Sexual Dimorphism in 5 North American Blackbirds (family ICTERIDAE)

... because I like Blackbirds, that's why!

Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)


Male


Female


Yellow Headed Blackbird (X. xanthocephalus)


Male


female


Boat-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus major)


Male on Mexican Sabal Palm (Sabal mexicanus)


Female


Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)


male


Female


Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula)


Male with Mulberries


Female


Male and female Baltimore Oriole

GALLERY OF EXTINCTED ANIMALS no. 4 - Birds Birds Birds

A continuing study in animals lost forever...

Heath Hen (Tympanuchus cupido cupido)

The Heath Hen was the 1st endangered bird that post-European settlement Americans made a concerted effort to save from extinction. Ultimately, they failed. The last birds on the Mainland U.S. were gone by 1870, and the last of the species died on Martha's Vineyard in 1932. A couple of centuries of over-hunting for meat and several unforeseen calamities during the years of conservation brought their numbers too low to recover.


This illustration depicts males calling and displaying their cheek pouches and ear plumes, much as the other species of Prairie Chicken in the U.S. do. They would gather at leks, areas where multiple males display for prospective mates.


They were actually quite common in the Colonial Era, and were commonly eaten until conservation measures were taken in the early 20th Century. Heathies were considered poor quality meat, but were readily available in their range from New England to Virginia.


A view of the erected ear plumes and orange cheek patches (which would be inflated during display).


During the years of conservation on Martha's Vineyard, disasters such as intense wildfires, poachers, severe weather, and inexplicable increases in Goshawks befell the birds in their preserves.


There is still some discussion as to whether the Heath Hen should be considered a distinct species or a subspecies of one of the other 2 species, the Lesser and Greater Prairie Chickens.


Kona Grosbeak or Kona Finch (Chloridops kona)

The Kona Finch is a bird that was not well known by people. There is only one written observation of the bird's habits, by naturalist Scott Barchard Wilson in the early 1890's, and the native people of the Kona Coast of Hawaii Island weren't familiar with them at all. They seemed to be already fairly rare, when Europeans first encountered them, and their elusive habits in the mountainous terrain in the area didn't help. No one is really sure why they went extinct. The last one was seen in 1894.


Kona Finches had thick cracking beaks, to aid in opening the heavy seeds they ate. Wilson's description of the bird was of a fairly sluggish inactive animal, that seldom sang.


There exist no photos, nor well preserved mounts of the birds. Can you spot what's wrong with this picture? Hint, read the above picture caption. This artist was probably confusing the bird with one mentioned in the next caption.


The Kona and 2 other closely related birds in the Kona Coast area, the Greater Koa and Lesser Koa Finch, went extinct in the 1890's from unknown causes. The Kona Grosbeak was the smallest of the 3.


Greater Koa Finch (Rhodacanthis palmeri), last seen 1896, sometimes indulged in caterpillars, as well as their usual diet of seeds. This was the noisiest of the 3 birds. They fed mostly on the seeds of Koa trees, thus the name. Notice the sexual dimorphism, the adult males having reddish plumage.


Lesser Koa Finch (Rhodacanthis flaviceps), last seen 1891, was in habit quite like the Greater Koa Finch, only a bit smaller and not as sexually dimorphic.


Labrador Duck (Camptorhynchus labradorius)

The Labrador is the only DUCK to go extinct in, and the first BIRD known to go extinct in North America since European settlement. The causes for the loss of this animal are not well understood, and probably fairly complex. The Last one was seen in 1858 in NY State.


The Labrador Duck was often referred to as the "Skunk Duck", because of its coloration. They were also referred to as the "Pied Duck", as were 2 other birds off of the NE U.S. and Atlantic Canada, which makes historical investigations of the bird difficult.


The female was less dramatically colored.


The shovel like bill was well formed for dislodging and seizing shellfish (Bivalves, like muscles and clams), which were the main part of its diet. Its believed that the dramatic decline in North Atlantic shellfish populations in the mid 1800's (due to over-harvesting by humans) was a major cause contributing to extinction.


Sad museum specimens are the only way you'll ever see one in person.


Because of their foul taste and speed of putrification of the flesh, meat seeking and recreational hunters didn't often go after them.


Another possible source of the species decline may have been hunting for the millinery trade, or the trade in feathers for the lady's hat industry.


The eggs, as well, were sought after, and may have been over-harvested, leading to decline.


Because the Labrador went extinct before much scientific study of the species could occur, little is known of its habits and breeding ecology.


Another of John James Audubon's studies of North American birds, as with most of his beautiful plates, these were rendered from birds he shot, then painted , often in location in the wild.

GALLERY OF EXTINCTED ANIMALS no. 3 - Birds again!

A continuing study in animals lost forever, due to human causes or within the historical memory of current humans. This post is dedicated to Wolf.



