a number of the original observers recognized the Barn Owl in his video. It had reappeared! Cole returned the following night and captured some of the first close-range, definitive documentation of the bird. Unfortunately, the Barn Owl vanished after that night, not to be found again despite a number of checks in both locations.

When we first observed the bird, we recognized it as a small raptor coursing over the marsh after dusk. Marks included a darker area that was present not only on the primary coverts, but also running in a rough line down the center of the length of the wing. There was no contrast between the primary and secondary coverts, and there appeared to be a paler leading edge of the wing. The photos showed no black markings on the underwings, including at the wrists and wingtips. With a scope, however, Tim Swain saw grayish marks in these areas similar to those that can be found on female Barns. There was no indication of dark wingtips in the field or in any of the photos. Additionally, there was contrast between the tawny armpit area and the white belly, which is different from the laterally uniform coloring on the underparts of Short-eared Owls. Though not obvious in the field, we noted that some photos appeared to show the distinctive Barn Owl face.

The bird's flight was fluttering with less gliding and more flapping compared to a Short-eared. Its wings were held in a gull-like dihedral when gliding, and it frequently made steep banks that showed off the strikingly white underwings. From the video, Simon Perkins noted that the “proportions (shorter tail, bigger head), wing set (more gull-winged, osprey-like in glide), wing pattern, more deliberate, fluttery flight, long face, [and] the dark line between eye and bill on an otherwise white face” all pointed to Barn Owl (Perkins 2015).

Barn Owls are rare and irregular in Massachusetts, with the exception of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket where they were recorded in the second Breeding Bird Atlas (Kamm et al. 2013). On these islands, Barn Owls roost in old barns, tree cavities, and other structures during the day, and hunt over coastal marshes at night. They generally nest in man-made structures.

This sighting in Concord apparently represents the first Barn Owl recorded in Middlesex County since the 1995 sighting in Pepperell by M. Resch (Resch 1995). In Concord or the Concord-Sudbury River Valley, the last previous sighting of a Barn Owl had been in April 1984 by R. K. Walton. Walton notes that Concord had a pair of Barn Owls that were seen by Gardler in the summer of 1959 (Walton 1984, p. 139). A breeding pair and hatchlings were observed by Armstrong in 1945, though all perished in a blizzard (Griscom 1949, p. 235).

References

Griscom, L. 1949. Birds of Concord: A Study in Population Trends. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Kamm, M., J. Walsh, J. Galluzzo, and W. Petersen. 2013. Massachusetts Breeding Bird Atlas 2 New York: Scott and Nix.
Perkins, S. 2015. Personal communication. January 12, 2015.
Resch, M. 1995. eBird Checklist. eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance [web application]. eBird, Ithaca, New York. Accessed February 11, 2015.
Walton, R. K. 1984. Birds of the Sudbury River Valley: An Historical Perspective. Lincoln, MA: Massachusetts Audubon Society.

Cole and Jalen Winstanley are teenaged birders who live in Concord. They are focused on birding as locally as possible, and have found over 160 species in their yard alone. As such, they contribute signi.ftcantly to the local bird data in Concord, with over 500 eBird checklists in 2013 and 2014. In 2014, they found uncommon breeding birds including Sharp-shinned Hawk, Canada Warbler, and Louisiana Waterthrush all within walking distance of their home. They frequently discover new areas to bird and share them with the local community; their favorite patches in Concord include Estabrook Woods, Great Meadows NWR, Barrett’s Mill Conservation Land, and the Massport 13C trails.

Musings from the Blind Birder: Song of Spring

Wed, 01 Apr 2015 00:00:00 GMT

It probably goes without saying that spring migration is the most exciting and anticipated time of year for the majority of birders in the Northeast. We are fortunate to have the opportunity to see up to 35 or more species of warblers in breeding plumage pass through during spring migration. We are ecstatic over fallout days where birds are everywhere, starting with our backyards. We want to be in 100 places at the same time and see every bird that passes through. Mount Auburn Cemetery, Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary, the Beech Forest Trail on Cape Cod, October Mountain State Forest in western Massachusetts, and other hot spots take on a whole new façade during spring migration, morphing from quiet and serene places to walk and contemplate into a birder’s version of Times Square, with our returning avian friends lighting up our days with their brilliant colors.

