SUMMARY: The newly-sequenced scarlet macaw genome will provide many important insights into avian and human biology, behaviours and genetics and will contribute to parrot conservation.

Scarlet macaw, Ara macao, in flight.
Image: Tambopata Research Center. [NOTE: This image has been altered; it has been cropped.]

After many years of research into the behaviours, diseases, genetics and life history of scarlet macaws, a team of scientists have taken their studies to the next level. Christopher Seabury, an Assistant Professor of Genetics at Texas A&M University’s college of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, and Ian Tizard, Director of the Schubot Exotic Bird Health Center and a Professor of Microbiology & Immunology at Texas A&M University’s college of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, spearheaded an international collaboration of scientists that sequenced the genome of the scarlet macaw, Ara macao. This work significantly expands the range and depth of research opportunities involving scarlet macaws and other parrots. In addition to important conservation applications, this research may provide insights into the genetics that contribute to key traits of parrots, such as cognitive and speech abilities as well as longevity.

Scarlet macaws are large and showy parrots with brilliant red, yellow and blue plumage and long pointed tails. Endemic to Central and South America, this impressive neotropical parrot occupies a large range from southeastern Mexico throughout the Amazon basin region of Peru, Bolivia and Brazil. Easily trained to do complex tasks and to mimic human speech, wild scarlet macaws have been persecuted by the caged bird trade. Additionally, their preferred habitat of lowland evergreen rainforests makes them vulnerable to deforestation and habitat destruction.

To do this work, Drs Seabury and Tizard and their team obtained a blood sample from an adult female scarlet macaw known as “Neblina” who resides at the Blank Park Zoo in Iowa. A wild-caught parrot from Brazil, Neblina had been seized in 1995 by the US Fish and Wildlife Service after she illegally entered the United States.

Unlike mammals, avian red blood cells are nucleated, so a small sample of whole blood from a bird is an excellent source of DNA for molecular, chromosomal and cytological studies. Some cells were grown in cultures so the intact chromosomes could be harvested and examined whilst DNA was extracted from other cells for sequencing. These gene sequences were then assembled into the complete scarlet macaw genome by Seabury and his team.

Similar to almost all vertebrates, scarlet macaws are diploid; having two copies of each chromosome type, one contributed by each parent. Like all birds except birds of prey (Falconiformes), parrot genomes contain macrochromosomes and a larger number of microchromosomes.

Macrochromosomes are what most people think of when they hear the word “chromosome” and they are the type of chromosomes that are typically found in mammals. Macrochromosomes, which include autosomes and sex chromosomes, are large — generally more than 40 megabases (Mb) in size (1 megabase is 1,000,000 nucleotide basepairs in length).

Microchromosomes, on the other hand, are very small — usually less than 20 Mb in size. Due to their small size, microchromosomes are often impossible to distinguish when creating a traditional karyotype, as you see in Figure 1 (larger view):

Figure 1. Consensus Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) Karyotype.
Scarlet macaw diploid chromosome number is 2n=62–64, as inferred from chromosome counts of multiple cells derived from three individuals, including the sequenced female macaw (Neblina). All investigated scarlet macaws had 22 macrochromosomes, which included 10 pairs of autosomes and the sex chromosomes, and approximately 40–42 microchromosomes. [doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0062415.s019]

Scarlet macaws have somewhere between 62 and 64 chromosomes; including 22 macrochromosomes (10 pairs of autosomomes and two sex chromosomes) and between 40 and 42 microchromosomes.

To identify similar regions between scarlet macaw and chicken macrochromosomes, the team used chromosome painting. This method uses fluorescently labeled chromosome-specific DNA probes that hybridise to complementary DNA regions, thereby identifying macaw chromosome regions that are similar to chicken chromosomes (Figure 2; larger view):

Figure 2. Chicken-Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) Comparative Chromosome Painting (ZooFISH).
Using chicken flow sorted macrochromosomes (GGA1-GGA9) as well as GGAZ and GGAW, the homologous chromosome segments of the scarlet macaw were established via fluorescent in situ hybridization. [doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0062415.s019]

As expected, the final completed scarlet macaw genome shows similarities to that of the domestic chicken. However, there are a number of important differences, which are to be expected since parrots and chickens (taxonomic order: Galliformes) diverged approximately 122–125 million years ago. For example, several macaw macrochromosomes (1, 6 & 7) show significant rearrangements. The sex chromosome W shows no similarities at all between chicken and macaw, indicating that this chromosome is changing rapidly and thus, has not been conserved across such a large evolutionary distance.

As typical for other avian genomes studied so far, scarlet macaw genomes are smaller than mammalian genomes.

“The final analysis showed that there are about one billion DNA bases in the genome, which is about one-third of that found in mammals,” Dr Tizard explained in a written press release.

“Birds have much less DNA than mammals primarily because they do not possess nearly as much repetitive DNA.”

Repetitive DNA has no currently known function. The amount of repetitive DNA varies greatly between taxa: for example, more than 50 percent of the human genome is repetitive DNA [doi:10.1038/nrg3117].

According to Dr Seabury, comparing the scarlet macaw genome to other avian genomes will provide scientists with a better understanding of avian biology.

“The Scarlet Macaw Genome Project opens a variety of doors ranging from modern forensics to determining how the macaws utilize their natural habitat and landscape, as inferred from variable genetic markers,” said Dr Seabury in a written press release.

In addition to research into evolution and population genetics, and conservation biology applications, what can we learn from the scarlet macaw’s genome? First, even though birds have higher metabolisms than mammals, they enjoy much longer life spans than do mammals with the same body mass. In the case of scarlet macaws, adults weigh somewhere between 1000 and 1200 grams (roughly 2.2 pounds), and they reach sexual maturity at 5 years of age, yet their life span rivals that of humans. By comparing avian genomes to those obtained from other animals, it may be possible to identify which genes contribute to birds’ remarkable longevity.

Other genes of interest are those involved in heart and cardiovascular fitness, and those that contribute to the risk for diabetes. But perhaps most interesting are those genes involved with cognition and brain size.

“A preliminary analysis of their genome suggests that [macaws] have a lot of genes involved in brain development”, said Dr Tizard in a video press release. “Which fits, knowing how smart they are.”

Despite differences from humans in brain development and structure, macaws are much like humans: they are very intelligent and live in highly complex social groups. Additionally, when corrected for differences in body size, macaws’ brains are twenty-one percent larger than those of zebra finches, Taeniopygia guttata, which are the model system for vertebrate learning and memory. Thus, comparing the scarlet macaw, zebra finch and human genomes could provide greater insight and understanding into important genetic differences in brain development, structure and volume.

NOTE: this piece is slightly edited from the original, which was published on the Guardian.

Sources:

Seabury C.M., Dowd S.E., Seabury P.M., Raudsepp T., Brightsmith D.J., Liboriussen P., Halley Y., Fisher C.A., Owens E. & Viswanathan G. & Tizard, I.R. (2013). A Multi-Platform Draft de novo Genome Assembly and Comparative Analysis for the Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao), PLoS ONE, 8 (5) e62415. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0062415.s019

TAMU written and video press releases.

Also cited:

Treangen T.J. & Salzberg S.L. (2012). Repetitive DNA and next-generation sequencing: computational challenges and solutions, Nature Reviews Genetics 13: 36-46. doi:10.1038/nrg3117

Ried T., Schröck E., Ning Y. & Wienberg J. (1998). Chromosome painting: a useful art, Human Molecular Genetics, 7 (10) 1619-1626. doi:10.1093/hmg/7.10.1619 [OA PDF]

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GrrlScientist is an evolutionary biologist, ornithologist and freelance science writer who writes about the interface between evolution, ethology and ecology, especially in birds. As a judge who helped select the 2013 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize shortlist, she also has a deep passion for good books, especially good science books, which she reviews with some regularity. You can follow Grrlscientist’s work on her eponymous Guardian blog, and also on facebook, G+, LinkedIn, Pinterest and of course, twitter: @GrrlScientistRandom Posts:

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Summary: A delightful book for baby birders that is crammed with poetry, information and gorgeous paintings of birds! Oh yeah, it teaches the letters of the English alphabet, too.

Magpie.
Image: acrylic painting by Shelli Ogilvy (2008).

Do you wish to share your love of birds, art and books with (your) children? If so, then you will really enjoy the Alphabet Bird Collection, a lovely children’s book that was written and illustrated by Shelli Ogilvy [Sasquatch Books, 2009; Amazon UK; Amazon US]. This beautiful book is designed to teach children the alphabet whilst also teaching them a few things about birds.

Suitable for adults to read aloud to young children (ages 3+) or for older children to read themselves (if they haven’t already memorised the entire book from frequent re-readings!), each letter is presented on two colourful facing pages in this hardcover book. One page features a painting of a bird whose name begins with the featured letter of the alphabet (see top) and the facing page includes a rhyming couplet about the bird along with a few interesting life history details. For example:

At dusk you might see from under the eve,
Nighthawks hunting, as they bob and weave.

In the evening Common Nighthawks come out to feed. Their large mouths and flying acrobatics can be confused with those of bats. However, their soft call identifies this bird rather than other insect hunters.

Well actually, not to be nit-picky or anything, but I think common nighthawks sound rather like semi-trailer trucks (articulated lorries) that have downshifted when they roar down a steep hill.

My only complaint is the book claims to include a “song” for each bird, written out on a musical scale and presumably representing what that bird’s actual song sounds like. Well, the words may represent the bird’s song (kinda-sorta), but writing the words on a musical scale is just wrong since different bird species sing different notes — and this difference is not represented at all accurately even though the musical scale implies that it is accurate-as-written. Another (minor) issue is these birds are all New World species, which means that at least some of them or their relatives cannot be seen in the Old World — unless, of course, they become desperately lost during migration, which does happen on occasion!

However, that said, I do love this book for its adorable poems and interesting life history information. For example, I was pleased that the author does not refer to gulls as “seagulls” — a common mistake that many people make. But this book’s primary appeal to kids of all ages are its many beautiful and accurate bird paintings. My personal favourites are “L for Loon” (common loon/great northern diver) and “P for Puffin” (horned puffin).

You may be curious which birds the author used to represent those challenging letters Q, X, V and Z? Well, Ms Ogilvy does have birds representing each of those letters, but their identities are something I’ll leave for you to investigate. If you (and your relatives) don’t have any kids of your own, you might enjoy purchasing this book for your local school library, just so you can enjoy it first!

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Shelli Ogilvy is an artist and outdoor adventurer who was born and raised in rural Alaska. She has a bachelor’s degree in marine biology and has contributed to published scientific research on humpback whales and gray wolves. When not working as a sea kayak guide in Antarctica or as a camping guide in Alaska’s Glacier Bay, she paints and pursues other creative activities. Ms Ogilvy primarily works with acrylic paint on either canvas or paper and sometimes combines mediums such as chalk, ink or spray paint. She divides her time between Gustavus, Alaska and Taos, New Mexico. This is her first book.

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

GrrlScientist is an evolutionary biologist, ornithologist and freelance science writer who writes about the interface between evolution, ethology and ecology, especially in birds. As a judge who helped select the 2013 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize shortlist, she also has a deep passion for good books, especially good science books, which she reviews with some regularity. You can follow Grrlscientist’s work on her eponymous Guardian blog, and also on facebook, G+, LinkedIn, Pinterest and of course, twitter: @GrrlScientist

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SUMMARY: If your idea of observing “spring” includes binoculars, then you will love this fabulous new innovation

Do you like to watch birds and other animals (or even your neighbours)? If so, then you’ll be happy to learn about a wonderful advance in technology that is guaranteed to add thousands if not millions of new “watchers” to those who already enjoy this hobby!

So how did you spend your spring holiday? If you are like me, you might have been squidging around on mudflats with mud threatening to suck your boots off with every step you take, with a pair of 10×50 binoculars that weigh nearly two kilos strapped around your neck, a birds field guide in one of your jacket pockets and your iPhone (in a plastic baggy — just as a precaution!) in the other pocket, weighed down by a pack filled with two cameras, five lenses and a tripod (I left the ‘scope at home). Was I trying to get into the military? No. I was birding — watching wild birds.

Or maybe you (wisely) sat in your flat, sipping a martini whilst using your fancy binoculars to surreptitiously peer through your window blinds at your neighbours?

Well, whatever you did, if it involved binoculars, then you will be happy to learn about an innovative technology that practically does your watching for you!

After returning from a weekend staggering around in the field, I ran across a video advertising an innovative new binocular that, had I known about it earlier, would have saved my neck and back a lot of aching. Developed by Eagle Optics, this new binocular merges several advanced technologies into a field-friendly watching device. Named the Wild Turkey, this binocular is a welcome first step in making nature watching easier and more comfortable than ever before. Here’s the video:

Wow, that helium technology is really wonderful, don’t you agree? Now, if only they would upgrade these binoculars so they include an iPhone and a digital camera so I can snap pictures of “my” birds that I can then share with all my pals on twitter! But of course, the camera would have to be high-quality so I can leave the Nikon (and all its stupidly heavy lenses) at home. Which, I suppose, means more helium is needed, too.

