Mockingbirds, Their Territories and Individualities

Michener, Harold; Michener, Josephine R.

doi:10.2307/1363343

Cited by 48 publications

(18 citation statements)

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“…The House Finch, often positive for WNV antibodies, roosts and nests in loose aggregations within dense vegetation or under eaves of houses (Bergtold 1913, Hill 1993). In contrast, the Northern Mockingbird, which we found to have a seroprevalence lower than in the House Finch, aggressively defends its territory and therefore has a more uniform and sparse distribution (Michener and Michener 1935, Derrickson and Breitwisc 1992). This behavior does not protect mockingbirds from mosquito biting, but rather their evenly spaced distribution may make them more difficult for a mosquito to locate than a group of House Finches.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 75%

Differential Impact of West Nile Virus on California Birds

Wheeler

Barker

Fang

et al. 2009

Condor

103

106

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The strain of West Nile virus (WNV) currently epidemic in North America contains a genetic mutation elevating its virulence in birds, especially species in the family Corvidae. Although dead American Crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) have been the hallmark of the epidemic, the overall impact of WNV on North America's avifauna remains poorly understood and has not been addressed thoroughly in California. Here, we evaluate variation by species in the effect of WNV on California birds from 2004 to 2007 by using (1) seroprevalence in free-ranging birds, (2) percentage of carcasses of each species reported by the public that tested positive for WNV, (3) mortality determined from experimental infections, and (4) population declines detected by trend analysis of Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data. Using Bayesian linear models, we extrapolate trends in BBS data from 1980 to . We attribute significant declines from expected abundance trends in areas supporting epiornitics to WNV transmission. We combine risk assessed from each of the four data sets to generate an overall score describing WNV risk by species. The susceptibility of California avifauna to WNV varies widely, with overall risk scores ranging from low for the refractory Rock Pigeon (Columba livia) through high for the susceptible American Crow. Other species at high risk include, in descending order, the House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus), Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), Western Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica), and Yellow-billed Magpie (Pica nuttalli). Our analyses emphasize the importance of multiple data sources in assessing the effect of an invading pathogen.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 75%

Differential Impact of West Nile Virus on California Birds

Wheeler

Barker

Fang

et al. 2009

Condor

103

106

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“…An example of microgeographic allopatry in which males and females occupy adjacent areas of similar habitat is provided by the Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos), where individuals of either sex hold solitary feeding territories during the nonbreeding season (Laskey, 1935:373;Michener and Michener, 1935). Similar behavior is displayed by the Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) (Miller 1931:148), the Redheaded Woodpecker (Kilham, 1959), and numerous other species.…”

Section: Allopatry Of the Sexesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual Dimorphism and Differential Niche Utilization in Birds

1966

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JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.. University of California Press and CooperOrnithological Society are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Condor.

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“…Pine spacing may affect birds by changing vegetation characteristics that delay canopy closure and increasing sunlight availability to the forest floor (Bechard, 2008), but we observed few differences in vegetation cover among MSP treatments after year 1 (Lane et al, 2011). Therefore, birds may be responding to structure of the pines themselves, perhaps as physical boundaries or perches for delineating or defending territories (Michener and Michener, 1935).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

Bird community responses to a gradient of site preparation intensities in pine plantations in the Coastal Plain of North Carolina

Lane

Miller

Castleberry

et al. 2011

Forest Ecology and Management

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a b s t r a c tAlthough intensively managed pine forests are common in the southeastern US, few studies describe how combinations of mechanical (MSP) and chemical site preparation (CSP) and herbaceous weed control (HWC) techniques affect bird communities that use early successional habitats within young pine forests. Therefore, we examined effects of six treatments of increasing management intensity via combinations of MSP (strip-shear and wide spacing or roller chop and narrow spacing) and CSP (application or no application) treatments with banded or broadcast HWC on bird communities in six loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) plantations in the Coastal Plain of North Carolina, USA, for 8 years following site preparation. Wide pine spacing and strip-shear MSP increased bird abundance and species richness over narrow spacing and chopped MSP for 6 years after planting. Chemical SP reduced bird abundance in year 2, increased bird abundance in year 6, had no effect on abundance after year 7, and did not affect species richness in any year. Total bird abundance and species richness were similar between banded and broadcast HWC. Site preparation and HWC had no effect on bird diversity and bird communities were most similar in treatments of similar intensity. Site preparation and HWC had few or no effects on birds based upon migratory status, habitat association, or conservation value. The addition of chemical site preparation or HWC had little effect on birds beyond pine spacing, and bird abundance was not proportional to management intensity. Although we observed treatment effects, all treatments provided habitat used by a variety of bird species, and pine plantations may play an increasingly important role in bird conservation as forests become fragmented and converted to other land uses and as natural processes that create early successional habitat, such as fire, are suppressed.

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Mockingbirds, Their Territories and Individualities

Cited by 48 publications

References 0 publications

Differential Impact of West Nile Virus on California Birds

Differential Impact of West Nile Virus on California Birds

Sexual Dimorphism and Differential Niche Utilization in Birds

Bird community responses to a gradient of site preparation intensities in pine plantations in the Coastal Plain of North Carolina

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