The excitement of the spring is even more striking on the heels of winter birding. What I find most challenging about the winter and fall seasons is identifying birds based on their calls and chip notes, as full song is rarely heard. I marvel at those, such as Bob, who know the bird that just gave that barely audible, short, and single chip note.

“See how sharp that is? It is really different from any other bird.”

Yeah, right. Easy as pie.

Still, winter has its own treasures, its own leisurely rhythm, and birds typically not present at any other time of the year, such as Snow Buntings, boreal species—Snowy Owl, Bohemian Waxwing, Pine Grosbeak, crossbills—and the myriad of handsome sea ducks, such as King Eider and Harlequin Duck. But as the days begin to lengthen (and the cold begins to strengthen), it is hard not to be looking forward to the renewal that is spring.

Spring is not the only migration season, of course. The fall migration brings its fair share of returning migrants, some more common in the fall than spring, and occasional rarities and unusual stories. One of my favorite stories is recounted by Tom Gagnon of Northampton about a female Rufous Hummingbird that showed up during the fall of 1996 at a feeder in Agawam. Birders flocked to see the bird throughout the fall. As winter approached, considerable discussion ensued about what to do with the bird, which was unlikely to survive the winter. Federal and state permits were acquired, and the hummingbird was mist-netted and transported to Tom’s greenhouse in Northampton to spend the winter. When spring arrived, the bird was released, presumably never again to be seen in these parts.

The following September 1997, the hummingbird showed up at the exact same feeder in Agawam and resumed its autumnal routines. Again, the bird was captured (after the required federal and state permits were secured) and transported back to the Northampton greenhouse. Upon arrival in the early evening, the female went to roost in the exact same spot on a sweet olive bush that she had used the previous winter. The spring of that second year, Trevor Lloyd-Evans of the Manomet Bird Observatory (now the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences) banded the Rufous Hummingbird. This cycle continued for seven straight years. During the seventh season, the Agawam homeowner reported seeing the bird feeding just before dark, but never saw the bird again. Tom reports that he and the homeowner believed that some predator got the bird overnight, and the two mourned the loss of their avian companion.

Stories like this only intensify my appreciation of and fascination with the feats of migratory birds and spur me on to spend as much time as possible birding during migration. The spring migration is such a scintillating time of year to bird and just so much fun. But I am always struck by how quickly it seems to pass. Song gradually increases from late March through April, with an emphatic crescendo in May. Heading to northern New England gives a birder opportunities for surround-sound bird song through June. But by early July, the woods and meadows have quieted substantially. We realize with a sinking feeling that another migration and courtship season has passed and it will be another year before we hear the songs of the spring again. It seems so unfair how quickly it passes, and how abruptly it ends.. Yes, there will be some song, and yes, the birds are still there, but they are harder to find in their silence and the noise they make turns more muted, less frequent, and more challenging to identify. This is especially true for the birder who does not see well. The difference between the spring and early summer and the rest of the year for me is so striking. Still, I work hard at trying to master the calls and chip notes because I know that most of the year, those are the only sounds that I will hear.

In the end, spring migration means nearly everything to me as a birder without vision. It is my time of year when the playing field evens out just a little between me, the blind birder, and you, the sighted birder. I can perhaps identify the bird song that others may not, and I can participate in vigorous debates about who just sang. It means optimism, joyousness, and anticipation not present most other times of the birding year.

It means a buzz in the air, constant checking with our devices and among ourselves to see if anything showed up somewhere else. It means a profound connection between us and our passion—the birds—in ways that I do not often feel at other times of the year. It is the pinnacle of my birding year, a season to savor, even if it always seems to flash by. So, enjoy. We are about to embark on another spring migration in Massachusetts.

Martha Steele, a former editor of Bird Observer, has been progressively losing vision due to retinitis pigmentosa and is legally blind. Thanks to a cochlear implant, she is now learning to identify birds from their songs and calls. Martha lives with her husband, Bob Stymeist, in Arlington.

