Thomas R. Howell

BODY TEMPERATURE, OXYGEN CONSUMPTION, EVAPORATIVE WATER LOSS, ANDI HEART RATE IN THE POOR-WILL

The physiology of the Poor-will (Phalaenoptilus nuttallii) is of unusual interest. Not only is it one of the very few birds which can undergo long periods of dormancy comparable in most respects to mammalian hibernation, but over much of its summer range it is exposed to severe conditions of heat because of its habit of spending the daylight hours, even in the desert, sitting quietly in the open. During the past year we have had the opportunity to make a series of observations on two captive, adult PIoor-wills, one (P. n. hueyi) captured by Mr. Donald Schroeder in the Coachella Valley, Riverside County, California, and the other (P. n. californicus) found in a torpid condition in Eagle Rock, Los Angeles County, California, by Mrs. Gerald Massey. Both birds were maintained for many months in captivity and were fed on a diet of meal worms (Tenebrio larvae) and canned cat food. The limited information on the physiology of Poor-wills has previously been summarized (Bartholomew, Howell, and Cade, 1957; Howell and Bartholomew. 1959) and need not be reviewed here.

Birds of the Lowland Pine Savanna of Northeastern Nicaragua

Although Central America has been investicount of ecological conditions in the pine sagated by biologists and worked by professional vanna and the adjacent broad-leafed forest and collectors for over a century, the region inh ave discussed species diversity, population cludes a large area of distinctive habitat that density, intraand interspecific competition, has remained almost unknown zoologically and niche utilization in the birds of these conuntil recent years. This pine savanna includes trasting habitats. This paper deals primarily only a single species of pine, Pinus caribaea; with the taxonomy, distribution, and reproducthe region resembles the pinelands of British tive biology of those species that use the disHonduras, but is entirely of low relief-gentinctive features of the pine savanna in some erally less than 100 m above sea level. The ecologically important way-i.e., foraging, Mosquitia is effectively isolated from the feeding, resting, nesting-with at least some British Honduras pinelands and from the regularity. I have therefore not listed every highland pine forests of Honduras and northspecies recorded in or over the savanna, but central Nicaragua by wide expanses of humid, have included some that may not use the salowland, tropical, broad-leafed forest. The vanna regularly or importantly but which are approximate extent of the savanna is shown in of distributional or taxonomic interest. figure 1; the southern extent of this habitat, beThose species using the savanna importantly tween Laguna de Perlas and Bluefields, Nicmay be categorized as follows: aragua, marks the southern limit of naturally Permanent residents-resident species whose occurring pines in the Western Hemisphere. presence depends on the presence of the saThe paucity of published biological informavanna, which carry on most or all of their tion on the Mosquitia until the past few years activities there, and which are absent from is striking. The few visits made by ornitholoadjacent areas of broad-leafed forest. gists to the Nicaraguan area up to 1963 have Wide-ranging residents-resident species been discussed by Howell ( 1965). Studies that use the savamra frequently and imporby Parsons ( 1955)) Radley ( 1960)) Johannestantly, perhaps exclusively in the case of some sen ( 1963), Taylor (1963), and Munro ( 1966) individuals, but which (as species) also use provide valuable information on the geography adjacent nonsavanna habitats frequently and an d ecology of the region; the most recent importantly. zoological studies dealing with the pine saSummer residents-differ from permanent vanna are those of Monroe (1968) in Honresidents only by their absence during the duras, Howell ( 1965), Campbell and Howell period from November to March, at least. ( 1965)) Monroe and Howell ( 1966), and Winter residents-species that nest in temBuchanan and Howell (1965). perate North America and are found regularly From 1963 to 1967, my associates and I in the savanna during the winter months. made five visits to the Nicaraguan savanna Regular visitors from adjacent broad-leafed region, as follows: 16 January to 1 February forest-resident species that are widespread 1963; 11 to 27 August 1965; 10 to 26 March in broad-leafed forest or forest edge, but 1966; 18 November to 1 December 1966; and which regularly range into the savanna and 15 to 30 April 1967. The personnel included 0. may even nest in the pines; however, all these M. Buchanan, L. F. Kiff, M. B. Lloyd, F. G. species depend on the adjacent broad-leafed Stiles, and J, E. Zoeger. These visits included forest for many or most of their activities. periods in both the wet and dry seasons, pePassage migrants-spring or fall transients riods when some spring and fall transients and that pass through the savanna. winter residents were present, and periods These categories may be abbreviated as PR, when breeding birds that are not year-round WrR, SR, WR, RV, and M, respectively, and residents were present. In another paper these abbreviations are used where applicable (Howell 1971), I have given a detailed acin the species accounts. Equivocal cases and

