Stray Feathers From a Bird Man's Desk

by Austin Loomer Rand

REFERENCES

Is it true? Did it really happen? The implications and correlations are my own, and some of the accounts on the previous pages are based on my experiences. But many of the facts come from the writings of others. Where the incidents are well known no documentation is given. But when the behavior described is little known or only recently discovered I've given a reference so that the source can be consulted. These are arranged under the appropriate chapter headings.

BIRDS USING TOOLS

Edna Fisher, Jour. Mammalogy, Vol. 20, p. 21 (sea otter). P. A. Gilbert, 1939, Emu, Vol. 39, pp. 18-22 (satin bower bird). D. Lack, 1947, Darwin's Finches, p. 59 (woodpecker finch). D. Morris, 1954, British Birds, Vol. 47, p. 33 (song thrush). A. C. Bent, 1921, U. S. Natl. Mus. Bull. 113, p. 111 (gull and crow).

BIRDS AS BRIGANDS

A. L. Rand, 1954, Fieldiana-Zoology (Chicago), Vol. 36, p. 35 (eagle, skua, frigate bird).

BIRDS BATHING

F. N. Bassett, 1922, Condor, Vol. 24, p. 63 (hummingbirds). A. C. Bent, 1937, U. S. Natl. Mus. Bull., 167, p. 370 (osprey).

HOW BIRDS ANOINT THEIR FEATHERS

W. L. McAtee, 1938, Auk, Vol. 55, p. 98 (review).

TRAVELING BIRDS' NESTS

H. S. Swarth, 1935, Condor, Vol. 37, p. 84 (barn swallows). M. A. Common, 1942, Auk, Vol. 59, p. 43 (tree swallow). D. L. Serventy and H. M. Whittell, 1948, Birds of Western Australia, p. 243 (welcome swallow).

MALADAPTATION IN BIRDS

J. Grinnell, 1926, Condor, Vol. 28, p. 97 (robin). W. H. Bergtold, 1930, Auk, Vol. 47, p. 571 (robin). H. W. Henshaw, 1921, Condor, Vol. 23, p. 109 (California woodpecker). D. Bannerman, 1933, Birds Tropical West Africa, Vol. 3, p. 415 (thick-billed honey-guide).

FEATHERED BABY SITTERS AND CO-OP NURSERY NESTS

D. Davis, 1940, Auk, Vol. 57, p. 179 (ani). A. C. Bent, 1925, U. S. Natl. Mus. Bull., 130, p. 85 (eider duck). R. C. Murphy, 1936, Oceanic Birds of South America, Vol. 1, p. 398 (penguins).

BIRDS' NESTS AND THEIR SOUP

Gibson-Hill, 1948, Malay. Nat. Jour., Vol. 3, p. 190; F. H. Giles, 1935, Jour. Siam Soc. Nat. Hist. Suppl., Vol. 10, p. 137; and Jabouille, 1931, L'Oiseau et Rev. Franc. d'Ornith., Vol. 1, n.s., p. 219 (swiftlets).

WALLED WIVES OF HORNBILLS

R. E. Moreau, 1937, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1937, p. 331 (hornbills).

BURIED EGGS AND YOUNG

A. Newton, 1893, Dictionary of Birds, p. 733; and D. Bannerman, 1931, Birds Trop. West Africa, Vol. II, p. 205 (crocodile bird). Deusing, 1939, Auk, Vol. 56, p. 367 (grebe). Bent, 1925, U. S. Natl. Mus. Bull., 130, p. 98 (eider duck).

THE SNOWY OWL AS A TRADE INDEX

A. Gavin, 1947, Wilson Bull., Vol. 59, p. 202 (snowy owl).

MONKEY BIRDS

A. L. Rand, 1954, Fieldiana-Zoology (Chicago), Vol. 36, p. 23 (various "monkey-birds").

BIRD-MADE INCUBATORS

C. G. Sibley, 1946, Condor, Vol. 48, p. 92; Coles, 1937, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1937, pp. 261-73; Fleay, 1937, Emu, Vol. 36, pp. 153-63 (mound builders).

CORMORANT FISHING

B. Laufer, 1931, Publ. Field Mus. Nat. Hist. (Anthr. Ser.), 18, pp. 201-62; Gudger, 1926, Amer. Nat., 60, p. 5 (cormorant fishing).