Gleanings: Serendipity and Science

Wed, 01 Apr 2015 00:00:00 GMT

Streby et al. (2015) were carrying out a fairly standard migration study on Golden- winged Warblers when serendipity hit. Several of their geolocator-carrying warblers arrived on the breeding grounds in eastern Tennessee between April 13 and April 27, 2014, following migration from eastern Colombia. The researchers captured five of the birds on May 3–9 and read the geolocators. The data revealed that rather than stay on territory, the birds departed on April 26-27 and flew toward the Gulf of Mexico. Between April 27 and April 30, a huge storm system swept through the breeding-ground region, producing 84 confirmed tornadoes, 35 human fatalities, and over a billion dollars in property damage. After the storm passed, on May 1-2, the five tracked warblers returned to their breeding grounds and resumed defending territories. Without the geolocator data, the researchers would not have known that the warblers had flown some 700 kilometers from the breeding grounds apparently to avoid this oncoming storm. The researchers had evacuated the storm path as well.

Although each of the warblers carried out this evacuation using a different route, their general flight paths corresponded to their normal fall and spring migration routes via the Gulf of Mexico coast and, in one case, along the Florida coast to Cuba.

Golden-winged Warblers are obligate migrants, meaning that migration occurs on a regular schedule and is considered to be innate or genetically determined. This migration pattern is in contrast to facultative migration, which is triggered by acute weather changes or food availability. Although obligate migrants can delay, alter, or reverse parts of their migration path because of weather or other external stimuli, it was not clear that obligate migrants could undertake facultative migrations. Yet this is exactly what appears to have happened with these five warblers.

It seems inescapable that these male Golden-winged Warblers performed a brief facultative migration of over 1500 kilometers in order to avoid the oncoming storm system. They then returned to defend their breeding territories throughout the remainder of the season. The trigger for their exodus remains speculative. At the time of their departure the weather patterns onsite were not unusual; temperature, atmospheric pressure, wind speed and direction, cloud cover, and precipitation were all unremarkable. The storm system was still 400–900 kilometers distant. The remaining environmental clue that seems most likely to have provided the trigger was infrasound, frequencies below the range of human hearing. Infrasound can propagate at over 100 decibels thousands of kilometers ahead of such storms, and the frequencies involved are well within the range of bird hearing.

The most reasonable explanation for this behavior of the warblers is that they heard the sound of the approaching storm system and decamped to avoid personal risk. They returned when the coast was clear and continued on with their breeding season. Serendipity came into play because the birds involved were carrying geolocators that were recovered, revealing unsuspected and unexpected behavior.

References

Larson, D.M. 2014. Gleanings: Bugging the Birds: Tracking Individuals Through Migration. Bird Observer 42 (6): 377-9.
Streby, H.M., G.R. Kramer, S.M. Peterson, J.A. Lehman, D.A. Buehler, and D.E. Andersen. 2015. Tornadic Storm Avoidance Behavior in Breeding Songbirds. Current Biology 25: 98-102.

David M. Larson, PhD, is the Science and Education Coordinator at Mass Audubon’s Joppa Flats Education Center in Newburyport, the Director of Mass Audubon s Birder s Certificate Program and the Certificate Program in Bird Ecology (a course for naturalist guides in Belize), a domestic and international tour leader, Vice President of the Nuttall Ornithological Club, and a member of the editorial staff of Bird Observer.

About Books: Making it Big

Wed, 01 Apr 2015 00:00:00 GMT

The Complete Birds of North America is a companion volume to the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America. This popular field guide was first published in 1983. Younger birders may have no idea what a splash this guide made when it first came out. To begin with, it was a different-looking field guide, printed in a larger format than the Peterson field guides, which most people used at the time. Because it did not fit in your pocket, a cottage industry started designing special cloth carriers for the guide. The illustrations were by a variety of artists, and the identification information was cutting edge for the time. Finally, all the birds of North America were now in one volume. This was a breakthrough for birders who, up until then, had been using Peterson’s Eastern and Western guides. Originally, you had to order the new guide from the National Geographic offices, and those first orders of the field guide came with a fine companion coffee-table book on birds, a beautiful full color map of bird migration, and a set of odd floppy records of bird calls that were actually quite good. (NB: I understand that some of you may have to ask your grandparents what records were.) The National Geographic guide ushered in a new competitive era in the publishing of bird guides. Most of these guides failed to catch on, and I have shelves of these doomed publications. The National Geographic guide remained competitive with the Peterson until the arrival of the Sibley field guide, which rapidly became the popular guide to the birds. Today, the National Geographic guide remains popular, and I keep a copy in the car along with my Sibley.