Alas, there’s no known innovation that can ease mudflat-squidging in your boots, sigh.

Birders at Magee Marsh boardwalk. Birders at Magee Marsh boardwalk. Image: Gunnar Engblom, Kolibri Expeditions 2012.

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NOTE: this piece was slightly modified from the original, which was published on the Guardian.

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Long time.

It is time to wrap up the Bird Destination World Cup for 2013.  Last round had over 100 votes in each game, which is the highest number of participants so far. I chose to have the polls open and untied to each other, because it is is more exciting to see how the score changes, even though it invites for “cheating”

Cheating?  Perhaps a bit strong, but one can easily see tendencies of local campaigning which perhaps are not relevant to the opinion world birders have.  The idea is that voters SHOULD VOTE IN EACH GAME – not only for their native country.

On the other hand, this is just a game, so if anyone feel the need to use this World Cup to promote birding and conservation in their own country, please, you are welcome to do so. In fact it is inspiring if a simple game like will have such effect.

Just tell your people to vote in both games in the semifinal, please. 

Results from the Quarter finals.

• Borneo 36 Madagascar 66
  It was a surprise that Madagascar won against Borneo.  Borneo was top seeded after SE Peru with Machu Picchu and Manu had fallen out in the previous round. 
• Ecuador 64 Kenya 88
  Again a fallen favorite. Obviously some campaigning in Kenya added votes to this game. More birders need to vote to make local campaigns less decisive. 
• Australia 52 North Peru 51.
  Congratulations to Australia to win this thriller. Fairy-wrens, colorful parrots, Cassowary and Lyrebird kicked Marvelous Spatuletail ass!. 
• New Guinea (PNG/Irian Jaya) 78 Costa Rica 32
  New Guinea continues its winning streak in grand style. Birds of Paradise rule! Seriously, what can match that?  Costa Rica did not have a chance.

Semi-finals 4 contenders.

You could just jump this section and run straight down to the voting. If you are a well traveled birder you already know how to vote. But if not, I think it is a good idea to present the assets of the four semi-finalists. As we have mentioned earlier in this series, the top world birding destination is more than just the birds. Infrastructure and additional non-birding experiences also play a role. Perhaps not for all birders, but still for most.
The challenge for me is to describe these destinations for you. I have only been to Kenya and that was as a transfer to get to Tanzania. Therefore, I probably will need some of your help to portrait these destinations. I am grateful for your comments below, which will be added to each account as they come in.

Madagascar

Rufous Vanga. Endemic to Madagascar. Paul French. Check more of Paul’s pictures from his trip report  from Madagascar, Reuniom and Mauritius.

A huge island off South East Africa with unique fauna, but few bird species – only 256 species, serious conservation issues with lots of already destroyed habitat and poor English knowledge (they speak French).  But  50%  (102 species) of the breeding birds are endemic, and another 10% (23 species) are shared with Mauritius and Reunion.
Many of the endemic species are big and colorful. Perhaps the biggest attraction on Madagascar, even for birders, are not the birds, but the 20 species of lemurs one may see on a trip.  The combination of seeing most lemur species and over 100 endemic birds, including 5 regional endemic bird families makes Madagascar a top destination.

Kenya 

Hartlaub’s Turaco en is an endemic bird  to North East Africa perhaps easiest seen in in Kenya. Photo by Kenichi Nobusue -Flickr.  Creative Commons.

What can be said about Madagascar, that the mammals is the main draw, can be said of Kenya.  The East African savanna is magic and the mammals are the main reason why you choose to go there.  There are over 1000 species but only 6 endemics. The endemics are not particularly colorful, but there are a quite a few regional near endemics that are worth a detour such as Hartlaub’s Turaco, Somali Bee-eater and Heuglin’s Bustard,

Australia

Blue-breasted Fairy-wren by Alex Vargas, Australia 2009. Originally appeared in Alex Vargas report from Western Australia.

Even if Australia’s marsupials also is a major attraction, the aviafauna in it own right is spectacular.  I have already mentioned Fairy-wrens, colorful parrots, Cassowary and Lyrebird. Add a couple of Pittas and Honeyeaters, plus excellent infrastructure, friendly people, and English qualify Australia as a top birder destination. Birding should always be this straight-forward.

Papua New Guinea/Irian Jaya.

Birds of Paradise!  Every birders dream. But travelling can be a challenge. Safety  is still concern for independent travelers on PNG and infrastructure is lacking in many places on Irian Jaya.

If you want to get more photos, videos and info from these destinations, have a look at the previous installments of this series.  

• First round – World Bird Cup 2013. How the selection was made and how the destinations were seeded.  28 videos from around the world presented. Closed vote  where each voter had to vote in each game.
• Second round World Birding Destinations Cup 2013. Individual videos presented. Closed vote  where each voter had to vote in each game. 
• Quarter Finals in World Birding Destination Cup 2013.  Votes were made open and not tied to each other.

Semi-finals

We follow the seeding from the beginning which gives that winner of game 1 plays winner of game 4. We get:

• Madagascar vs New Guinea
• Kenya vs Australia. 

It is Africa vs AustralAsia in both games.  It shall be very exciting to follow.

Vote until midnight (-5H GMT) Sunday April 7 .

Top photo: Helmeted Vanga by Paul French.

Gunnar Engblom was born in Sweden and lives in Peru. He is BirdingBlogs.com’s webmaster. He is a birder, runner, post-punkrocker and blogger and he is especially keen on social media for birders – which is how this project started in the first place. Gunnar Engblom organizes birding tours in Peru and the Neotropics with Kolibri Expeditions. Gunnar is passionate about new Peru tours that support community based ecotourism and conservation and has initiated several project this way. Gunnar blogs on his own blog - A birding blog from Peru.
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Photography in the tropics can be a very challenging endeavor. Aside from the technical aspects of photography (such as shooting in low light and using fill flash) photographers must also come to terms with the fact that they are now dealing with species and ecosystems that are unfamiliar. Because of this, when it comes to tropical nature photography arming yourself with as much knowledge as is possible is a tremendous asset and will ultimately lead to more opportunities to create exceptional images.

It is important for photographers and naturalists to realize that in such diverse communities the way that species behave, interact and live their lives is often very different than in those that reside in more temperate regions. In this article we present a selection of our top tips for nature photography in the tropics. We also discuss a few resources for information and ways in which you can get the most out of your photography trip.

TOP TROPICAL TIPS

Find the Fruit – Many tropical birds are frugivorous. Beautiful and exciting birds like Toucans, Tanagers and Cotingas are all primarily fruit eaters. Knowing which trees and shrubs provide the most desirable food and where these trees are located is often a great way to find and photograph birds.

Gray-breasted Mountain-Toucan (Andigena hypoglauca)

Mixed Species Flocks – One very interesting aspect of bird photography in the tropics is that birds participate in what are called mixed species flocks. Essentially this is when a group of birds of a variety of different species join together to move about through the forest and feed. The idea is that there is strength in numbers and that they can all keep a lookout for predators while they travel around to feed. Often the flock is composed of birds that exploit different niches. Therefore they do not compete in the same areas of the forest or for the same food resources. Keeping a look out for flocks is an important part of rainforest bird photography and it can be a thrilling experience to encounter a big flock where dozens of species may be seen and photographed in a matter of minutes.

Ant Swarms – Another fascinating aspect of tropical bird photography is encountering an army ant swarm. The reason that this is such a find is that many species of birds are very devoted army ant followers. These birds follow the ant swarms not to eat the ants themselves. Instead, they follow the leading edge of the swarm to snatch up any creatures that are trying to flee from the swarm. Finding a good ant swarm means that you will almost inevitably encounter a variety of understory birds. Because the birds are so focused on watching for their next meal they are often very easy to approach and photograph. Just make sure you are wearing good boots and have your pant legs tucked in or taped off to avoid being bitten yourself!

Hairy-crested Antbird (Rhegmatorhina melanosticta)

Trap Lines and Consistent Perches – An excellent way to get great photographs of hummingbirds is to be aware that they exhibit some very consistent behaviour patterns. Many species of hummingbirds (especially the Hermits) are known as trap line feeders. This means that they fly between feeding sites on a regular route each and every day. If you are able to identify one of their favourite feeding sites you might just be able to wait for them to return and catch a photo or two. Just be aware that for some species this could mean waiting for several hours. An even better way to photograph hummingbirds is to recognize that they routinely perch in the exact same places. If you notice a spot where a hummingbird has landed (especially if it is near a feeding station) there is a very good chance that it will return to that same spot.

Red-tailed Comet (Sappho sparganura)

More Species…Not necessarily more individuals – Many Photographers who visit the tropics for the first time are often disappointed to arrive and not find the trees dripping with birds and the forests absent of bird sounds. While it is generally true that tropical forests hold more different types of species, there are not necessarily as many individuals. In fact birding in a tropical forest can sometimes be painfully slow for hours at a time (especially at mid day).

Calls Don’t Work – At least not nearly as well as they do in more temperate latitudes. The birds in general simply have not evolved the same kind of aggressive territorial behaviour that those in more temperate latitudes have. Highland birds and some hummingbirds are perhaps the exception to this rule.

Know Your Pygmy Owls – One great way to attract birds in tropical areas is to play the call of whatever the local Pygmy Owl is. Birds from all over the area will likely come in to investigate and will often perch out in the open. The challenge is that there are approximately 20 species of Pygmy Owls throughout the tropics and in order for this technique to work you must know which call to use.

Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium brasilianum)

Light Gaps - Life for plants in the tropical forest is characterized by a constant struggle for light. More light means more energy for photosynthesis which means more growth. When a large tree falls as a result of age or storms, light floods the new open area, and plants look to capitalize on the new source of light. Flowering bushes and plants such as Heliconias and gingers colonize the area and quickly attract scores of butterflies and hummingbirds.

The photographer can take advantage of these subjects and the relatively higher light levels, which of course mean higher shutter speeds. These areas also offer good places for landscape photography as the colorful flowers can provide for great foreground subjects for wide angle images. Keep an eye out too for small to medium-sized lizards in light gaps as the sun and more concentrated insect activity are both attractive to them.

Cecropia Trees - In the New World tropics, one of the main pioneer species to colonize light gaps and forest edges is the Cecropia tree. In a light gap, it’s all about getting to the light first, and Cecropias employ two interesting methods to help them. First, they grow tall very quickly. Second, they enlist the help of ants in the genus Azteca, which live in the hollow stems and feed off extrafloral nectary glands at the base of the leaf petioles. Azteca ants will defend their source of food and shelter against caterpillars and other insects and animals that could compromise the Cecropia’s growth.

Cecropias are important for the photographer for two reasons. First, the fruits attract lots of birds (toucans, tanagers, aracaris), and mammals such as sloths and howler monkeys eat the leaves. Second, the very design of the Cecropia makes it an attractive setting for wildlife photography. The open branching architecture offers clean perches, and the large palmate leaves provide a tropical sense of place for our wildlife photographs. If a local guide tells you of a photo opportunity in a Cecropia, it may be worth your while to check it out.

Crimson-rumped Toucanet (Aulacorhynchus haematopygus)

Look for Water - Accessible aquatic areas offer the tropical nature photographer a myriad of opportunities. A rushing stream in a cloud forest or a meandering backwater flow in a lowland forest provide great compositional opportunities for landscapes. During the rainy season, flowing water is a breeding ground for elusive glass frogs, whose tadpoles depend on the turgidity of the water for survival. Stagnant water, in contrast, is the breeding ground for many species of tree frogs. And larger lagoons/lakes will of course offer us chances to photograph aquatic birds as well as crocodiles and caimans.

Fallen fruit - Fruit doesn’t attract animals only when it is still on the plant. Many animals such as agoutis, pacas, wild boar, morpho butterflies, and larger ground-dwelling birds seek out ripe fruit after it has fallen to the forest floor. Poachers look for trees dropping fruit in the forest because they know that it will attract the animals they are hunting, albeit illegally. We don’t advocate poaching of course but we can use this same principal to stalk our photographic prey!

Do your Research and Have a Plan – If you want to get the most out of any photography trip to the tropics you need to do your research and formulate a plan. Simply showing up and hoping good things happen is often not a successful approach. Reading trip reports online of past birdwatching / photography trips is a great place to start and will give you an idea of what species to expect where.

Andean Cock-of-the-Rock

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Field Guides: Excellent field guides are available for the birds of most countries these days. In addition field guides to mammals, plans and tropical ecosystems as a whole are widely available.

A Neotropical Companion: This excellent book is a wonderful source of information and is a joy to read. An excellent book to have for anyone headed to the Neotropics!