THE SHRIKE'S LARDER

A. C. Bent, 1950, U. S. Natl. Mus. Bull. 197, p. 120 (shrike's larder).

BIRD FLAVORS

H. B. Cott, 1946, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, Vol. 116, pp. 371-524 (bird flavors).

HOW MANY FEATHERS HAS A BIRD?

A. Wetmore, 1936, Auk, Vol. 53, p. 159; F. B. Hutt and L. Ball, 1938, Auk, 55, p. 651 (number of feathers).

LAST YEAR'S BIRDS' NESTS

A. C. Bent, 1925, U. S. Natl. Mus. Bull. 130, pp. 91, 92; H. F. Lewis, 1938, Bird-Lore, Vol. 40, p. 239 (eider down).

SYMBIOSIS—ANIMALS LIVING IN MIXED HOUSEHOLDS

A. C. Bent, 1938, U. S. Natl. Mus. Bull. 170, pp. 384-86, 398 (burrowing owl). H. Friedmann, 1930, Natural History, Vol. 30, p. 205 (social weaver). W. H. Hudson, 1920, Birds of La Plata, Vol. 2, p. 31 (monk parrot). W. R. B. Oliver, 1930, New Zealand Birds, p. 118 (Sphenodon).

BIRD APARTMENT HOUSES

A. C. Bent, 1942, U. S. Natl. Mus. Bull. 179, p. 490 (purple martin). A. Wetmore and F. C. Lincoln, 1933, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., Vol. 82, art. 25, p. 44 (West Indian woodpecker). D. Bannerman, 1933, Birds of Tropical West Africa, Vol. 3, p. 381 (barbets). J. T. Emlen, 1954, Auk, Vol. 71, p. 16 (cliff swallows). W. H. Hudson, 1920, Birds of La Plata, Vol. 2, p. 31 (monk parrot). A. Wetmore and B. H. Swales, U. S. Natl. Mus. Bull. 155, p. 346 (palm chat); H. Friedmann, 1930, Nat. Hist., Vol. 30, p. 205 (social weaver).

BIRD HELPERS AT NESTING TIME

A. Skutch, 1935, Auk, 52, p. 257 (helpers at nest). M. M. Nice, 1943, Trans. Linn. Soc., Vol. 6, p. 79 (young feeding young). R. C. Murphy, 1936, Oceanic Birds of South America, Vol. 1, p. 360 (emperor penguins).

WEAVERS AND TAILORS IN THE BIRD WORLD

H. Friedmann, 1922, Zoologica, Vol. 2, p. 355 (weaverbird). C. A. Wood, 1926, Smithsonian Rept., p. 349 (tailorbird).

SOCIAL PARASITES AMONG BIRDS

A. H. Miller, 1946, Sci. Monthly, Vol. 62, p. 238 (social parasites).

FISH EATS BIRD!

W. E. Glegg, 1945, Ibis, p. 422 (fish eating birds).

CROWS ARE SMARTER THAN "WISE" OWLS

A. L. Rand, 1943, Canad. Field Nat., Vol. 57, p. 35 (saw-whet owl). A. L. Rand, 1942, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., 79, p. 518 (blue jay). A. C. Bent, 1946, U. S. Natl. Mus. Bull. 191, p. 196 (raven), p. 266 (crow).

TAME WILD BIRDS

D. Lack, 1942, Ibis, p. 271 (flycatcher). A. H. Chisholm, 1943, Ibis, p. 105 (honey eaters). H. H. Brimley, 1934, Auk, 51, p. 237 (phoebe).

BIRDS AS PILFERERS

A. L. Rand, 1954, Fieldiana-Zoology, Vol. 36, p. 31 (pilfering, several species).

HIBERNATION IN BIRDS

W. L. McAtee, 1947, Amer. Midland. Nat., 38, p. 191 (old records on torpidity). E. C. Jaeger, 1949, Condor, 51, p. 105 (poor-will).

SNAKESKINS IN BIRDS' NESTS

A. L. Rand, 1953, Nat. Hist. Miscl. (Chicago), No. 125 (snakeskins in nests).

CO-OPERATION BY BIRDS

A. L. Rand, 1954, Fieldiana-Zool. (Chicago), Vol. 36, pp. 10, 12 (co-operation, various species).

WATCHDOGS AT THE NEST

R. E. Moreau, 1942, Ibis, p. 240 (in Africa). D. R. Dickey and A. J. van Rossem, 1938, Publ. Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Zool. Ser., Vol. 23, p. 360 (in El Salvador).