The Complete Birds of North America is a greatly expanded version of the National Geographic field guide. Most of the illustrations in the Complete Birds of North America are the same as those in the field guide and are about the same size. These illustrations are augmented by new ones of vagrants and recently split species and some nice color photographs that begin the description of each bird family. The maps are slightly larger and more detailed. There are also larger maps showing the ranges and migratory routes of particular species like American and Pacific golden- plovers and the Arctic Tern.

The emphasis in this book is on the text rather than the illustrations. There are just a few pages of introduction that describe the basics of taxonomy, plumage variation, and feather topography. The species descriptions begin on page 10 of this 743-page book. Each one has been rewritten and greatly expanded from the field guide. There are details about identification, similar species, status and distribution, voice, and population. There is an introductory paragraph of varying length. Most species descriptions run to about half a page. But species that have a number of recognizable plumages, regional variations, or subspecies have much longer entries. Cackling and Canada geese have a full page devoted to each. The Red-tailed Hawk has two full pages of dense text. Each species description includes the bird’s ABA abundance code number and its four-letter banding code.

Recently split species are fully described and illustrated. These include birds like the Sooty and Dusky grouse, recent splits from Blue Grouse. Species that have occurred in North America only as extremely rare vagrants are given a full descriptive treatment complete with an illustration. The Scaly-naped Pigeon is included even though there are only two very old records for North America. Some of these extreme rarities are quite recent, however, like the Rufous-necked Wood-Rail that was seen at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in July of 2013.

Every family has a lengthy introductory section that includes topics like structure, plumage, behavior, distribution, taxonomy, and conservation. Many genera also have a short descriptive introduction, like this one for eagles, genus Aquila:

Worldwide, there are ten species in this genus, only one of which occurs in North America, the Golden Eagle. Large raptors with wide wings, all are fierce hunters of mammals and birds, and many are prized for falconry. The human descriptive term “aquiline nose” refers to the hooked beak of Aquila eagles. (p. 163)

These sections put the North American avifauna in a global perspective.

Well-written special sections are devoted to describing particularly difficult field problems. These include the separation of Taiga and Tundra Bean geese, the Tule Goose subspecies of the Greater White-fronted Goose, and subspecies identification of male Common Eiders, including Borealis, which has been identified here in Massachusetts in winter. There are other detailed subsections on separating Common Ringed and Semipalmated plovers, the challenges of winter longspurs, redpoll identification, and Atlantic and Gulf Coast Clapper Rails versus King Rails. All of these sections are far too long to be included in a typical general field guide.

The book ends with a short two pages of additional reading suggestions and a long list of credits.

The Complete Birds of North America occupies an interesting place in bird literature. It is much more informative than a standard field guide but not quite as scientifically thorough and fully referenced as the species entries in the Birds of North America Online. That website is a great resource but concerns itself only with species that breed in North America. The Complete Birds of North America bears some resemblance to the classic reference book the Handbook of Bird Identification for Europe and the Western Palearctic, although the large illustration plates in the Handbook are separate from the text. Even though that book is several decades old, I still use it as a reference whenever a European species shows up here. Like the Handbook, the Complete Birds of North America is aimed at active birders; its thrust is species identification, while at the same time offering much interesting information on species behavior, breeding, and migration.

The Complete Birds of North America is an impressive and well-written book. But will birders find it useful? Because it is too large to carry about, even in the car, it is a book to use at home. The Complete Birds of North America has the potential to be a handy go-to reference guide for the serious birder who wants to know more about species than he can find in any field guide or many on-line resources. Will it become a standard home reference or end up gathering dust like so many other bird books? Time will tell, but for now, it is sitting on my desk.

“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex... It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.” E.F. Schumacher (Brainyquote online 2015)

Literature Cited:

Peterson, R.T. 2002. Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Eastern and Central North America. Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Dunn, J. and J. Alderfer. 1983. National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic.
Beaman, M. and S. Madge. 1998. The Handbook of Bird Identification for Europe and the Western Palearctic. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Accessed February 5, 2015.

Bird Sightings: November/December 2014

Wed, 01 Apr 2015 00:00:00 GMT

December was warmer than normal; Boston averaged 38°, three degrees above normal. The high was 64° on December 1, and the low was 18° on December 8. The big story for the month was the nor’easter that occurred on December 9, which brought record rainfall to the state. Many areas reported more than three inches of rain; Wakefield recorded the most with 3.94 inches. Strong winds caused coastal flooding and power outages.