Naturalist Guides: In addition to the printed literature about tropical ecosystems, it is often a good idea to enlist the services of a local guide. Ask around as to who the best local guides are and if possible spend some time with them in the field. Local knowledge about any ecosystem is generally invaluable.

Photography Workshops: There is simply no better way to get high quality images in the tropics than to attend a photography workshop with a professional photographer who has expertise in the area. Such leaders will have established relationship with lodges and refuges that will mean great photo opportunities for you, and they will also be able to share lots of technical photographic knowledge for how to deal with the challenges of tropical nature photography. Take care choosing your leader though as there are many trip leaders who are not very knowledgeable at all about tropical ecosystems and/or tropical photography and are just trying to get you to pay for their trip.

The Guide to Tropical Nature Photography: An essential manual for any photographer heading to the tropics, this new e-book by Glenn Bartley and Greg Basco is packed with over 400 pages of techniques and tips to help photographers make the most of their visit to these challenging photographic destinations. CLICK HERE TO CHECK IT OUT

Booted Racket-tail hummingbird (Ocreatus underwoodii)

Top photo: Banded Ground-Cuckoo (Neomorphus radiolosus). Glenn Bartley.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Glenn Bartley is a professional nature photographer who focuses on photographing birds in their natural habitat. He resides in Victoria, British Columbia on Canada’s West Coast. Glenn leads photographic workshops throughout the New World Tropics.

To see more of Glenn’s images or find out how you can join him on a photo workshop visit: www.glennbartley.com.Random Posts:

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Second round results

Shockingly favorite seeded South Peru is out. It was a tough game against Borneo and for long time it was tied. A final push gave Borneo the victory. I guess Bornean Bristlehead, Broadbills, Hornbills and all the Pittas blew away Cock of the Rock, Hoatzin and Macaw-licks. Here are the results.

1. Borneo 54 vs Peru 41
2. Ecuador 64 Antarctica 31
3. Australia 61 Pantanal 34
4. New Guinea 78 South East Brazil 17
5. Costa Rica 58 Galapagos 37
6. North 59 Peru Alaska 36
7. Kenya 60 South Africa 35
8. Madagascar 64 Colombia 31

Quarter final.

Here are the contestants in the quarter-final by pairing winner of Game 1 with winner in Game 8.

1. Borneo vs Madagascar
2. Ecuador vs Kenya
3. Australia vs North Peru
4. New Guinea vs Costa Rica

Just mark your favorites right here on the blog. Please vote in all games.

If you want to see videos from the destinations, check the previous post in this series.  

The voting closes on Feb 19 at 8 PM EST (-5H GMT)

Here are some pics from BirdingBLogs archives and a few contributions elsewhere to help you remember which destination you like the most.

Bornean Banded Pitta by Susan Myers in 50 best birds of Asiapost. 

Helmeted Vanga by Paul French. Check more of Paul’s pictures from his trip report  from Madagascar, Reuniom and Mauritius.

Banded Ground-Cuckoo is found on the west slope of the Andes. Recently there is a stake-out for the bird at Ün Poco de Chcoó”. Photo: Roger Ahlman from the Birdingblogs post about Un Poco de Choco.

Crowned Crane by Muzina Shanghai (Flickr) (from Zoo). Common bird of the African Savanna in Kenya

Red-capped Parrot by Alex Vargas, Australia 2009. In the series of posts by Alex about Birds of West Australia. 

Marvelous Spatuletail from Pomacochas, Amazonas, Peru. Photo: Max Waugh (MaxWaugh.com). Posted in  the first post about World Birding Destination Cup 2013.

Wilson’s Bird-of-Paradise wikipedia Photo: Serhanoksay (Wikipedia).   This spectacular Bird of Paradise can be found  in Irian Jaya, New Guinea. Photo previously featured in last years World Bird Cup.

The Resplendent Quetzal can be seen in hills through-out Central America to South Mexico. Yet, it is Costa Rica which has managed best to make it their bird.
Photo: Clay Taylor. Appeared on Birdingblogs in a reportage about Digiscoper Clay:

Top Photo: Black-and-Yellow Broadbill by Cede Prudente, Malaysian Borneo featured in the Birdingblog post about Cede in jan 2012.

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• World Birding Destination Cup 2013 2nd round.
• Semi-finals World Bird Destination Cup 2013
• World Bird Cup 2013
• The Best Images of 2011
• Quarter finals. World Bird Cup

First round results.

Here are the results from the first round where 32 birding destinations were paired. The seeding had previously been set from the survey on Facebook and was accounted for in the previous post.

Final scores with the winner in bold. 77 votes in total. Yes, it was a bit too many options to vote for and it made things complicated with the videos showing in the voting procedures. This has changed for the second round.

1. SE Peru 67 The Gambia 10
2. Ecuador 65 St Lawrence Isl, Alaska 12
3. Australia 63 Scotland 14
4. New Guinea 62 Guyana 15
5. Costa Rica 64 Veracruz, Mexico 13
6. North Peru 55 Rwanda 22
7. Kenya 65 Iceland 12
8. Madagascar 51 Philippines 26
9. Colombia 51 Ethiopia 26
10. South Africa 71 Bulgaria 6
11. Alaska 56 California 21
12. Galapagos 48 Magee Marsh/Point Pelee 29
13. Arizona 18 South East Brazil 59
14. Texas 22 Pantanal 55
15. Antarctica 48 Panama 29
16. Borneo 41 Thailand 36

The clearest win was that of South Africa against Bulgaria. That is why the Bateleur photo is in the head of this article.
The tightest match was that of Borneo vs Thailand. For a long time this game was a draw, but Borneo won in the end.

This leads up to the next round of 8 very exciting games where it will be very hard to choose.  The winner of Game 1 plays the winner of game 16 and so forth.
Click this link to vote: Second round World Birding Destination Cup 2013

It only takes 1 minute to vote. If you need to know more about the destinations you could check out the videos below.

These are many cases promotional videos, some better than others. Attentive birders will hear Tawny Owls and Red-tailed Hawks where there should not be any. Birdingblogs does not endorse the products or companies mentioned, but we are grateful that these videos are available on YouTube.
Have Fun!

1. South East Peru vs Borneo

2. Ecuador vs Antarctica

3. Australia vs Pantanal, Brazil

4. New Guinea vs South East Brazil

5. Costa Rica vs Galapagos

6. North Peru vs Alaska

7. Kenya vs South Africa

8. Madagascar vs Colombia

If you want to see all the videos in a stream, visit this YouTube stream I have put together.

Vote here:
Second round World Birding Destination Cup 2013

Voting ends Sunday night Jan 27 at 7 PM Eastern time. (EST) Have fun!

Top photo: Bateleur Eagle. By John Smith. www.Wildeyeview.com

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SUMMARY: If Hitler had been a bird watcher, how might he have reacted to not being the first person to see and photograph hoary redpolls in Colorado recently?

There are two subspecies of Arctic redpoll. Coues’s Arctic redpoll, C. h. exilipes, which breeds in birch forests of the northern tundras in North America and Eurasia, is smaller and slightly darker than the Greenland race, C. h. hornemanni. Although Arctic redpolls are larger and paler with smaller beaks than common redpolls, these redpolls are challenging to distinguish in the field, especially since there is some overlap between females of the two species.

This scene is from Downfall (English translation), a German film that tries to give an accurate depiction of the final days of Hitler. Soon after release of the film, hundreds of parodies of this particular scene have appeared on YouTube.

When New York magazine asked the film’s director, Oliver Hirschbiegel, about these parodies in a 2010 interview, he said that many of them were funny and they were a fitting extension of the film’s purpose: “The point of the film was to kick these terrible people off the throne that made them demons, making them real and their actions into reality. I think it’s only fair if now it’s taken as part of our history, and used for whatever purposes people like.” [as cited here]

Top photo: Tundraurpiainen — Arctic redpoll, Carduelis hornemanni, is commonly known as the hoary redpoll in North America.
Image: Juho Holmi (Finland) (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.)

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

Read more about this year’s Arctic redpoll irruption in Colorado.

NOTE: this piece is slightly edited from the original, which was published on the Guardian.

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

Follow Grrlscientist’s work on facebook, Google +, LinkedIn, Pinterest and of course, twitter: @GrrlScientist
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Facebook fun

Do you remember World Bird Cup from last year? We had different birds around the world put up against each other for popularity. In the final Marvelous Spatuletail against Philippine Eagle, the eagle won a narrow win at the deadline. But votes kept on coming in after the deadline resulting in more votes for the Hummingbird. In any case. Philippine Eagle is the undisputed champion of 2012.

I had originally thought to just do the same concept again this year. However, I sent off this Facebok Question to Birdingblogs Facebook Page about which is the best birding destinations worldwide – partly because of curiosity which destinations I should target myself in the future for my own pleasure, but also partly something like a market survey to know where my company Kolibri Expeditions should focus if/when we start offering tours outside of South America.

All of a sudden I had sort of blocked the space for starting the World Cup of bird species again. It would have been way too much to immediately do another survey on Facebook. This one had already hit most Facebook groups about birding that I belong to.  Another survey like that from me? Spare us!

World Bird Destinations Cup

Then it hit me. Why not do a world cup of birding destinations? After all, the option of choosing 10 destinations on Facebook does not say anything of rank between them. Even though SE Peru with Machu Picchu, Tambopata and Manu road got most votes, it is not given that it would be the most popular destination if there were fewer choices and you could only pick one. I dread to have to choose between Papua New Guinea/West Papua and Peru. It’d be a tough call for me. And I could think of many other scenarios.  How about you? Which destination will the birders rank as number one?

32 contestants in the Best Birding in the World  Cup

Facebook questions was ideal to get the nominees. The Facebook users simply marked 10 options and could add destinations I had not thought of. At the end (Christmas Day) I had picked the 25 destinations which had most votes and then added and additional 7 destinations that were suggested by the participants in the comment section, but could not be added for voting since Facebook only allows 100 options for the question function.

Here are the results for the top 25 birding destinations in the world according the Birdingblogs Facebook fans:

1. SE Peru – i.e. Machu Picchu and Manu  111 votes.
2. Ecuador 98 votes.
3. Australia 89 votes.
4. Papua New Guinea 88 votes.
5. Costa Rica 82 votes.
6. North Peru (Marvellous Spatuletail) 80 votes.
7. Kenya 78 votes.
8. Madagascar 70 votes.
9. Colombia 62 votes.
10. South Africa 55 votes.
11. Alaska 55 votes.
12. Galagagos 46 votes.
13. Arizona  44 votes.
14. Texas 43 votes.
15. Antarctica 41 votes.
16. Borneo 41 votes.
17. Thailand 33 votes.
18. Panama 32 votes.
19. Pantanal, Brazil (Hyacint Macaw) 31 votes.
20. SE Brazil (packed with endemics) 31 votes.
21. Point Pelee/Magee Marsh (spring migration – warblers) 30 votes.
22. California 27 votes.
23. Bulgaria 25 votes.
24. Ethiopia 24 Votes
25. Philippines 24 votes.

The 7 destinations which were mentioned in the comment section on the Facebook question are: Guyana, Rwanda, Gambia, Scotland, Iceland, Veracruz (Mexico – raptor migration), and Saint Lawrence Island (migration hotspot for ABA rarities, Alaska). Since, they did not make it for voting, I thought it could be interesting to throw them in as dark horses.  Let’s see if any of them makes it past the first round.

The game

We shall play this as if was the world cup – or more like a tennis cup. There shall be no group plays, but a cup from the start. 32 teams to start with in 16 matches. This means the game will run over 5 rounds in total.  The first round starts today.

I have chosen to use a PollDaddy survey. I had to pay $58  for the service, but I am justifying the expense of providing a link my company (hint, hint). There are differences in this year’s approach compared to last year. Last year consisted of individual polls, with the effect that not all the people who participated answered all the polls. Having everything in a survey will make it a fairer game.  Even if everyone on a local Texas birder list would vote for Texas they would still have to vote all the other matches, as would the birders on the Ecuador Facebook group which have voted for Ecuador. Thus the local favoritism that we saw last year, will have less effect. By using a pay for service I also think there should be some valuable statistics that I can share.

One VERY IMPORTANT difference is that the results will not be viewed, until I post them in the next post. I would have liked to have the data displayed, but it is not possible. I will however post updates almost daily with stats as the survey progresses on BirdingBlogs and Kolibri Expeditions Facebook pages.

The 16 first destinations  above will play the following 9 plus the 7 additional. I have introduced some seeding, so that number 16 (Borneo) shall play number 17  (Thailand), number 15 (Antarctica) plays number 18 (Panama), number 14 (Texas) plays number 19 (Pantanal) and so forth.  The top 7 will play the dark horses in an order that has been picked randomly.