The Birds of Guadalupe Island in 1953

Guadalupe Island has been of great interest to biologists ever since the first members of its endemic fauna and flora were described over 75 years ago (Ridgway, 1876 ; Watson, 1875). The history of its avifauna, however, is a sad one of reduction and extermination through destruction of habitat by feral goats, predation by introduced house cats, and, regrettably, some excess of zeal by collectors. Today, even though only a remnant of its former biota remains, the island is still an attraction to anyone concerned with ecology and conservation. We were given an opportunity to visit Guadalupe Island in June of 1953 with a party from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California. The Institution’s vessel, the E. W. Scripps, left San Diego at noon on June 6 and arrived at the northeast anchorage of the island about 24 hours later. We stayed on the island from June 7 until the morning of June 12, when we boarded the Scripps for the return trip. Shelter while ashore was provided by abandoned adobe huts that once housed a detachment of Mexican soldiers. We were able to visit only the north and north-central parts of the island during our stay.

Experiments on the Mating Behavior of the Brewer Blackbird

Under favorable circumstances the social and sexual responses of unconfined and undomesticated birds can be subjected to experimental analysis. The excellent review by Tinbergen (1948) lists some outstanding papers dealing with this topic. Noble (1936) and Noble and Vogt (1935) demonstrated the importance of visual clues in the reproductive activities of wild birds, and the experiments of Lack (1943) in his intensive study of the Robin (Erithacus rubccula) illustrate the value of concentrating on the behavior of one well known form. The interest and importance of these and similar studies led us to select a single avian species for an investigation of mating behavior.

Experiments on Nesting Behavior of the Red-Tailed Tropicbird, Phaethon rubricauda

This study was undertaken in the course of more extensive investigations of the thermoregulatory adaptations of sea birds nesting on Midway Island, a coral atoll at 28”13* N, 177”23’ W in the leeward chain of the Hawaiian Islands. The Red-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon rubricauda) is an abundant breeding bird on Midway. Some of its physiological and behavioral adaptations to environmental conditions on this island have previously been discussed ( Howell and Bartholomew 1962). Our limited time was devoted primarily to the studies on thermoregulation, but the opportunities for behavioral research were so great that we undertook simple field experiments on some obvious features of nesting behavior in this and in other breeding species (Bartholomew and Howell 1964). successful, and nests are most numerous in groves of introduced Caszuztina trees, under Scaevo2a bushes, and around abandoned buildings. The nest is a simple scrape in the sand. The clutch is invariably a single egg, the color of which varies from almost pure white (rarely) to a purplish-brown hue resulting from varying densities of superficial pigmentation. Both parents participate in incubation and care of the young, but we were unable to distinguish the sexes externally. Tropic birds lack an incubationor brood-patch, and the very small feet do not seem to play any role in incubation or brooding except, possibly, as tactile or thermal receptors (Howell and Bartholomew 1962).