R. Stymeist

Front Cover: April 2015

Wed, 01 Apr 2015 00:00:00 GMT

Shovelers are usually monogamous but are occasionally polygynous. Pair formation occurs on the wintering grounds, usually by the end of February. Courtship by the male includes took-took calls, a display in which the male swims away from the female, showing off his shimmering green head. Other displays involve the tip-up posture, wing flapping, and short jump-flights. The male Shoveler defends the core of his home range during breeding season more than any other of the dabbling ducks. Territorial males will chase conspecifics while swimming or flying and may fight with lunging, wing flapping, and biting. Threat displays include open bill and bill-jabbing, and head pumping with an upward-pointing bill. Shovelers may also be aggressive on the wintering grounds.

Northern Shovelers produce a single brood per season. Breeding habitat includes shallow wetlands, ponds, and parklands—habitat typical of the prairie pothole region. The female selects the nest site, usually in vegetation no more than a foot high and within 150 feet of water. She also makes a simple nest scrape, which she lines with down. The clutch is 10–12 pale olive or greenish gray eggs, incubated by the female alone for 22-25 days until the synchronous hatching. The female may give a flapping distraction display if the nest is threatened and if flushed, may defecate on the eggs as she departs, which may deter predators. The chicks are precocial, covered with down, eyes open, capable of locomotion, and within a day feed themselves on aquatic invertebrates and plants. The female leads the young to water shortly after hatching. She remains with the brood for about seven weeks until fledging. Males eventually desert their mate and young and form cohesive bachelor flocks. During their flightless period during molt, they become solitary and secretive, hide in vegetation, and feed less. After molt, they once again form flocks.

Shovelers forage by swimming with their bills in the water, the comb-like lamellae along the broad, spatulate bill straining invertebrates from the water. Their diet consists primarily of swimming invertebrates, especially Daphnia and other cladocerans, and also includes seeds. They usually forage in open water but may also dabble in the mud of the bottom, using a tip-up posture. They also glean food from submerged vegetation. Because Shovelers tend to stir up their environment when foraging, they are sometimes used as beaters by other species such as phalaropes.

During breeding, adult females, eggs and young are preyed upon by foxes and other mammalian predators. Skunks and ground squirrels regularly destroy their nests. Typical avian predators include crows, magpies, and gulls. Hunters kill several hundred thousand Shovelers every year, and habitat loss due to the conversion of wetlands to agricultural lands is widespread. But Breeding Waterfowl Survey data suggest increasing or stable population numbers, possibly influenced by recently improved breeding habitat. Despite hunting pressure, habitat loss, and predation, the future looks promising for this lovely duck species.

William E. Davis, Jr.

Hot Birds: April 2015

Wed, 01 Apr 2015 00:00:00 GMT

On January 6, Paul Peterson reported a Black-backed Woodpecker at Forest Hills Cemetery in Boston. It was seen regularly through the end of January. Eduardo del Solar took the above photo.

On March 1, Suzanne Sullivan was scanning King’s Beach on the Swampscott/Lynn line and spotted a Mew Gull (Kamchatka) among the Ring-billed Gulls. She took the photo above. More Mew Gulls were reported subsequently at the same location.

At a Glance: April 2015

Wed, 01 Apr 2015 00:00:00 GMT

Can you identify the bird in this photograph? Identification will be discussed in next issue's AT A GLANCE.

Birding and Botanizing the Hawley Bog

Wed, 01 Apr 2015 00:00:00 GMT

Known as “Cranberry Swamp” on topographic maps, Hawley Bog occupies a shallow glacial lake basin. Over hundreds of years, sphagnum moss grew from the shoreline and spread out toward the center of the lake. Because the lake was poorly drained and accumulation of sphagnum peat—partially decayed moss—exceeded decomposition, the water became acidic, which further inhibited decay to produce more and thicker layers of peat. Over many, many years, the sphagnum slowly accumulated both vertically and horizontally, extending its reach farther and farther toward the middle of the lake. It is now at the point where there is only a small pond of open water in the middle of the bog. The mat of sphagnum peat is reported to be over thirty feet deep in places. The several vegetation zones that demonstrate bog succession are found here, from the central open water of the pond to the surrounding spruce-fir forest.