Here are the 16 matches:

1. South East Peru vs The Gambia
2. Ecuador vs Saint Lawrence Island, Alaska
3. Australia vs Scotland
4. New Guinea (PNG/West Papua) vs Guyana
5. Costa Rica vs Veracruz, Mexico
6. North Peru vs Rwanda
7. Kenya vs Iceland
8. Madagascar vs Philippines
9. Colombia vs Ethiopia
10. South Africa vs Bulgaria
11. Alaska vs California
12. Galapagos vs Point Peele/Magee Marsh spring migration.
13. South East Brazil vs Arizona
14. Texas vs Pantanal
15. Antarctica vs Panama
16. Borneo vs Thailand

I have added videos or photos to the survey to give you some additional information. Some of these are better than others. Some will promote specific companies, while others will be tourist board directed to a wider audience. My posting of these videos are by no means an endorsement for the services offered by the producers of the same.

If you know of videos which better illustrates the birding destination than the ones I have selected, please let me know in  the comments below, and perhaps I shall use these in the second round

Finally, I know! 16 multiple questions are too many! I am truly sorry to take your time. But you don’t have to watch all the videos. Just tick off one alternative on each question and it should not take you more than 2 minutes to do the survey.  It is a relief that the next round will only have 8 matches.  And the following only 4.  The more people who participate in the first round the fairer the ultimate selection for the second round will be.

Different Perceptions

I think you probably pretty much have made up your mind anyway, but the videos posted in the survey, could be a help to remind you of specific highlights. In the end you are not voting for the quality of the video&photo illustrations or just one singular species mentioned, but your perception of the destination as a whole for birders.

Different people will use different parameters. Some will value endemism, some will value spectacular species. Others will value spectacular scenery or what kind of comfort one can expect while birding. Some will put bang for the buck as most important i.e. species per dollar.

There is one final parameter. Although most hard-core birders find this completely off topic and if they were to decide, it would for orthodox birders be best to leave out of consideration. Some  people value the birding destination by the amount of other activities that can be shared on the same trip, be that:

• indigenous culture
• spectacular mammals such as Gorilla or the Big Five,
• Scuba-diving
• Gourmet food
• plants
• or much feared by old school conservative birder – good prolonged opportunities for great bird photography.

So in the end, just as with the world bird cup last year, it is totally possible that your parameters are not the same as the majority. Stick to what is best for you. Hopefully, this exercise will help promote some lesser know localities. And for newbies and non-birders who are less initiated in the wonderful world of birds, let me just remind you after you watched all the videos, to check yourself in the mirror to make sure you have closed your mouth before leaving your desk or put aside the tablet or the smartphone.

There is some jaw/dropping, awe-inspiring footage of some fantastic creatures presented in these videos and photos and they are all great destinations. (Now, close your mouth).  Best maybe to plan to visit all of them over the next 36 years.

Not sure you will have 36 years?  Do it in 18 years.  Two destinations per year.

Not sure you will have 18 years? Do it in ….
…Man! You do the math..

Not enough money? Check out all the videos again, get your field guides and start a new life list. Birds seen and identified on Birdingblogs.

Totally free.. and no bugs, no heat, no cold, no rain, no snow and no….the list goes on …and you can lead a normal life again, hug your spouse and your kids and maybe take up golf – or …..
Anyone into Second Life? or Geocaching?

Bottom line: This is just a game – and a little bit of fun. But at least birdwatching in the tropics most of the time gives incentives for bird conservation and sustainable eco-tourism opportunities for the local economy.
Let’s play! Click the link!

I just noticed that after you have voted the videos are not accessible. That sucks! So I have prepared a Playlist on YouTube containing all the YouTube videos displayed  on the survey. Maybe you want to check some of these before you start the voting process.
Click on the embedded video here to see all videos.

Top Photo: Philippine Eagle by Voltaire Malazarte and Marvelous Spatuletail by Max Waugh.

Click the link to vote until 7 PM Easter Time, Jan 7:

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SUMMARY: Shame on you, Guardian, for sharing fraudulent video with an unsuspecting public, thereby promoting misunderstanding of birds and fear of nature

It seems that the public and the media are wildly grasping for crazy stories to focus attention on this holiday season, but one particular “story” is a video “gone viral”. This amateur video claims to show a golden eagle snatching a toddler in a Montreal park. It is really scary and spectacular – until your morning coffee kicks in and awakens the thinking part of your brain.

The fact is this video is a fraud. A clever fraud, yes, but it’s still a fraud. In fact, I am sure the video’s creators are having a Santa-sized belly laugh over it right now.

I admit, the first time I saw it, I was initially fooled too. But even during my first viewing, I could plainly see that this bird’s wings are all wrong for a golden eagle. Since I enjoy trying to correctly identify birds, I watched this video again. And again. And again.

Sometime during my third replay, which was a frame-by-frame examination, I became convinced that this video is an elaborate fraud.

First, I’ll talk about the most obvious error: this is NOT a golden eagle, Aquila chrysaetos. To start with, the wings of the raptor in the video are absolutely the wrong shape – being too narrow and with a sharp “wrist” – neither of which you will see in a golden eagle.

The video raptor’s colouring is wrong – being a steely grey instead of a warm brown colouring. But more convincing are the white markings: the video raptor has many white markings that absolutely are inconsistent with a golden eagle – most notably, golden eagles do not have a white patch across the upper surface of the wings, nor do they have a white trailing edge on their wings, nor do they have a white band at the end of their tail feathers.

For reference, compare my video “grab” of the video raptor (above) with this photograph of an adult golden eagle:

Golden Eagle, Aquila chrysaetos, La Cañada, Ávila, Spain.
Image: Juan lacruz/Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

Second, golden eagles typically prey on terrestrial mammals such as rabbits, marmots, ground squirrels, and they may even grab a fox, a house cat or (not often enough!) the neighbor’s yappy chihuahua, but they do not prey on children. In fact, there is no way that bird could lift that kid – raptors cannot fly off with toddlers because toddlers are simply too heavy! The greatest mass that a golden eagle may possibly carry is 7kg (or 15 pounds). I am fairly certain that toddler weighs more than that, especially since the kid is thickly wrapped in what looks like 7 kilos of winter clothing.

Third, wild golden eagles don’t live anywhere in the Montreal area in the dead of winter, and they’re extremely uncommon there any time of year. Additionally, to the best of my knowledge, there aren’t any resident golden eagles in Montreal. Clearly, the bird in the video is not a golden eagle.

What species of raptor is this? I think this may be either an osprey, Pandion haliaetus – the most monstrously huge one I’ve ever seen — or it may be a steppe eagle, A. nipalensis, a conclusion shared with some of my bird artist pals. One of these bird artists thinks this could be a juvenile steppe eagle.

Those of you with either a field guide to raptors or with Google access can easily confirm that osprey are specialists, living near water and feeding only on fish and spending their winters in South America, whereas steppe eagles are Old World raptors that are never, ever ever found anywhere in North America. Further, it is incredibly unlikely that any wild eagle would even attempt to grab such outsized prey as a toddler in a public area that it is unfamiliar with, unless … this entire event was staged. So whatever it is, it must be a falconer’s bird — if it’s even a real bird at all!

Which brings me to my last point; let’s talk about that toddler. To my eyes, this toddler looks like a doll. Notice how the toddler does not react at all to suddenly being grabbed and then becoming airborne – neither kicking nor flailing nor moving its head nor otherwise moving naturally. Does your toddler just dangle like a blob when you pick him up suddenly from behind?

Ok, so I know more about birds than I know about toddlers, but that kid just looks fake to me.

All this evidence, taken together, means that this video is a golden teaching moment. It also means that the Guardian blew it by posting this video without including any analysis from a video expert as to whether it’s real or created. Further, the Guardian blew it by not including comments from either an ornithologist or a birder as to whether this video portrayal is even plausible.

This is irresponsible journalism. By posting this video, the Guardian is actively promoting and reinforcing the public’s misinformation and fear of birds of prey, and further alienating the public from nature. Publicly sharing this fraudulent video without any expert commentary serves to undermine the education and conservation efforts of many excellent organisations such as the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the British Trust for Ornithology.

Shame on you, Guardian!

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

NOTE: this piece was edited slightly from the original, which was published on the Guardian.

NOTE: this is a hoax. It was a class project by Normand Archambault, Loïc Mireault and Félix Marquis-Poulin, students at Centre NAD, in the production simulation workshop class of the Bachelors degree in 3D Animation and Digital Design [read more, link kindly shared by RyanClarkPhotos].

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FORWARD

Bolivia is an extremely diverse country when it comes to birds. In fact, some say that if it wasn’t land-locked it would have more species than any other country. Endemism is not especially high but there are some stunners to search for such as the Red-fronted Macaw and Black-hooded Sunbeam. The country lacks a field guide and, perhaps because of this, has been under-birded compared to the other Andean nations. This can lead to some frustration when trying to get information about sites and species. The other side of the coin is that it makes it a very exciting place to visit as a photographer because there have been so few good images of the birds that live there. The goal of this trip was to find and photograph as many of the endemics and near-endemics as possible.

I will include some images with this post. To see more visit – www.glennbartley.com

DAY BY DAY SUMMARY

The trip began with an international flight in to the city of Santa Cruz. Coming in from sea level it made a lot of sense to begin here in the lowlands rather than flying in toLa Paz where the air is notoriously thin.

Birding Botanical Gardens of Santa Cruz and Lomas de Arenas

My first destination was right in the city at the local botanical gardens. There were a surprising number of good birds to be found here and I visited the site several times while I organized the rental car and prepared to head in to the field. The highlights included: Red-billed Scythebill, Pale-crested Woodpecker and Bolivian Slaty Antshrike.

Pale-crested Woodpecker (Celeus lugubris)

A second site that was worth a quick visit was Lomas de Arena. At this site I had Guira Cuckoo, Burrowing Owl, Southern Lapwing and White-eared Puffbird.

Santa Cruz Airport birding

The first “real” birding site was a few hours away along the old road to Cochabamba. Rather than waste a morning driving there I decided to visit the Santa Cruz airport and see if I could come up with anything. It turned out to be an action packed morning with Greater Rhea’s, White-bellied Nothura, Red-winged Tinamou and Wedge-tailed Grass Finch all giving great photo opps.

Greater Rhea (Rhea americana)

Birds at Refugio Los Volcanos

After an unexpectedly successful morning I hit the road for the Refugio Los Volcanes. About a 2-3 hour drive from Santa Cruz this lodge is positioned in a setting that is unlike anywhere I had ever been. Set in a clearing down in a valley the small lodge is surrounded by towering red cliffs on all sides. It truly is a spectacular destination! This site proved to be the best of the trip for nocturnal birds and on the first night there I managed to photograph Band-bellied and Rufescent Screech Owl. Fruit placed out near the kitchen provided exceptional opportunities to photograph Purplish and Plush-crested Jays (see above) and the edges of the clearing were good for a few of the other common birds including Rufous-bellied Thrush and Blue-fronted Amazon Parrot. After two nights at this wonderful lodge it was once again time to move on.

Birdwatching Samaipata

The town of Samaipata was conveniently located along the old road to make a stop for the night. Based on a recommendation I stayed at a Dutch run hotel called “La Vispera”. The grounds around the hotel were good for Black-capped Warbling Finch, White-tipped Plantcutter, Red-crested Finch and Lineated Woodpecker.

Lineated Woodpecker (Dryocopus lineatus)

Parrots and Macaws at Red-fronted Macaw Lodge

A few hours further down the road I found myself at the Red-fronted Macaw Lodge. This excellent site has been set up to protect the breeding cliff of the endemic and endangered species for which the lodge is named.  During the time of my visit the Macaws were constantly around the cliffs as were the endemic Cliff Parakeets. The third endemic to be seen here is the drab Bolivian Blackbird.

Mitred Parakeet (Aratinga mitrata)

The habitat around the lodge is dry scrub and it is loaded with birds. Commonly seen species included Blue and Yellow Tanager, Narrow-billed Woodcreeper, Mitred Parakeet, Greater Wagtail Tyrant, Ringed Warbling Finch, Creamy-bellied Thrush, White-fronted Woodpecker, Golden-billed Saltator, Masked Gnatcatcher and Glittering-bellied Emerald. I spent three days here working on getting great images of the Macaws as well as the supporting cast of characters.

Red-fronted Macaw (Ara rubrogenys)

Birding Scrub at Comarapa and subtropical forest at Siberia

The next move took me further down the old road towards the town of Comarapa. This would be my base for visiting the higher elevation cloud forests of Siberia where I would search for the Rufous-faced Antpitta and Black-hooded Sunbeam. Lower elevations were good for the Bolivian Earthcreeper, Yellow-billed Tit-Tyrant, Olive-crowned Crescentchest and Great Pampa Finch. Although I missed the Sunbeam here we did find a great site for a territorial Red-tailed Comet. What a spectacular hummingbird!!