The Dodo (Raphus cucullatus)

There really is no more emblematic a case of extinction than the Dodo. This now famous extinct bird was found on the African island of Mauritius, until over-hunting nest predation by introduced dogs, rats, and other animals introduced from Europe wiped them from existence. The date of extinction is debatable, but the last reasonable sighting of the bird was in 1693 (only 112 years after the 1st Europeans saw the birds).


This creature was a classic example of island isolation leading to form and habit that would lend the species to easy exploitation once humans (as was often the case, Europeans) and other outside species showed up.


The birds had evolved on an island without large predators. They were relatively slow, flightless, lacked fear of humans and other animals, and nested in easily found nests on the ground.


Although the Dodo is often depicted as stupid, fat, and sluggish, this is a misrepresentation. Most of the illustrations of the bird showing them as fat are of overfed captive birds, wild birds were more fit. They were also fairly active for their size, and no more or less intelligent than closely related birds.


The Dodo was a large flightless relative of pigeons and doves, and probably evolved from large flight capable doves from either the Indian Subcontinent or SE Asia. They remained in Mauritius undisturbed by permanent human settlement until the arrival of the Portuguese in the 16th Century.


Who needs to be that fast and agile, when you eat fruit that falls to the ground and have no predators. Flightlessness and large size is a recurring theme for birds that evolve on islands without large mammalian predators.


The Walghvogel (Wallowing Bird) , as the Dutch originally called it, stood up to a meter tall and could weigh about 50 lbs.


Though their meat was not considered very palatable, they were easily overtaken and killed, and so they were, in great numbers by sailors and settlers. The variety of human introduced animals that plagued them were dogs, cats, rats, pigs, and even monkeys. They didn't stand a chance.


There is somewhat of a debate over the origin of the name, Dodo... ranging from several Dutch terms, a Portuguese term for "fool", and the noise the bird made (a "doo-doooo" pigeon like coo).


Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis)

Is it extinct? Though the bird was last conclusively seen in Louisiana in 1944, many sightings, possibly credible and not, have been made up to the present time. This is the bird, that won't die, at least not in people's imaginations. There are credible and believable accounts of the bird appearing up until 1972, but the trail had gone cold after that... and it was assumed they were gone. In 2004, however, photos of a large woodpecker resembling an Ivory-billed was taken in an Arkansas swamp, instigating an intense scientific search, which so far has yet to produce conclusive evidence that Ivory Bills still live.


The birds used to range widely through the deep forests of the American Southeast, preferring swampy hardwood and pine forests. The extensive deforestation of this area was the major cause of their decline and possible extinction.


A pair works together to feed the young in their nest cavity in a Louisiana forest in the 1930's.


Many ornithologists (scientists who study birds) have been hunting for the possibly extant birds for decades.


The bird closely resembles the not extincted Pileated Woodpecker, but has a whitish bill, white wing edges, and the females have all black and white heads. The general similarity in appearance though, has lead to doubts about most sightings since 1944.


Many sightings of the bird believed to be extinct have been made over the decades by professionals and enthusiasts alike. When driving through an area of forest near the Pearl River in Mississippi in 1998, I saw a bird that greatly matched the description of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker... in fairly poor light and of course without any photo documentation.


Several grainy photos and suggestive, but not clearly conclusive call recordings, were made of the bird in 2004-2005 in an Arkansas swamp. This has lead to an extensive hunt by the National Audubon Society, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology and governmental agencies for the bird in that area. So far, it has yet to come up with clear photos, indisputable recordings, or a specimen, although several convincing (to some) grainy photos and recordings have been made.


These loud and quite visible birds were rare, due to habitat loss and degradation, by the early 1900s. After the end of the American Civil War, the forests of the Southeast were logged heavily up until the present time. It's safe to say that we have probably lost 90 percent of the Southeastern forests.


This classic print from John James Audubon shows the male (red crest) and the female (black crest) together.


The hunt for the birds continues in earnest in the swamps of Arkansas. There really is a massive amount of information and evidence, and the best compilation of information on the undertaking is found here... The Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology (who are decidedly convinced that Ivory-billed Woodpeckers still live).

GALLERY OF EXTINCTED ANIMALS no. 1 - Birds

Museum vouchers of Passenger Pigeon (top) and Carolina Parakeet (bottom)

Part 1 of an ongoing menagerie of animals that are gone forever. When we say EXTINCT, that does in fact mean that the entire species (or specific taxonomic group) has died out. One would not say that an individual or local population has become extinct. All that we now have of these creatures are old pictures, artistic renderings, collections specimens, and grainy footage. Lest we forget, let's have another look. (Yes i know extincted isn't a word, shut up!)


LAYSAN RAIL (Porzana palmeri)

The Layasan Rail went extinct on its home island of Laysan in 1923 (in the Hawaiian Islands) after introduced rabbits had obliterated all of the island's vegetation. The lack of nesting material and cover did them in. They went for really reals extinct, in 1944, after a U.S. naval vessel crashed into Midway Island (where they had been introduced) releasing rats onto the island. The rats' predation on the eggs and young finally did them in.