And if all this is not enough to encourage a visit, parking for the bog is on the former town common of Hawley, established in 1794. A few years ago, the Sons and Daughters of Hawley established the former town common as an archaeological site. The cellar holes of several former dwellings have each been researched, cleaned up, and labeled with placards that identify the former properties and give some of their history. The town of Hawley migrated to its present site in or around 1848, when a new meetinghouse was built farther to the west on East Hawley Road. A kiosk at the parking area should have a brochure that includes a crude map and brief descriptions of the various properties that once existed here. A self-guided tour of the Old Town Common is peaceful and enjoyable and will certainly add a few more birds to one’s list.

The parking area is at the intersection of East Hawley Road and Forget Road in Hawley. From Route 2 go to Route 8A in Charlemont. At the stop after the train tracks, go left and take the first right onto East Hawley Road. Continue for approximately four miles to the parking area marked by a small rock monument in a clearing. Alternatively, take Route 116 to Union Street in Plainfield. Turn left onto North Central Street, and then take an immediate right onto North Union Street. In about 7/10 of a mile, bear right onto North Street. North Street will become Plainfield Road and then East Hawley Road. The parking area is 4.7 miles from the turn onto North Road and about 1.4 miles from where it becomes East Hawley Road.

Although Hawley Bog is a lovely place to visit at any time of year, spring and summer offer the best opportunities for birding and botanizing. (Later in summer is probably a better time for butterflies and odonates, but that is not within the purview of this article.) An early morning in May or June will offer American Redstarts, Ovenbirds, Chestnut-sided Warblers, Black-and-white Warblers, and Red-eyed Vireos singing in the woods surrounding the parking lot. Across the road from the parking lot is a summer cottage that was built on the former site of the Longley Tavern. Watch and listen there for Purple Finches, Goldfinches, and Chipping Sparrows.

Boardwalk at Hawley Bog

There are two trails that begin at the parking area. The trail to the right will start with a tour of the Old Town Common. If you haven’t heard it in the parking lot, listen for Least Flycatcher here. The trail will eventually bring one to the abandoned Old County Road, which can be walked through deciduous woods for a mile or more. Use caution–it is possible to wander too far and become lost.

From the parking area, the trail to the left will lead to the bog. This trail goes down a short, gentle slope through hardwoods. Black-throated Blue, Black-throated Green, and Blackburnian warblers are often seen and heard along this section of the trail. Eastern Wood Pewees can also be heard. After going around a chain barrier you will come to a kiosk with a placard describing a few of the plants one can find on the bog. There is also a sign-in book where the Nature Conservancy would like you to document your visit. Because signing in helps the Nature Conservancy determine approximately how many people visit the bog, we usually sign the book.

Farther down the trail on the edge of the bog, one will come to the beginning of the boardwalk. Starting here, Canada Warblers will sing during May and June. Here, also, several Northern Waterthrushes invariably nest on both sides of the boardwalk. Canada Warbler and Northern Waterthrush are dependable here. The latter is often seen by scanning the top branches of trees, scattered along the perimeter of the bog to the left. The Canada Warblers are more challenging to see in the dense cover to the right, but they are almost as vocal as the waterthrushes. Magnolia Warblers are also expected after the start of the boardwalk. Cedar Waxwings are often seen anywhere along the boardwalk.

In May, there will be marsh marigolds in full bloom. The curious phantom crane fly is often seen here, slowly hovering in the low vegetation. As one continues on the boardwalk, Alder Flycatchers and Swamp Sparrows perch prominently in several places. During early June and again in late August, Olive-sided Flycatchers often visit the bog during their migration. Given the regular visits of these flycatchers and the breeding Eastern Phoebes, as well as possible visits of Yellow-bellied Flycatchers on migration, it’s possible to err by assuming
that any flycatcher is an Alder. Along this stretch, if your hearing can pick up the sound, you may hear Ruffed Grouse drumming repeatedly from the forest edge.

Continuing on the boardwalk, look and listen for a Red-Shouldered Hawk. Off in the distance, we almost always hear a Yellow-throated Vireo singing from the top of a tree on the edge of the bog, but we are rarely able to locate it with our binoculars. You will more likely hear the Wood Ducks calling as they fly away. White-throated and Song sparrows are common. At any time of year listen for Evening Grosbeak. I have had fly-overs here several times. By late fall, most of the summer residents have left, but you may see Tree Sparrows and Pine Siskins from the boardwalk.