Red-tailed Comet (Sappho sparganura)

Cochabamba bird photography

I spent several days in this area battling the sunny conditions and elusive birds before continuing on to Cochabamba. Along the way roadside stops turned up Fulvous-headed Brush-Finch, Brown-capped Tit-Spinetail, Grey-bellied Flowerpiercer, Brown-capped Redstart and Creamy-breasted Canastero.

For a bit of a rest morning I visited the Laguna Alalay which is right in town. Here I photographed Collared Plovers and spotted Rosy-billed Pochards, Red Shovellers and White-backed Stilts among other common waterbirds.

At one point while walking around the perimeter of the lake a brilliant red, white and blue bird emerged from the reeds. This was a highly unexpected colour palette to encounter here and it definitely took a few moments for the brain to comprehend that the bird I was seeing was actually a Cattle Egret that some local fool had painted with the colours of the resident soccer team. I seriously wish I could have found him and sprayed him with paint!

I was fortunate enough to have a local researcher to take me out to her study site the next morning to look for the Cochabamba Mountain Finch (another endemic). That morning I was lucky to find and get decent images of this species as well as Rock Earthcreeper. I was unlucky to back the car in to a rock. Crap!

That afternoon I visited the nearby San Miguel Polylepis forest and had an awesome encounter with Red-crested Cotingas as well as Puna Canastero, White-winged Diuca Finch and Slender-billed Miner.

Red-crested Cotinga (Ampelion rubrocristata)

Missing the Sunbeam was not sitting well. Not one bit! Reluctantly I made the decision to drive back the 200km and 5 hours or so to the “site” for the Sunbeam and try my luck again. But once again luck was not on my side. In addition to the THREE flat tires that I got on the way, a huge protest had pushed traffic from the new road to the old one and there were so many cars and so much dust that any birds that may have been there had wisely moved on. Consolation prizes along the way included a cooperative Rufous Antpitta and Light-crowned Spinetails. But at the end of two more days I had to face the fact that it was strike two on the sunbeam.

Light-crowned Spinetail (Cranioleuca albiceps)

Birding Chapare Road? Not!

The original plan was to spend the next 2-3 days along the Chapare road looking for all  the goodies there. Unfortunately the protest was raging on. Angry locals had blocked the road, flipped over police cars and set them on fire and the smell of tear gas was heavy in the air. It wasn’t that difficult of a decision to move on and skip this area even though it meant missing a few good birds.

I drove towards and past the town  of Oruro and to the Lago Uru-Uru. Here I had a messy day of shooting all three Flamingo species as well as Andean Avocet and a few migrant shorebirds. Its always fun to get down and crawl in the mud. Well…as long as you get the shot. Otherwise it is just loco!

Andean Avocet (Recurvirostra andina)

Coroico road. Birding the road of death.

Onwards I traveled in the direction  of La Paz for the final phase of the trip. The first site to be visited was just a half hour or so from the city. Here up in the puna habitat I was able to coax out Streak-throated Canastero, Plumbeous Sierra-Finch before descending to the Cotopata Trail. The rain was looming so there wasn’t much time to search for birds. In the first 200 metres of the trail I was able to find some cooperative Three-striped Hemispinguses and a Rufous-backed Chat Tyrant and heard the persistent calling of a Diademed Tapaculo. Alas, the skies opened up and I retired to the town of Coroico for the night.

The following day there was a National census taking place and I was informed that I would not be able to drive anywhere. Great! Thankfully Coroico is set in an area where you can hit the trails and wander in to some decent habitat. Not too far out of town I was able to nail Black-faced Tanagers and Variable Antshrikes. This was a great relief after assuming that the day would be a total loss. Back at the hotel I had a good look at a stunning male Swallow Tanager and some Speckled Chachalacas to finish the day.

Sometimes on photo trips you hit patches of bad luck. It felt like I was just grinding it out for the past week or so. It’s not that I wasn’t getting good images. I was just having to work really hard for them and also deal with all of the protests, censuses, flat tires, smashed bumpers, etc, etc. Perseverance always pays off though and I always try to think that if you can just hang in there you will be rewarded.

On November 22 I had one of those epic days of photography that is sure to live long in the memory. Starting out before dawn in Coroico I headed up the main road to the infamous “road of death”. As the sun began to shine the first images of the day materialized as a pair of very tame Mountain Caracaras cooperatively posed for me on a gorgeous perch. A great way to start the day! From then on the pace of the day picked up to an almost dizzying pace. A roadside flock held Scarlet-bellied and Hooded Mountain Tanagers. Not one, or two, but FOUR Hooded Mountain Toucans emerged from the cloud forests to pose for my camera. Mountain Wrens, Band-tailed Fruiteaters and Black Thistletails were all giving amazing photo opportunities. It wasn’t even lunch yet!!! Next up was a charismatic White-collared Jay who cooperated nicely and I finished the day with Superciliaried Hemispingus and, better yet, Orange-browed Hemispingus. What an insane day!!!

Hooded Mountain Toucan (Andigena cucullata)

Mountain Caracara (Phalcoboenus megalopterus)

Scarlet-bellied Mountain-Tanager (Anisognathus igniventris)

After a day like that I simply had to return to this site again and see if the luck would continue. Of course you can never recreate a day like that and the action was indeed much slower. I was able to pick up Sickle-winged Guan, Plushcap, Barred Fruiteater and the other subspecies of Light-crowned Spinetail. Still not a bad day! In the late afternoon I stopped in at a lower elevation site and from the dense undergrowth pulled out a cute little Ochre-faced Tody-Tyrant before calling it a day.

The next morning I decided to try to finish up with the “Road of Death”. As a side note – this road earned its name because more drivers have lost their lives per km of road than any other. The dirt road is carved in to the mountain slopes and the consequences of slipping off the edge are indeed severe. Luckily the Bolivians realized this and worked hard to create a paved, and much safer, bypass around the old road. This is such a great gift for bird watching because now you can explore the Carraterra de la Muerte with virtually no traffic. It is a stunning area and is loaded with good birds. Hopefully the habitat will remain preserved here for generations to come.

My final morning produced very few new birds. The Cotopata trail was looking promising for the Diademed Tapaculo. However, as Tapaculos like to do, these birds stayed hidden and impossible to photograph.

On the way back to La Paz the weather was abnormally calm. The decision was made to stop at a highland site and hike up away from the main road to where I hoped to find some good birds. I was hoping for an Olivaceous Thornbill but there were none to be found. I did nail great shots of Puna Tapaculo (the only easy member of this Genus) and Scribble-tailed Canastero. Hiking at this altitude (4000m +) is always hard work but I had enough energy for one last stop at “La Cumbre” where I found some Andean Geese, Diuca Finches and a few more waterbirds before heading back to La Paz for the night.

Puna Tapaculo (Scytalopus simonsi)

Titicaca Flightless Grebe

My next mission was to travel to Lago Titicaca and try for the critically endangered Flightless Grebe. This was a poorly planned endeavour that miraculously worked out. After finding a hotel on the lake in the dark I somehow managed to find a canoe in the morning to paddle out in to the lake. Before long I had plenty of Grebes to look at.

Titicaca Flightless Grebe (Rollandia microptera)

 Black-hooded Sunbeam at Sorata. Finally!

The final site for the trip was near the town of Sorata where I had heard that the Black-hooded Sunbeams were reliable. This was my third and final chance for this species and the anticipation was intense. Driving down towards the town I spotted an area that was loaded with flowers and looked promising to search for hummingbirds. Sure enough I hopped out of the car, walked 10 metres and there he was – a stunning male Black-hooded Sunbeam perched at the perfect angle to show off its incredible blue back. Blasting away at 8 frames a second the moment came and went and as I looked at my LCD screen what I saw was one of the most amazing hummingbirds on earth and what I felt was euphoric relief. It was an incredible way to end the trip.

Black-hooded Sunbeam (Aglaeactis pamela)

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Top Photo: Plush-crested Jay (Cyanocorax chrysops) perched on a branch in Bolivia, South America. Glenn Bartley.

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SUMMARY: Not known to manufacture or use tools in the wild, a captive cockatoo demonstrates that parrots can make tools to suit their needs.

If you’ve ever lived with a parrot, then you are well aware that they come with a built-in multi-purpose tool attached to their faces. For this reason, most parrots do just fine without ever needing to create a separate tool to meet their objectives.

Well, usually. It turns out that at least one parrot, a captive cockatoo named Figaro, has found circumstances when his built-in Swiss army knife does not do the job, so he did what any self-respecting bird would do: he constructed a tool designed to get the job done.

Figaro, a captive male Tanimbar corella, uses a tool of his own making to retrieve a cashew nut.
[DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2012.09.002]

Figaro lives with a group of captive Tanimbar corellas in a large aviary at the University of Vienna in Austria. One day, a student caregiver noticed Figaro pushing a stone pebble through the aviary wire mesh, where it fell on a wood structural beam. Unable to retrieve the stone with his foot, Figaro then fetched a piece of bamboo and again attempted to retrieve the stone using the bamboo stick. Although he was ultimately unsuccessful, surprised researchers recognised the potential of his actions and immediately placed him in visual isolation from the group (in the company of a submissive female named Heidi) to avoid him sharing this novel behaviour with the rest of the flock.

During the next three days, the researchers ran trials of the original scenario, which was repeated ten times but substituting a cashew nut for the pebble. All trials were captured on video and the process of tool manufacture and use was documented photographically (figure 1 or view larger):

Figure 1. Typical action sequence when manufacturing a larch splinter tool.
[DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2012.09.002]

During these trials, Figaro used 10 tools, nine of which he manufactured and one of which was ready-made (figure 2 or view larger):

Figure 2. Manufacture and use of tools 1–10. (A) Tools used (T1–T10); tool length in mm; T1–T8 = splinter tools; T9 = bamboo tool; T10 = twig tool. (B) Blue: time for tool manufacture; red: time for tool use (from manufacture to retrieval) for each trial in minutes. (C) Manufacture of T10 using four sequential cuts.
[DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2012.09.002]

“We know that these animals are very smart but we were still surprised he was capable of making a tool”, wrote lead author, cognitive biologist Alice Auersperg, of the University of Vienna.

“For a long time such talents have only been attributed to our closest relatives, the great apes. Since then, however, tool use has been reported in capuchin monkeys, some birds and even some invertebrates”, explained Dr Auersperg in the paper.

Certainly, birds are no strangers to tool making. Betty the captive New Caledonian crow was the first bird to surprise researchers with her ability to create a hook from a piece of wire which she then used to retrieve food out of a pipe. Even though this species does use tools in the wild, Betty’s tool manufacturing abilities are still considered to be a striking example of individual creativity and innovation.

How Figaro discovered how to make and use tools remains unclear, and it shows that scientists still have much to learn about the roles of culture and ecology in promoting and supporting the evolution of innovative behaviour and intelligence.

“It is still difficult to identify cognitive operations”, explains co-author Alex Kacelnik, a Professor of Behavioural Ecology at the University of Oxford, in a press release.

It’s also difficult to know what role intelligence plays in the manufacture and use of tools.

“Figaro, and his predecessor Betty, may help us unlock many unknowns in the evolution of intelligence.”

Here’s the researchers’ video of Figaro’s tool manufacture and use trials:

Sources:

Auersperg A.M.I., Szabo B., von Bayern A.M.P. & Kacelnik A. (2012). Spontaneous innovation in tool manufacture and use in a Goffin’s cockatoo. Current Biology, 22 (21) R903-R904. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2012.09.002

University of Vienna press release

NOTE: slightly reformatted from the original, which was published on The Guardian.

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Top image: Portrait of a Tanimbar corella, Cacatua goffiniana, also known as the Goffin’s cockatoo.
[DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2012.09.002]

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SUMMARY: Female fairy-wrens teach their chicks a vocal password before they hatch to distinguish them from brood parasitic bronze-cuckoo chicks

Superb fairy-wrens, Malurus cyaneus, are common and colourful birds that live in the relatively moist and fertile southeastern corner of Australia. These songbirds are so small that an entire family could fit on the palm of your hand — if they would only sit still! Restless and active, these birds forage mainly on insects although they will take some seed as well.

Superb fairy-wrens are strongly sexually dimorphic and show a number of unusual and interesting breeding behaviours. For example, the brilliantly-coloured males (pictured, right) have a courtship ritual that includes displaying yellow flower petals they’ve plucked to impress females. Although superb fairy-wrens are socially monogamous, they are sexually promiscuous, so each member of the pair will mate with other individuals and remarkably, males often help raise their extra-pair offspring.

Superb fairy-wrens build their nest near the ground in thick vegetation. Consisting of loosely woven grasses and spider webs, this round or domed structure has a small side entrance. Because the interior of their nests is quite dark, fairy-wrens readily accept and incubate the eggs of other species. This is, of course, the perfect set-up for brood parasitism — birds of other species that sneak their own eggs into fairy-wrens nests for them to incubate and care for.