BIRD GUIDES TO HONEY

H. Friedmann, 1954, Nat. Geog. Mag., Vol. 105, p. 551 (honey-guides).

OXPECKERS

D. Bannerman, 1948, Birds of Tropical West Africa, Vol. 6, p. 105 (oxpecker).

WINGS IN FEEDING

J. Delacour, 1946, Auk, Vol. 63, p. 441 (black heron).

CONDITIONING IN BIRDS

A. L. Rand, 1942, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., Vol. 79, p. 517 (shrikes).

POISONOUS BIRDS

E. H. Forbush, 1927, Birds of Mass., etc., Vol. 2, p. 34 (ruffed grouse). D. L. Serventy and H. M. Whittell, 1948, Birds of Western Australia, pp. 73, 74 (Australian pigeons). R. Meinertzhagen, 1912, Ibis, p. 96 (Mauritius pigeon).

BIRDS WASHING FOOD

F. G. Evenden, 1943, Condor, 45, p. 120 (dipper). For divers records of washing food see British Birds for 1946, 6 and 8.

HOW BIRDS USE COWS AS HUNTING DOGS

A. L. Rand, 1953, Auk, 70, p. 26 (ani).

BATTLE OF THE SEXES AND ITS EVOLUTIONARY SIGNIFICANCE

A. L. Rand, 1952, Fieldiana-Zoology (Chicago), Vol. 34, p. 65.

WATER IN THE DESERT

C. T. Vorhies, 1945, Univ. Ariz. Agri. Exp. Sta. Tech. Bull. 107 (water need in desert). J. T. Emlen, Jr., and B. Blading, 1945, Univ. Calif. Coll. Agri. Bull. 695, p. 34 (valley quail). E. G. B. Meade-Waldo, 1922, Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl., Vol. 42, p. 69 (sand grouse).

BIRD GRAVEYARDS

R. C. Murphy, 1936, Oceanic Birds of South America, Vol. 1, p. 372 (penguins). U. M. Grigg, 1950, Brit. Birds, Vol. 43, pp. 11-13 (graveyard in hollow tree). G. Simmons, 1927, Nat. Geog. Mag., Vol. 52, p. 27 (petrel bones on Cima).

ANIMAL GARDENS

R. C. Murphy, 1936, Oceanic Birds of South America, Vol. 1, p. 374 (penguins). F. Harper, 1953, Amer. Midland Nat., Vol. 49, p. 6 (birds and lichens). H. W. Feilden, 1877, Zoologist, Vol. 1, p. 319 (arctic-fox gardens).

DROPPING THINGS

M. E. W. North, 1948, Ibis, p. 138-41 (lammergeier). E. Jaeger, 1951, Condor, 53, p. 207 (sparrow).

LEARNING BY BIRDS

A. L. Rand, 1941, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., Vol. 78, p. 222 (thrasher). A. L. Rand, 1942, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., Vol. 79, p. 518 (blue jay).

CAN BIRDS COUNT?

Bird-banding, 1940, Vol. 11, p. 121 (summary various experiments).

COURTSHIP FEEDING

D. Lack, 1940, Auk, Vol. 57, p. 169 (courtship feeding).

THEY TURNED THE TABLES

A. C. Bent, 1926, U. S. Natl. Mus. Bull. 135, p. 109 (great blue heron). W. P. Baldwin, 1946, Auk, Vol. 63, p. 589 (oyster catcher). G. Mackay, 1929, Auk, 46, p. 123 (goldfinch). D. Bannerman, 1936, Birds Tropical West Africa, Vol. 4, p. 244 (dusky flycatcher).

SURVIVAL OF THE UNFIT

A. W. Anthony, 1898, Auk, Vol. 15, p. 314 (frigate bird). J. Cassin, 1858, United States exploring expedition ..., Mammals and Birds, Philadelphia, p. 364 (brown booby).

DECORATION IN THE HOME

A. C. Bent, 1937, U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 167, p. 151 (red-tailed hawk), p. 296 (golden eagle). M. R. Lieff and N. P. Jordan, 1950, British Birds, Vol. 43, p. 56 (carrion crow). E. H. Forbush, 1929, Birds of Mass., etc., Vol. 3, p. 141 (purple martin). A. L. Rand, 1936, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., Vol. 72, pp. 487, 490 (weaverbird).