White-winged Flufftail Sarothrura ayresi, a secretive and unobtrusive sub-Saharan bird, is the latest species to join the growing list of those on the very edge of extinction. Destruction and degradation of its high altitude wet grassland habitat, including wetland drainage, conversion for agriculture, water abstraction, overgrazing by livestock and cutting of marsh vegetation, have driven […]
Category: Rallidae
Bird stories, Dusky Moorhen (Gallinula tenebrosa)
In Australia te Aboriginals tell this fable. An Emu was hatching her eggs in close proximity to Dusky Moorhen. By and by, both birds proceeded to walk along the grass in search of something to eat and, in the evening, returned to their respective nests. But on the following morning, the moorhen got up somewhat […]
Bird stories, Corncrake (Crex crex)
In the north of Scotland it is regarded as a blessed animal. It is believed not to leave the country, but to remain torpid during the winter. In Ireland the popular opinion is that it becomes a water rail. References to an traonach, as it is called in Irish, can be found in poems and […]
Agonistic behavior of breeding purple gallinules porphyrula martinica: potential ecological correlates
Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio martinica) Science Article 2 abstract Purple gallinules Porphyrula martinica are territorial birds that breed in natural ponds with abundant aquatic vegetation as well as in rice fields. Observations of the aggressive behavior during the breeding season conducted on a rice field and on a naturally flooded savanna (estero), in the Central Llanos […]
Feeding ecology of the purple gallinule (Porphyrula martinica) in the central llanos of Venezuela.
Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio martinica) Science Article 3 abstract The food habits of purple gallinules (Porphyrula martinica) were studied through direct observation in the Central Llanos of Venezuela during the rainy season of 1988, from August to December. Purple gallinules consumed an average 56.6% of plant food Zaida Tarano, Ectropicos, vol. 8, no. 1-2, pp. 53-61, […]
The Paint-billed Crake Breeding in Costa Rica
Paint-billed Crake (Neocrex erythrops) Science Article 1 abstract We report a recent observation from southern Costa Rica of the Paint-billed Crake (Neocrex erythrops), a little known species from eastern and northern South America. An adult and recently hatched chick were observed at close range in wet grassy second-growth. This observation constitutes the first record of […]
First United States Record of Paint-billed Crake (Neocrex erythrops)
Paint-billed Crake (Neocrex erythrops) Science Article 2 abstract On 17 February 1972 Donald Baker, then an undergraduate in the Department of Wildlife and FisheriesSciences, Texas A&M University, caught a small rail in one of his traps for furbearers, along astream south of College Station, Brazos County, in east-central Texas. The bird was brought to me […]
Colonial and associated with coot (fulica atra) nesting in great crested grebe (podiceps cristatus): comparison of three lakes
Coot (Fulica atra) Science Article 6 abstract Nesting of the Great Crested Grebe in loose colonies and in close association with the Coot was investigated in Lakes Meteliai and Obelija in 1983-?1986 and 1999 and in Lake paltytis in 1984-?1986. Particular lakes and years were considered as integrators of between-lake and between-year differences in breeding […]
Moorhen gallinula chloropus females lay eggs of different size and b-carotene content
Common Gallinule (Gallinula chloropus) Science Article 5 abstract In birds, carotenoids deposited in the eggs can influence the progeny?s prospects of survival. As a potentially limiting resource, carotenoids should be allocated optimally by the mother during egg production. The Moorhen Gallinula chloropus produces large clutches. We tested if females differ in their allocation of macronutrients […]
Carotenoids in the eggs of american coots: associations with size of eggs, local environment, and diet
American Coot (Fulica americana) Science Article 9 abstract I studied carotenoids in the eggs of American coots (Fulica americana) from 3 study sites in Saskatchewan, Canada. I supplemented two diet types designed to reduce carotenoids in the diet of laying coots to investigate the relationship of carotenoids and the size of eggs and to examine […]