Northern Pitcher Plant

In the middle of the bog, you will come to the end of the boardwalk, which loops around on itself. Here is a panoramic view of the bog and surrounding woods. It is peaceful here, and you will often find yourself alone. Tree and Barn swallows often work the nearby pond. Check the pond for Mallards. Great Blue Herons do not nest here, but they will visit in summer. Listen for Common Ravens, since there is almost always one calling. Scan the trees on the far side of the bog for hawks. Please do not venture off the boardwalk onto the mat. The mat is fragile and you will be trampling tiny, rare bog plants, such as the round-leafed sundew. The mat surrounding the pond, which is relatively thin, is also treacherous for people to walk upon.

Here is where the northern pitcher plants grow. They are exquisite carnivorous plants whose leaves form a vessel that holds rainwater. Insects are lured into the pitcher and can’t get out. They drown in the water, are digested, and thus become plant food. Later, in early to late summer, the tiny round-leafed sundew, another insect-eating plant, can be found by carefully inspecting the mat on both sides of the boardwalk. A magnifying glass may be helpful. Also visible here are a few species of wild, bog- loving orchids. White-fringed orchid and rose pogonia are two of the orchids you may encounter, depending on when you visit. These are small orchids, not the large, tropical kind that are sold in flower shops. Nevertheless, these orchids are beautiful. If you are interested in the orchids, bring a camera with telephoto capability.

As you retrace your steps back toward the edge of the bog, scan the spruce snags for finches, flycatchers, and woodpeckers. Black-backed is not here, but I have seen six species of woodpecker. Keep your ears open for a possible Boreal Chickadee—at least once I’ve heard a song that suggested this rare visitor but was not able to locate it. Brown Creepers and both nuthatches are residents. Also listen for Great Crested Flycatchers. Flowering plants along the boardwalk include wild cranberry, yellow loosestrife, and bog laurel.

Back at your vehicle, there are a few ways in which you can extend your time in this area. As mentioned above, you can take the other trail and explore cellar holes as well as an old logging road that allows relatively easy walking through the woods. In your car, if you drive west through the main section of Hawley, you can turn left onto Ashfield Road. This road quickly ascends to an area of potato fields. During the spring and summer, Vesper Sparrows can be found here. Continue on Ashfield Road and bear left onto Hawley Road. After passing Apple Valley Road on the left, you will come to Bear Swamp, a Trustees of Reservations property, on the right. Park along the pulloff and walk into this property, where there is relatively easy hiking on marked trails, with a spectacular variety of blooming native wildflowers in early to mid-May.

Robert Wood was born in Monmouth County, New Jersey, and grew up on the Jersey Shore. He discovered birding in 1982 when Phil Bedient took him to see a Gyrfalcon while he was living in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He has lived in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, since 1987 and works as a Psychiatric Emergency Services Clinician for the Brien Center in Pittsfield. Robert Wood is a member of the Hoffmann and Allen bird clubs and lives in Windsor.

At a Glance: February 2015 Revealed

Wed, 01 Apr 2015 00:00:00 GMT

In addition to the three cowbirds in the picture, there is an indeterminate blackbird in the left rear portion. A careful look at the size and posture of this blackbird suggests that it is slightly larger than the cowbirds in the foreground and may not be that species. Although the bird is partially eclipsed by the bird in front of it, its size and posture suggest that it could be a Red-winged Blackbird, but realistically its identity is best left as uncertain.

The remaining blackbird in the center of the picture is noticeably larger than the other blackbirds. In addition to its significantly larger size, this bird also has a prominent pale, perhaps white, circular area around its vent. There is also a slash of white showing on the folded wing. This bird is unequivocally an adult male Yellow- headed Blackbird (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus). Even though its yellow head cannot be seen, no other blackbird shares the unique ventral marking around its anal opening, which is actually rich yellow like the head, and white inner wing coverts which, when the wing is extended, take on the configuration of a white wing patch. This feature is present only in males.

This mixed flock of blackbirds is typical of many such flocks seen throughout Massachusetts in fall. Though Brown-headed Cowbirds, Common Grackles, and Red- winged Blackbirds are seasonally common to abundant throughout the state for much of the year, Yellow-headed Blackbirds are rare and tend to be found near the coast in late summer and fall. David Larson photographed this flock on October 25, 2014, in Seabrook, New Hampshire.