Superb fairy-wrens’ nests are parasitised by several cuckoo species; their most common brood parasite being Horsfield’s bronze-cuckoo, Chrysococcyx (Chalcites) basalis (pictured, right). Although fairy-wrens incubate bronze-cuckoo eggs, they can identify whether their brood includes cuckoo chicks after the eggs have hatched. How do they do it?

“Fairy-wrens were known to discriminate against cuckoo nestlings on the basis of their foreign begging calls”, said Sonia Kleindorfer, a Professor of Animal Behaviour and Ecology at Flinders University in Adelaide and Scientific Director at the Flinders Research Centre for Climate Adaptation and Animal Behaviour, who led these studies.

“Parents and others attending the nestlings will only feed them if their begging calls contain the learned password,” explained Professor Kleindorfer. If the chicks don’t sing the correct password, the parents abandon the nest and start again.

This serendipitous discovery came when Professor Kleindorfer and her team noticed something odd when analysing audiovisual recordings of nesting superb fairy-wrens for a different study: fairy-wrens chicks’ begging calls varied from one nest to another (sonogram of begging chicks or view larger).

Superb fairy-wren chick begging calls do not sound the same from one nest to the next.

Adult female superb fairy wrens’ “incubation calls” contain unique signature elements that their chicks produce after hatching.

The researchers found that incubating females produced an average of 16 of these calls per hour late in the incubation period, 4 to 5 days prior to hatching, ceasing this call shortly before hatching (blue arrow, figure 1 or view larger):

Not only was the signature element in each female’s incubation call significantly more similar to the begging call produced by their own nestlings, but it was not similar to begging calls recorded from any other fairy-wren brood. This led the researchers to ask whether this familial similarity in calls was the result of shared genes or shared experiences? Were the nestlings born “knowing” their password begging calls or did they learn their calls from their mothers? Do the mother’s incubation calls help the chicks fine-tune their own begging calls whilst they are still embryos?

To address this question, the researchers cross-fostered eggs from one nest to another and recorded and compared the foster mother’s incubation calls to the begging calls of her fostered nestlings (figure 2 or view larger):

The researchers found that females did not recognize the begging calls made by their own genetic offspring when their chicks had been raised by a foster hen, and the genetic mothers behaved as if hearing unfamiliar nestlings (data not shown). Further, fairy-wren parents stopped feeding their nestlings when researchers placed a loudspeaker under their nest that played the wrong begging calls.

Equally important; bronze-cuckoo chicks clearly did not learn their foster mother’s calls. But why?

To answer that question, let’s review the findings so far: fairy-wren eggs hatch after 15 days of incubation; so the nestlings in a non-parasitized nest are exposed as embryos to their mother’s incubation call for 5 days (figure 3A or view larger, also see figure 1, blue arrow):

Figure 3. Hypothetical Timeline for Incubation and Begging Calls: schematic timeline for onset of the incubation call by the female wren, onset of the nestling begging call, and outcome of call similarity in nests not parasitized by cuckoos (A) and in nests parasitized by cuckoos (B).

Professor Kleindorfer and her colleagues hypothesise that perhaps the fairy-wren nestlings’ call similarity is influenced by their cumulative long-term exposure to the female’s incubation call, an experience that the bronze-cuckoo nestling cuts short. If this is the case, perhaps the next evolutionary step in this acoustical arms race will be for bronze-cuckoos to fine-tune their embryos’ development so they become capable of learning the fairy-wrens’ vocal password in a shorter time-frame? Only time will tell.

These findings demonstrate that traits that appear to be innate, such as nestling begging calls, may actually be learned. Knowing this adds to our understanding of evolution and also has many practical implications, particularly for captive breeding and conservation biology.

“We show that females that guard and teach the embryo could increase the transmission efficacy of female cultural traits,” explained Professor Kleindorfer in a press release.

“In systems with uniparental care, caretakers of embryos will have more opportunity to pass on female memes, or ‘messages,’ to the embryo.” Thus, mothers have a special ability to transmit not just genes to the next generation, but also memes.

Sources:

Colombelli-Négrel D., Hauber M., Robertson J., Sulloway F., Hoi H., Griggio M. & Kleindorfer S. (2012). Embryonic Learning of Vocal Passwords in Superb Fairy-Wrens Reveals Intruder Cuckoo Nestlings. Current Biology, 22 (22) DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2012.09.025

Sonia Kleindorfer; emails: 9 November 2012

see also:

Langmore N.E., Hunt S. & Kilner R.M. (2003). Escalation of a coevolutionary arms race through host rejection of brood parasitic young. Nature, 422 (6928) 157-160. DOI: 10.1038/nature01460

Many thanks to my twitter pals, Elspeth Kenny, L Gerrard, Thomas White, Steven Byrnes, Adam Wollman, Kriszta Vályi and Lindsay Napier for quickly retrieving these PDFs and emailing them to me.

NOTE: slightly edited from the original, which was published on The Guardian.

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

Follow Grrlscientist’s work on facebook, Google +, LinkedIn, Pinterest and of course, twitter: @GrrlScientist
email: grrlscientist@gmail.com

Top photo: Adult female superb fairy-wren, Malurus cyaneus, with juvenile begging for food, Northern Beaches, Sydney, Australia.
Image: Nevil Lazarus (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.)

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The famous banana feeder at my mom’s house has been abandoned by periods, but everytime it gets re-activated, birds seem to be looking forward and remember quickly!… Such was the case in 2010… 23 years after my dad and I offered the very first banana… As soon as I showed 6 attractive plantains, members of the club started showing well and new members got attracted!

Green Honeycreeper – female by Alex Vargas, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica 2010

Was a hot and sunny afternoon of April and after a couple of years out of the country, I came to find that my beloved feeder had been abandoned for over a year!… I got there in the morning, but having fun and sharing history with the family, kept me from checking if anything at all had showed up to enjoy my plantains… I was until about noon that I was able to set my blind, with harsh light, but with big hope of seen and photographing a few old friends…

The first guys to show up and call many more, were the Passerini’s Tanagers… always beautiful, always hungry and always friendly…

Passerini’s Tanager – Male by Alex Vargas, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica 2010

Passerini’s Tanager – Female by Alex Vargas, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica 2010

All the happiness and noise of the Passerini’s with the sweet plantains, started to call the attention of some other local breeders as the Green Honeycreeper, the Blue-gray Tanager and the Palm Tanager

Blue-gray Tanager by Alex Vargas, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica 2010

Palm Tanager by Alex Vargas, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica 2010

From my blind I found a fantastic -male- Violaceous Trogon a bit away on the back, that was happily singing and showing these awesome colors!

Violaceous Trogon by Alex Vargas, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica 2010

A few migrants started to show up nicely too… amongst the most beautiful of them, it was the Summer Tanager… a wonderful male in its complete breeding plumage enjoyed some fruit and focus as well…

Summer Tanager by Alex Vargas, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica 2010

Everything seemed pretty smooth and in harmony, until a mob of 5 gangsters landed unexpectedly and surprised everyone with color, rough moves and finishing the fruit in a minute!… No complains, tho…

Collared Aracari by Alex Vargas, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica 2010

…and that is just half the story… more in part 2, still to come!

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Autumn birding in Israel is just as exciting as in spring. The combination of huge numbers of migrants, great species richness and good rarity-hunting means birding is so much fun. While in spring exhausted migrants concentrate in southern Israel after crossing 2000 km of harsh desert before continuing north to their breeding grounds in Eurasia, in autumn the large masses concentrate more in the northern half of Isreal, where the migrants utilize the rich habitats to refuel before crossing the same 2000 km of desert on their way to Africa. The skies are full with diurnal migrants – raptors, storks, pelicans etc.

On the ground, in suitable habitats, millions of passerines use every bush or field to gain energy before resuming their nocturnal migration. Yellow Wagtails, Willow Warblers, Reed Warblers and Barn Swallows are among the massive migrants.

Willow Warbler

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater

But for me, the greatest thrill comes for watching the vagrants and rare visitors. We get a strong Asian influence here. Here’s a selection of some goodies we had in Israel last week – all very rare birds.

Pied Bushchat breeds from Iran eastwards to SE Asia. The western populations migrate south in winter. This is the 7th record for Israel, found at Yeroham in the C Negev:

Pied Bushchat

Dusky Warbler is a typical LBJ. But it is very rare too! It breeds in Siberia, and migrates to SE Asia. This is the 7th record for Israel too, found together with the above bushchat at the same site!

Dusky Warbler

Pacific Golden Plover is not so rare, with a handful of records annualy, but still a very good bird. This is a moulting adult, found in a small sewage pond in C Israel.

Pacific Golden Plover

I have been doing so much twitching in the last week or two. Things are supposed to speed up even more in November. I hope to keep my job till the end of autumn.

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Banded Ground Cuckoo coming to hand outs right now.

I am sure you have already heard about one of the most exciting stake-outs of birds this year.

There is a Banded Ground-Cuckoo attending army ant swarms and coming around for hand outs at the relatively new reserve and research station Un Poco de Choco on the west slope of the Andes not far from San Miguel de los Bancos in the Mindo area. I was keen to try to find out more to be able to organize a trip here in early January, so I thought I’d find out a bit more by interviewing some key players in this story. There are two interviews. One interview with Roger Ahlman who was one of the first birders who visited the area when the word was out. And another interview with Nicole Büttner, who is one of the people behind  ’Un Poco de Choco” reserve. Nicole will let us know how to visit. Enjoy!

Roger Ahlman interview

Q.What are your previous experiences of Banded Ground Cuckoo? How many places have your search for it? Any particularly close shots.

I have been too close to this enigmatic bird too many times to be good for my mental health. First was in Esmeraldas in 2003 when very few people had ever seen it. I heard one snapping its bill near an antswarm. I had a clear stretch of trail in front of me and sat down hoping it would cross the trail but it got silent. After some time I gave up assuming it had gone the other way. I sat down in a clearing a bit lower down and soon heard the Cuckoo snapping its bill on the other side of the trail, having crossed it behind my back! Next time was at Bilsa, a remote place in southern Esmeraldas province. This is the best site for the bird and the local guides were sure we were going to see it. We first heard one singing and the local guide imitated its song and it came closer, just 5 meters away from me and I didn’t see a feather before it moved away. We heard another three birds but didn’t see it. Someone else at the station was strolling on a trail and one was just standing there and he took some pictures with a point-and-shoot camera – and he wasn’t even looking for it! A year later I was back at Bilsa but didn’t even hear it.

Q. How did you find out about the Ground Cuckoo at Un Poco de Choco?

This was a coincidence but shows how nice it is to share your sightings online. The owner of this biological station, Nicole Büttner, had just been to an ornithological congress in Mindo and there heard about a database where one can input sightings. A couple of weeks later she found the Cuckoo just next to the station at an antswarm and input her sighting. I happened to be surfing around the net two days later and saw this sighting without a location. After some searching I found Nicole’s website and station and assumed it was there, so I wrote to her asking about further sightings and possibilities to visit. She kindly wrote back that she had seen it again and that I was welcome to visit. A few quick calls to some friends in Quito that didn’t hesitate to come along and we were off. Nicole had mailed me in the morning that she had seen it again, so expectations were high.

Q. Describe your encounter?

We arrived after lunch and inquiered Nicole about the sightings etc. Soon we started to drift off in different directions looking for both ants and Cuckoo, this turned out to be an embarrassing mistake… Of course the Cuckoo showed up at the crime scene when we were about as far away as we could possibly get. Wilo, Nicole’s husband, came running for us saying that the Cuckoo was back by the house. A quick but long run took us back to the station but of course the Cuckoo was gone and we were tripping with sweat and generally feeling awful. The rest of the afternoon gave no further encounters and we enjoyed nice food and company at the station for the night.
The strategy for the next morning was clear; patrolling the short stretch of trail next to the station where the Cuckoo had been seen for the last few days. On my third poking into the trail around 7 am I saw the bird briefly as it slowly walked away. I blew the whistle and Jonas Nilsson and Charlie Vogt came running and we had some more fleeting glimpses. A short while later I found it again but this time it came to us and perched on a log allowing the first of many pictures. Rudy Gelis was still missing but the Cuckoo was confiding and showed very well on and off. After more pictures and fantastic views for all of us, we sat down for breakfast. Just when the coffee was poured into our cups, I spotted the Cuckoo from inside the station standing in the open, wings drooping and tailed fanned obviously sunbathing! Breakfast was aborted and cameras firing away. Over the next couple of hours we enjoyed many gripping views and could confirm that there were actually TWO individuals, sometimes chasing each other on the trail just in front of us. Needless to say, but we were on a high!