BIRDS COLLECTED IN NICARAGUA BY BERNARDO PONSOL

Resident naturalists in Central America are few, but the opportunities for such a person to make valuable contributions to ornithology are great. The late Fr.’ Bernard0 Ponsol, S. J,, of the Colegio Centro-America at Granada, Nicaragua, made a noteworthy collection of birds in that country and his enthusiastic pursuit of biological studies continued until his untimely death in 1946. Fr. Ponsol’s collection has been almost unknown except for his record of an American Golden Plover (Pluvialis dominica) in Nicaragua (Wetmore, 1945) and for some mention in a popular account of the country (Marden, 1944). Since Fr. Ponsol’s death there has been no one at the Colegio to continue his studies, and frequent changes in the staff made it unlikely that an active museum could be maintained. Therefore, the authorities of the institution generously donated those specimens for which there were adequate data to the University of California, Los Angeles, so that Fr. Ponsol’s contribution to ornithological study in Nicaragua could be made known. Bernard0 Ponsol was born at San Sebastian, Spain, on February 23, 1900, and entered the Society of Jesus at Loyola, Spain, on July 15, 1917. He studied Biology and other sciences at Ona, Spain, and studied Theology and was ordained priest at Innsbruck, Austria. He returned to Spain and studied Biology for at least two years in the Central University in Madrid. Fr. Ponsol came to Nicaragua (evidently in the late 1930’s) as Provincial of Central America, but despite the time-consuming duties of this office he managed to collect and prepare bird specimens-some as display mounts and others as study skins-and trained others in these activities. All accounts indicate that he was a most enthusiastic ornithologist, using as much time as he could spare to collect specimens and attempting to visit as many different habitats as possible. In 1943 he began correspondence with Alexander Wetmore, and through Dr. Wetmore was able to obtain some of the standard reference works on New World birds for the library of the Colegio Centro-America. In 1945, Fr. Ponsol prepared a manuscript, entitled “Zonas Biogeograficas de la Flora y Fauna Nicaragiienses,” that was a preliminary treatment of the subject; he intended to revise and extend it as more data were amassed and did not consider it ready for publication. This work was issued posthumously in 1958 as publication no. 6 of the Academia Nicaragiiense de la Lengua, with due notice of Fr. Ponsol’s view that the paper was not in final form. There is no doubt that Fr. Ponsol hoped to continue and expand his ornithological activities, but he met a tragic death in an airplane crash at La Libertad, Nicaragua, on April 22, 1946. Unfortunately some of his notes were either lost in the crash or were not preserved at the Colegio, but for many specimens there are adequate data on the labels or in some of his specimen catalogs that were saved. Fr. Ponsol made a tangible and lasting contribution to ornithology through his collecting activities, and he also made a contribution of another and perhaps less tangible nature. He is remembered with the greatest respect by former students at the Colegio and by all those with whom he came in contact throughout the country, and his widely-known enthusiasm for biology still encourages cooperation and assistance from people in all walks of life for zoological investigation in Nicaragua. For these reasons one can say with confidence that future students in this region will be indebted to Fr. Ponsol’s pioneering efforts on behalf of biological science in his adopted country.

Experiments on nesting behaviour of Laysan and Black-footed albatrosses

Abstract An experimental study of the nesting behaviour of the Laysan Albatross ( Diomedea immutabilis ) and the Black-footed Albatross ( D. nigripes ) was undertaken on Midway Island. Respones to test situations are summarized as follows: 1. 1. The birds do not attempt to retrieve a displaced egg or chick. 2. 2. D. immutabilis usually chooses the empty nest rather than a displaced egg, but nigripes usually chooses the egg. 3. 3. Both species usually choose the nest rather than a displaced chick. 4. 4. Given a choice between an egg and a chick on opposite sides of an empty nest, both species usually choose the nest or the egg. 5. 5. A variety of foreign objects substituted in the nest for the egg are accepted and incubated, but the birds choose a normal egg in preference to such objects when given a choice. 6. 6. Relocation of the entire nest is usually not accepted permanently. 7. 7. Intra- and inter-specific nest exchanges are usually not accepted for any length of time. The relation of these responses to the usual pattern of nesting behaviour is discussed and interpreted in terms of the ecology of the species.

Zoogeography of Scotinomys in Middle America, With The Description of A New Subspecies from Nicaragua

The distribution of the cricetid rodent genus Scotinomys is briefly reviewed, and its distribution as a Middle American endemic is shown to coincide with the distribution of cloud forest, or upper humid montane forest. A new subspecies of S. teguina is described from north-central Nicaragua, and the significance of the Nicaraguan gap in the distribution of this mid-montane species is defined.

Bird Conservation in Middle America Report of the A.O.U. Conservation Committee, 1972-73

Ta•. Committee on Conservation has been charged in 1973 with the preparation of a report on Middle America. The next A.O.U. checklist will include all of North America south to the Colombian border of Panama. It is appropriate for members to be aware of conservation problems south of the U.S. border. Middle America has a rich avifauna; a relatively small area supports more bird species than all of America north of Mexico. The status of bird populations reflects the stability of their habitats. It is often more constructive to publicize the plight of an endangered species than it is to dramatize a vanishing habitat. Birds have a popular appeal that may be used effectively to promote conservation efforts.