A print of the Rail with it's fuzz black young. Both parents cared for the eggs and young.


The Laysan Rail was flightless and only 6 in. from beak tip to tail tip.


The nests were made in grass tussocks surrounding the island's lagoon.


Foraging for food, and contemplating mortality.


Last, maybe only, film taken of the Laysan Rail


CAROLINA PARAKEET (Conuropsis carolinensis)

Hey! No seriously, HEY, did you know that the Eastern U.S. had its own parrot at one time? That's right, up until 1918, there was a native parrot roaming around much of the East. Eventually though, a complex web of circumstances (the trade in bird feathers for women's hats, destruction of Hardwood Forests, possibly the introduction of the European Honeybee, and destruction of nests by farmers) lead to their eradication.


One of the few specimens left, in a Museum in Weisbaden, Germany. Can you believe we lost (destroyed) something this beautiful?


Audubon's (kind of) famous illustration of the Carolina. They lived in old growth forests along rivers from the east coast into the midwest.


Mark Catesby's classic illustration. The parakeet fed on a wide variety of seeds, fruits, and grains (including human crops, MEOWCH!).


What? Oh yeah, I didn't think you said anything, sorry.


The last of the wild Carolinas were killed off in 1904 in Florida, while the last captive (and the last we know of at all) died at the Cincinatti Zoo in 1918.


ELEPHANT BIRDS (family Aepyornithidae)

The Elephant Birds were enormous flightless birds in the Genus Aepyornis. They lived on Madagascar until, at least, the 1500's, when human settlers arrived. It's believed that the combination of over-collection of eggs for food and the introduction of dogs and rats lead to the bird's extinction. And so, the world's largest bird disappeared into imagination.


All drawings and renderings that we have are based on skeletons and folk tales, as no Westerner has ever seen one whole or alive.


A scale drawing of bird and human


Models are the only way to get a real perspective of their size now.


Museum specimen of Elephant Bird skeleton and egg



The color and distribution of the feathers... we have to guess at these characteristics.


There were possibly 4 species of Aepyornis, or it's possible that we have just found 4 different geographical and/or age variants of one species, the universally accepted Aepyornis maximus.


A model Elephant Bird egg (left), Ostrich egg (lower right and largest bird today), and Hummingbird egg (upper right)


"Could I ride one?"
"Sir, please step away form the enclosure... SIR!!!"


GREAT AUK (Pinguinis impennis)

This large relative of the Puffin swam the waters of the North Atlantic, until the last one was seen in New Foundland in 1852. It had previously been accepted that the last pair had been killed by hunters/sociopaths (seriously, read the account if you can find it), incubating their egg in 1844 on an island off the coast of Iceland. They had been hunted for centuries, but the intensity of hunting (for down, meat , and eggs) in the 1800's was too much for the Great Auk.

The Great Auk was actually the first bird referred to as a "Penguin".

Also called the Garefowl, form Old Norse for "Spear Bird" (referring to the beak).

As with many of the birds in this family (the Alcids - Puffins, Murres, Auks, etc.) they ate fish.

This Leipzig Museum specimen hasn't eaten in awhile.

This London Museum specimen is seriously not impressed with that sweater.

They stood up to 3 feet tall, and weighed up to ~11 lbs. Truly THE GREATEST AUK OF THEM ALL!!! Ahem, yeah.

Although quite quick and agile in the water, they were ungainly on land. This coupled with their lack of fear of humans/predators (they didn't have many on their breeding islands) made them easy targets for hunters (who just killed too many).

Another potential problem that lead to extinction was the low birth rate of the Great Auk, as they only laid one large egg per year. If the nest is destroyed, well... that's it! And so it was.


PASSENGER PIGEON (Ectopistes migratorius)

What was once, perhaps, the most numerous vertebrate land animal in the world, existing in the billions... is now extinct. AND IT'S YOUR FAULT!!! Okay maybe not, but it was humans that hunted them for meat and oil (from fat) to the point where they could no longer maintain their numbers.

Pretty pigeons don't get exceptions.

Their nesting colonies were miles long, and they existed in those colonies in the millions. When hunters had decimated their numbers below a size in which the Pigeons were comfortable nesting, they simply stopped reproducing in adequate numbers in the wild (as they some how needed GREAT numbers to fell protected from predators perhaps).

They were so numerous, that when they passed over in flocks, they could blacken the sky for hours. During migration, flocks a mile wide and almost 300 miles long could be seen.

Imagine the feces!

John James Audubon's print of the Passenger Pigeon.

They were of course considered a major pest by some farmers. Think of millions of birds descending on your wheat fields.

A print of the female (left), male (center), and juvenile male (right).

A specimen in the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.

The last know live Passenger Pigeon, Martha, died at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914.

The Passenger Pigeon nested in huge groups in forests through the Eastern U.S.


One of the last babies