Q. What other birds do you see at Un Poco de Choco?

While looking for the Cuckoo we found several things that were new for the biological station or generally good birds. Scaly-throated Leaftosser, Blue Seedeater, Brown-billed Scythebill, Yellow-margined Flatbill, Guayaquil Woodpecker to mention some. Others have subsequently seen Crested Guan etc.
The place is situated at 1200 m and have trails down to the Pachijal river at 950 meters, so many foothill species occur here.

Q. Would the site be good for Long-wattled Umbrellabird and Black-tipped Cotinga as well, perhaps?

Long-wattled Umbrellabird has been recorded at the site but there are better places along the traditional west slope. Black-tipped Cotinga is better seen in northern Esmeraldas, specially along the road to the Awá reserve. I found this new road last year and have told other bird-guides here in Ecuador and we all say – best Chocó birding in Ecuador!

Q. Awa reserve sounds interesting. How does one get there. Is it far from the main Mindo/San Miguel de Los Bancos area?

I first found out about the trail into the Awá indian reserve in northern Esmeraldas in 2003 and saw several good birds there. I spread the rumour about the place in my extensive trip report from that year and others went there. It was quite muddy so it was a bit difficult. Last year I was up there with a client and we were intended to do the trail when locals told me the trail is no longer in use as they have made a road into the reserve. That sounded better and we tried that and had fantastic birding with most of the Chocó tanagers etc. I told other guides here in Ecuador about it and they went there and said the same thing – best Chocó birding in Ecuador!
This area is in northern Esmeraldas province so quite a long way from the traditional west slope tours to the Mindo-Tandayapa areas, but well worth the trip, specially if combined with Playa de Oro and the Chiqal road (for Star-chested Treerunner and Purplish-mantled Tanager). The road to the reserve branches off from the main Ibarra-San Lorenzo road to the north, about 6 km west of Alto Tambo. It is muddy so rubber boots are needed and a scope is useful too.

Q. What is your Ecuador list now?

My Ecuadorian list following SACC is 1468 out of which 20 are heard only. For the latest ranking go to www.avesecuador.com and click on ‘ranking’
Feel free to update yourself there.

Q. What is the next big target in Ecuador for you personally?

I’m missing many things in the Amazonian part of Ecuador, many of which I have seen in Peru. I have a long trip to Sani lodge and Napo Wildlife Center coming up in late november, so hopefully I can plug some holes then. Otherwise seeing Red-winged Wood-Rail would be great as I have heard it a few times. Yellow-eared Parrot would be another major highlight.

Nicole Büttner interview.

Q. What comfort details are there now, and if improvements,such as electric light, hot showers, private baths and internet, are to be made when will they happen?

Visitors can be lodged in the station’s house. We have got three rooms with bunk beds and also big beds. Outside we have got dry toilets in order to reduce water consumption. There are two hot showers next to the station. We don`t have electricity, but for those who really need to charge batteries etc. there is a generator. We even do have internet access (Wifi) which can be provided on request.

 Thanks to Roger Ahlman for the use of his excellent Banded Ground Cuckoo pictures. 

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Gunnar Engblom
Mail: kolibriExp@gmail.com
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SUMMARY: A newly published study shows that beauty is in the right eye of the beholder for birds, providing the first demonstration in any animal of visual lateralization of mate choice.

Conservation biologists are well aware that the most challenging part of their job is to convince their animals to breed — it’s certainly not as simple as putting two individuals of the opposite sex into an enclosure. In the case of highly visual animals, like birds, appearance of their potential mate is very important. Further, birds also have their own opinions as to who makes a suitable mate. But how do birds perceive potential mates during courtship?

As many ornithologists or keen-eyed birdwatchers can tell you, avian courtship displays often consist of a series of sideways dance moves rather than a full-frontal approach. Given this, you probably won’t be surprised to learn that many bird species also prefer to view a potential mate with one eye rather than the other. For example, there is some evidence to suggest that male zebra finches, Taeniopygia guttata, prefer to look at females with their right eye during courtship [doi:10.1016/S0003-3472(86)80235-4].

But this right eye preference is more than a quirky behaviour. Molecular studies in courting zebra finches have identified an asymmetric gene expression pattern in the male zebra finch’s brain. The genes in one region are activated whilst gene expression in the corresponding region on the opposite side of his brain remain quiescent. Known as immediate early genes because their expression is activated transiently and rapidly in response to a specific stimulus — courtship, in this case — these genes are expressed at a higher level in the left hemisphere of the male zebra finch’s brain, which receives visual input from the bird’s right eye. But even more interesting is that birds lack the corpus callosum, that brain regions that facilitates communication between the two brain hemispheres in placental mammals, suggesting that short-term mate choice may be confined to the left brain hemisphere in birds (“lateralisation”).

To investigate this phenomenon, Jennifer Templeton and James Mountjoy, both Associate Professors of Biology at Knox College in Galesburg Illinois, collaborated with behavioural ecologist Sarah Pryke, who was a postdoc at the time at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, and Simon Griffith, an Associate Professor of Biology at Macquarie. They designed several studies to identify whether lateralisation could be seen in the endangered Gouldian finch, Erythrura gouldiae, a polymorphic songbird.

Gouldian finches have three distinct colour polymorphisms or “morphs”: the plumage on their heads is either red, black or (very rarely) yellow. Both males and females show strong preferences for a mate with head colouring that matches their own. This preference is highly adaptive since mixed parentage chicks suffer high pre-hatching mortality due to genetic incompatibilities (read more here).

The team designed a series of non-invasive experiments using four stimulus chambers, three of which housed “stimulus birds” and the fourth of which remained empty (control). For three days, each stimulus bird was included in a trial consisting of three sexually-naive adult birds, a black male and two females — one red, one black, none of which had seen each other before. The male test finch wore a tiny temporary eyepatch made of cotton that prevented him from seeing out of the occluded eye.

First, the team established whether there was a difference in how long a test black male looked at a stimulus bird depending upon which eye he used (figure 1):

Figure 1. (a–c) Box plots of the per cent total trial time that black males (n = 12) in each eye condition closely viewed social stimuli from adjacent choice zones. Horizontal dashed line denotes overall mean. (a) Black female, (b) red female and (c) black male.
.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

But looking is one thing, and courting is another — how was the male’s courtship affected? During their studies, the team found that eight of the twelve black males sang to at least one female during at least one of their three trials, but they never sang to males. So the team examined whether courtship singing was affected by which eye the test male used to look at the stimulus females (figure 2):

Figure 2. (a, b) Box plots of the per cent total singing time that black males (n = 12) in each eye condition sang to both female morphs. Horizontal dashed line denotes overall mean. (a) Black female, (b) red female.
.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

These findings provide compelling evidence that the ability to distinguish a particular morph is constrained to a bird’s right-eye/left-brain hemisphere.

“Our findings raise all sorts of interesting questions about how visual information mediates the behavior of Gouldian finches”, explained Professor Templeton in email. This is particularly important for Gouldian finches since choosing the wrong mate can have dire fitness consequences for these birds. Already, Professor Templeton is planning more experiments to add detail to these findings.

“In addition to testing the other head colors and females, we’re hoping to see how the visual information mediates hormonal responses,” writes Professor Templeton. She goes on to explain that by doing this, she hopes to “get a better handle on the neurohormonal mechanisms that influence female Gouldian [finch]s’ abilities to manipulate the sex ratio of their offspring when they mate with a male of the wrong head color.”

These data also provide intriguing insights into behaviours seen in other bird species. For example, lateralisation could be the reason so many avian courtship rituals include sideways dance displays and may also explain why, when a male views females with a particular eye during courtship, he is stimulated to produce an enhanced courtship display.

But birds are the one surviving lineage of modern dinosaurs, which may tempt some people to overlook the applicability of these findings to mammals. But these studies provide support for the recent hypothesis that the left brain hemisphere in many animal taxa is specialized to distinguish between conspecifics and heterospecifics (doi:10.3819/ccbr.2012.70006).

“In people, Helen Fisher and her colleagues have actually shown that ‘romantic love’ may be lateralized as well (in domaine-rich areas of the brain such as the right ventral tegmentum).” explains Professor Templeton. Further, “dopamine-rich areas of the brain such as the right ventral tegmentum are important for addiction studies (addicted to love?).”

But Fisher’s studies used individuals who had already made a mate choice, notes Professor Templeton, “whereas we used sexually naive birds who were given a choice of potential mates to view — kind of like going to a bar.”

Sources:

Jennifer J. Templeton, D. James Mountjoy, Sarah R. Pryke, & Simon C. Griffith (2012). In the eye of the beholder: visual mate choice lateralization in a polymorphic songbird. Biology Letters doi:10.1098/rsbl.2012.0830

Jennifer Templeton; emails: 28, 29 & 30 September and 3 & 9 October 2012.

L. Workman, & R.J. Andrew (1986). Asymmetries of eye use in birds. Animal Behaviour, 34 (5), 1582-1584 doi:10.1016/S0003-3472(86)80235-4

Orsola Rosa Salva, Lucia Regolin, Elena Mascalzoni, & Giorgio Vallortigara (2012). Cerebral and behavioural asymmetries in animal social recognition. Comparative Cognition & Behavior Reviews, 7, 110-138 doi:10.3819/ccbr.2012.70006

Many thanks also to my twitter pals for sending requested PDFs, especially Ivan Oransky, Tom Houslay, Steven Byrnes and Tommy Leung.

Read more about the amazing breeding system of Gouldian finches:

The stresses of Mr Wrong

Mate Choice: when Mr Right isn’t good enough

Plumage color influences choice of mates and sex of chicks in Gouldian Finches, Erythrura gouldiae

NOTE: this piece is reformatted slightly from the original, which was published on The Guardian.

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Follow Grrlscientist’s work on facebook, Google +, LinkedIn, Pinterest and of course, twitter: @GrrlScientist
email: grrlscientist@gmail.com

Top photo: A trio of Gouldian finches, Erythrura gouldiae. Black-headed male (L), red-headed male (R), black-headed female (lower).
Image: Sarah Pryke (This image has been cropped).

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Bird in Flight Photography

When it comes to bird photography there is nothing that I love more than capturing an intimate portrait of a bird in its natural environment. Creating an artistic photograph of a challenging bird on an appropriate perch is what I live for!

Top 10 Strategies for Success

With this said, there is also something thrilling and deeply satisfying about capturing an image of a bird in flight. For many bird photographers this is the ultimate goal. After all, when you think of the defining characteristic of a bird, flight generally does come to mind. In this installment of The Joy of Bird Photography I will share my top 10 strategies for successfully photographing birds in flight.

1. Equipment Matters

I am a big proponent of the fact that you do not need top of the line cameras to create fantastic images. However, more sophisticated camera bodies often have a second computer processor dedicated to auto-focus. This translates into real world advantages when trying to photograph birds in flight. Similarly, professional grade lenses with large maximum apertures will focus faster than consumer grade lenses. Sometimes equipment matters…

Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) flying in the interior of British Columbia, Canada.

2. Fast Shutter Speeds

Capturing images of birds in flight requires fast shutter speeds. It is impossible to say exactly what shutter speed will be required. The faster the bird is flapping its wings, the faster the shutter speed will need to be. Make sure to adjust ISO and aperture settings so that you keep your shutter speeds up.

Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus bachmani) flying in Victoria, BC, Canada.

3. Pre-Focus

If you are anticipating photographing a bird at a certain distance, pre-focus your lens (manually or by auto focusing in the area where you expect them to be). This will make it easier for you to initially find the bird in your viewfinder and allow your auto-focus to lock faster.

Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) flying in Victoria, BC, Canada.

4. Continuous AF

Whatever brand you shoot with – make sure you are using the predictive AF tracking mode (Canon calls this AI Servo). In this mode you can lock focus on the flying bird from far away and then by holding the shutter button down half way the camera will constantly keep the bird in focus as it gets closer to you.

White-throated Swift (Aeronautes saxatalis) flying in the Okanagan Valley, BC, Canada.

5. AF Sensor Selection

Depending on the brand and model of camera that you use you will have varying options for what auto-focus points are actively being used. I recommend using the center auto-focus point with some form of peripheral auto assist focus points.

A Western Emerald Hummingbird (Chlorostilbon melanorhyncus) feeding at a flower while flying in the Tandayapa Valley of Ecuador.

6. Limit the Lens

Many telephoto lenses allow the user to limit the range in which the auto-focus will search. For example my 500mm lens has a setting for 10m to infinity. If I know that the flying bird is not going to come closer than 10m from me I always use this setting. Doing so means that the auto-focus doesn’t have to hunt all the way back to 4m and drastically speeds up the rate at which focus is acquired.

Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis) flying at the Bosque del Apache wildlife refuge near Socorro, New Mexico, USA.

7. Ditch the Tripod

For perched birds I use a tripod 99.9% of the time. But when it comes to photographing birds in flight I highly recommend hand holding your gear. The freedom to move freely in all directions and pan comfortably will undoubtedly result in more keepers.

Red-billed Tropicbird flying off the coast of Tobago.

8. Study your Subject

Some birds fly in a straight line, others have undulating flight patterns. Perhaps the bird is flying in a predictable direction or towards a known location? As is the case in all types of bird photography, the more you know about your subject the better you will fare.

Red-and-green Macaw (Ara chloroptera) flying in Peru.

9. “Pump” the Focus

If the camera does not lock on the subject quickly, rather than simply holding down the shutter button and hoping that it finds the subject, it is much better to “pump” the shutter button until the camera locks focus. Otherwise the auto-focus will simply go back and forth between infinity and the minimum focus distance of the lens.

Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) flying in Victoria, BC, Canada.

10. Practice, Practice, Practice

Ultimately, being a proficient flight photographer requires good eye to lens coordination. This skill can only be developed from practice. Start with easy and readily available targets such as gulls and herons and then move on to more challenging subjects.

Hopefully these tips help you capture the images you are after of birds in flight.

All the best!

Glenn Bartley

Top Photo: Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica) flying along the coastline of Newfoundland, Canada.

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SUMMARY: Wild green-rumped parrotlet parents give their babies their own individual names

People who live with parrots know that they can mimic their human care-givers as well as many of the common sounds in their environment. Although such mimicry is delightful, it does raise the question of what purpose does vocal mimicry serve for wild parrots?

One proposed hypothesis for parrots’ remarkable ability to mimic sounds in their environment is to develop and maintain social cohesion. For example, several species of wild parrots studied to date demonstrate the ability to readily imitate their flock mates’ calls. This ability is important for psittacines: when an individual parrot moves from one locale to another, it learns the calls of the local parrot flock as part of forming a social bond with those birds.

But research in spectacled parrotlets, Forpus conspicillatus, went further: this research showed that each parrot has its own signature call — a unique sound that is used only for recognising that particular individual (doi:10.1007/s002650050481). Basically, each parrot has its own name. Interestingly, similar to human culture, members of each parrot family have names that sound more like each other than like those for other parrot families. But how do young parrots acquire their special signature calls (their names)? Do they learn their names from their parents, or are they born knowing their names?

To answer to this question, Karl Berg, a graduate student in Neurobiology and Behavior at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, assembled a team of researchers and studied a wild population of green-rumped parrotlets, Forpus passerinus, in Guarico, Venezuela. Because this particular population has been carefully documented for decades, it provided an excellent opportunity to study the social dynamics of wild parrots.

Slightly smaller than a domestic canary, green-rumped parrotlets are the smallest parrot species in the Americas. They are resident in open forest and scrubland throughout much of tropical South America, and they have small ranges. These tiny, mostly green, parrots are slightly sexually dimorphic cavity nesters, laying between five and seven eggs in a termite nest, in a tree cavity — or in a hollow pipe.

To distinguish between the two hypotheses (social name learning versus biological name inheritance), Mr Berg and his team of researchers set up inconspicuous video cameras and audio recorders inside and outside 17 nest cavities in PVC pipes in 2007 and 2008. When the resident female parrotlet had completed her clutch, nine of those nests were swapped between unrelated birds that lived far enough apart that they did not come into any auditory contact with each other. (The other eight nests were controls that remained with their biological parents.)

The researchers then recorded and analyzed the sounds in each nest cavity (figure 1 a & b):

The team found that each adult had its own unique contact call and that contact call was more similar to each bird’s mate’s call than to calls produced by adults at other nests.

They also recorded and analyzed the nestlings’ contact calls (figure 1 c & d):

As expected, the parrot nestlings’ calls were more variable than those of the adults, but sibling parrots tended to show strong similarities in their contact call structure. Like their parents, nestling parrotlet calls were more similar to their siblings than to nestling calls at other nests (however, this finding was significant only in 2007).

But were the foster parents learning their adopted nestlings innate contact calls or were the nestlings learning calls that their parents assigned to them? The researchers had anticipated this question by recording the foster parents’ calls prior to them hearing their adopted nestlings’ calls. Spectrographic analysis showed that it was the parents who assigned signature calls — names — to the young parrots instead of the other way around. Further, all parrot nestlings adopted contact calls that were notably similar to those that their parents — whether biological or foster — vocalized to them in the first weeks of their lives. Taken together, these data indicate that nestling parrots learn their names from their parents and parrot names are the result of social learning rather than biological inheritance.

It’s likely that parrots evolved the ability to mimic sounds for social reasons, although those precise reasons are still unknown. But since this ability allows families to recognise each other by voice, it is likely that such vocal recognition is important for restricting parental care to one’s own fledglings after parrot families begin moving to communal foraging and roosting sites.

These findings have a number of interesting implications as well. For example, can parrots recall and distinguish particular individuals and identify family members, even after being separated for years? This also raises the possibility that parrots may have a concept of individuality and even of self awareness.

This video is a slide presentation of these findings:

Sources:

Karl S. Berg, Soraya Delgado, Kathryn A. Cortopassi, Steven R. Beissinger, & Jack W. Bradbury (2012). Vertical transmission of learned signatures in a wild parrot. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 279 (1728): 585-591. doi:10.1098/rspb.2011.0932

Ralf Wanker, Jasmin Apcin, Bert Jennerjahn, & Birte Waibel (1998). Discrimination of different social companions in spectacled parrotlets (Forpus conspicillatus): evidence for individual vocal recognition. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 43 (3), 197-202 doi:10.1007/s002650050481

NOTE: republished after reformatting from the original.

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GrrlScientist maintains her presence on a number of social media sites, including facebook and twitter: @GrrlScientist
email: grrlscientist@gmail.com

Top Photo: Green-rumped Parrotlet by Barloventomagico on Flickr.

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SUMMARY: DNA obtained for the first time from extinct Carolina parakeets reveals their closest relatives and provides insight into the evolution of New World parrots
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The Carolina parakeet, Conuropsis carolinensis (pictured above), was the only endemic parrot in the United States. It had one of the most northerly ranges of any parrot species, even occurring along the southern shores of Lake Ontario (see range map, right; doi:10.2173/bna.667). But European settlers quickly persecuted this colourful and widespread parrot out of existence for food, feathers, “sport” and to protect their crops. By the early 1920s, this common parrot was gone forever.

So efficient was this extermination campaign that the Carolina parakeet disappeared before we knew much about its ecology and behaviours. The little that we do know about these iconic birds’ life history and historical distribution comes from modern scientists, ornithologists and historians stitching together brief snippets penned by 19th century naturalists with personal observations reported by the few still-living people who knew this bird in life.

Also mysterious are the precise evolutionary relationships between the Carolina parakeet and other neotropical parrots species. Although this parrot is the only member of its genus, Conuropsis, its long, pointed tail and wings, feathered cheeks and lores, the combination of yellow and orange head plumage and blue feathers in its wings, and its comparatively broad and heavy bill closely resemble these same features in several parrots in the genus Aratinga, leading most authorities to argue they are close relatives.

But other authorities have pointed out that the Carolina parakeet’s fully feathered ceres, that fleshy area surrounding its nostrils, is a trait shared with the monk parakeet, Myiopsitta monachus (doi:10.2173/bna.667), a parrot that still lives in temperate South America. For this reason, it has been proposed that the Carolina and monk parakeets may be sister species — each other’s closest relatives.

This controversy gives rise to questions about the evolutionary relationships between New World parrot species as well as about the process of evolution in general, such as; which of these characters are shared due to relatedness and which are the result of convergent evolution from having to deal with similar ecological challenges? What do these similar traits tell us about the ecology of these parrots? What can we learn about an extinct species after clarifying its evolutionary relationships with extant, or still-living, species?

To elucidate the evolutionary relationships between these parrots, a collaboration was forged between Jeremy Kirchman, Curator of Ornithology at the New York State Museum in Albany, and Erin Schirtzinger (who was a graduate student at the time) and her thesis advisor, Timothy Wright, a professor of biology at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. The team isolated and sequenced the DNA from toepad tissue obtained from two museum specimens of the extinct Carolina parakeet. These DNA sequences totalled 876 nucleotides (nts) and comprised portions of two mitochondrial genes: COI (251 nts) and ND2 (625 nts). These gene sequences were aligned with the same DNA segments from 47 other parrot species, 43 of which are neotropical parrot species.

Statistical analyses of the nucleotide differences between these aligned sequences and subsequent reconstruction of the New World parrot family tree indicates that the Carolina parakeet is part of a well-supported group, or clade, of neotropical parakeets (figure 1):

As you can see in the above phylogram, the analyses strongly indicated that the Carolina parakeet (red arrow) is the sister species to a well-supported triad of sampled species, including; the mostly yellow-and-orange sun parakeet, Aratinga solstitialis, the golden-capped parakeet, A. auricapillus, a green parrot with an orange-and-yellow forehead, and the nanday parakeet, Nandayus nenday, a green parrot with a black head and neck. These similarities suggest that this striking plumage coloration evolved in the shared ancestor of this lineage and was partially lost by the nanday parakeet, which retains its blue primaries but has replaced (or obscured) the yellow-and-orange head and neck plumage with black.

A close look at the phylogram above (see detail below) makes it obvious that the Aratinga are scattered all over this family tree, indicating this particular genus is highly polyphyletic — which is how scientists describe a taxonomic mess that will require some serious work to resolve (PhD project, anyone?).

But at the same time, if you dig out your magnifying glass and examine the original phylogram closely (figure 1), you’ll see that the relationship between the Carolina parakeet and the monk parakeet is not at all close. This indicates that one physical trait, feathered ceres, is the result of convergent evolution — possibly an adaptation for cold tolerance that evolved independently in both species.

This DNA detective work underscores other similarities, too. For example, wild sun parakeets are quite gregarious, roosting communally in tree cavities either by day or night — a behaviour reported for extinct Carolina parakeets, too.

I chose to share this story with you because even though the Carolina parakeet is extinct, we still can salvage some of this species’ history despite its tragic loss. For example, these data help bring into focus a larger question: how did the ancestor of the Carolina parakeet colonize temperate North America? Let’s take a peek at the range data for this species and its relatives. The Carolina parakeet’s closest living relatives are widely distributed across temperate and tropical South America, whilst those Aratinga species occurring in Mexico, other parts of Central America, or in the Greater Antilles are more distant relations. Since the Carolina parakeets’ more distant relations are geographically closer to its own historic range whilst its closest relatives are more geographically distant to it, these data are consistent with the generally accepted scientific idea that Central and North America were colonized at different times by distinct lineages of parrots — parrots that originally invaded South America from Antarctica (doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2011.02555.x). Fossil data, although sparse, lends support to this idea.

What drove these ancestral parrots to roam so widely at different times? An independent line of research published by Manuel Schweizer, Ole Seehausen and Stefan Hertwig provides some insight (doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2011.02555.x). In this fascinating paper, Schweizer’s team analyzed portions of two nuclear (chromosomal) genes to estimate the phylogenetic relationships between 75 parrot and 21 other avian taxa. Using a molecular clock calibrated by avian fossils, Schweizer’s team evaluated the importance of past climate change, plate tectonics and ecological opportunity upon the evolution and geographic distribution of the major bird groups, including parrots.

According to this team’s findings, parrots originated on Gondwana and diversified after this land mass broke up. The resulting habitat shifts on the drifting continent fragments, caused by climate change and the appearance of new mountain ranges, gave rise to geographic isolation and habitat fragmentation, both of which provided new ecological opportunities and challenges for these birds, and also drove their evolution and ensuing movements.

So even though extinction has muddied the waters of our understanding, this research indicates that, through careful molecular detective work, we may still gain some understanding into the mechanisms of evolution and the events that drive it.

Sources:

Jeremy J. Kirchman, Erin E. Schirtzinger, & Timothy F. Wright (2012). Phylogenetic relationships of the extinct Carolina Parakeet (Conuropsis carolinensis) inferred from DNA sequence Data. The Auk, 129 (2), 197-204 doi:10.1525/auk.2012.11259

Noel F. Snyder, & Keith Russell. 2002. Carolina Parakeet (Conuropsis carolinensis). In The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America. doi:10.2173/bna.667

Manuel Schweizer, Ole Seehausen, & Stefan T. Hertwig (2011). Macroevolutionary patterns in the diversification of parrots: Effects of climate change, geological events and key innovations. Journal of Biogeography, 38 (11), 2176-2194 doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2011.02555.x

I also thank my twitter pals, especially Jon Tennant, for kindly obtaining and emailing requested PDFs for this story.

NOTE: reformatted and republished from the original.

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GrrlScientist maintains her presence on a number of social media sites, including facebook and twitter: @GrrlScientist
email: grrlscientist@gmail.com

Photo: Carolina parakeet, Conuropsis carolinensis, hand-colored engraving (1825).
John James Audubon (author & artist, 1785-1851). This image is in the Public Domain.

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