Ecology and Management of Cowbirds and Their Hosts

by Smith, James N. M.; Cook, Terry L.; Rothstein, Stephen I.; Robinson, Scott K.; Sealy, Spencer G.

• ISBN13: 9780292777385
• ISBN10: 0292777388
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-05-01
• Publisher: Univ of Texas Pr

Summary

In the past two centuries, cowbirds have increased in numbers and extended their range across North America, while many of the native songbird species whose nests they parasitize to raise their young have declined. This timely book collects forty essays by most of the principal authorities on the biology and management of cowbirds. The book's goals are to explore the biology of cowbirds, the threats they pose to host species and populations, and the management programs that are being undertaken to minimize these threats. The book is organized into five sections, each with an extended editors' introduction that places the contributions in a broad, up-to-date setting. The sections cover:bull; The changing abundance of cowbirds and the ways in which their numbers can be estimated.bull; Host choice by cowbirds, the negative effects of cowbirds on particular host species, and the daily patterns of cowbird behavior.bull; Behavioral interactions between cowbirds and specific host species.bull; Patterns of cowbird abundance and host use across varying landscapes.bull; Management programs designed to control cowbirds and protect threatened songbirds.

Table of Contents

Foreword: Cowbirds and Bull-bockey	vii
Paul R. Ehrlich
General Introduction: Brown-headed Cowbirds as a Model System for Studies of Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology	1	(12)
James N. M. Smith
Stephen I. Rothstein
Part I. Population Trends of Cowbirds and Hosts and Relevant Methodology
Introduction	13	(8)
Stephen I. Rothstein
Scott K. Robinson
Temporal and Geographic Patterns in Population Trends of Brown-headed Cowbirds	21	(14)
Bruce G. Peterjohn
John R. Sauer
Sandra Schwarz
Cowbird Population Changes and Their Relationship to Changes in Some Host Species	35	(12)
David A. Wiedenfeld
The Spread of Shiny and Brown-headed Cowbirds into the Florida Region	47	(11)
Alexander Cruz
John W. Prather
William Post
James W. Wiley
Brown-headed Cowbird Population Trends at a Large Winter Roost in Southwest Louisiana, 1974-1992	58	(5)
Brent Ortego
An Evaluation of Point Counts and Playbacks as Techniques for Censusing Brown-headed Cowbirds	63	(6)
R. Kirk Miles
David A. Buehler
The Structure and Function of Cowbird Vocalizations and the Use of Playbacks to Enhance Cowbird Detectability: Relations to Potential Censusing Biases	69	(14)
Stephen I. Rothstein
Chris Farmer
Jared Verner
Part II. Cowbird Spacing Behavior, Host Selection, and Negative Consequences of Parasitism for Commonly Used Hosts
Introduction	83	(4)
James N. M. Smith
Spencer G. Sealy
Terry L. Cook
Spatial Patterns of Breeding Female Brown-headed Cowbirds on an Illinois Site	87	(13)
Arlo Raim
Differences in Movements, Home Range, and Habitat Preferences of Female Brown-headed Cowbirds in Three Midwestern Landscapes	100	(10)
Frank R. Thompson III
William D. Dijak
The Effects of Host Numbers on Cowbird Parasitism of Red-winged Blackbirds	110	(5)
Christy A. Carello
Gregory K. Snyder
Cowbird Brood Parasitism on a Little-used Host: The Yellow-headed Blackbird	115	(5)
Alfred M. Dufty
Host Selection in the Forest Interior: Cowbirds Target Ground-nesting Species	120	(8)
D. Caldwell Hahn
Jeff S. Hatfield
Reproductive Interactions between Brown-headed Cowbirds and Plumbeous Vireos in Colorado	128	(7)
Jameson F. Chace
Alexander Cruz
Rebecca E. Marvil
Effects of Multiple Parasitism on Cowbird and Wood Thrush Nesting Success	135	(10)
Cheryl L. Trine
Comparing the Relative Effects of Brood Parasitism and Nest Predation on Seasonal Fecundity in Passerine Birds	145	(14)
Joseph A. Grzybowski
Craig M. Pease
Part III. Host-Cowbird Behavioral Interactions
Introduction	159	(2)
James N. M. Smith
Spencer G. Sealy
Morning Nest Arrivals in Cowbird Hosts: Their Role in Aggression, Cowbird Recognition, and Host Response to Parasitism	161	(8)
Dirk E. Burhans
Yellow Warbler Nest Attentiveness before Sunrise: Antiparasite Strategy or Onset of Incubation?	169	(9)
Spencer G. Sealy
D. Glen McMaster
Sharon A. Gill
Diane L. Neudorf
The Ecology of Egg-puncture Behavior by the Shiny Cowbird in Southwestern Puerto Rico	178	(9)
Tammie K. Nakamura
Alexander Cruz
Why Do Female Brown-headed Cowbirds Remove Host Eggs? A Test of the Incubation Efficiency Hypothesis	187	(8)
Brian D. Peer
Eric K. Bollinger
Part IV. Environmental Correlates of Cowbird Parasitism at Multiple Spatial Scales
Introduction	195	(5)
Scott K. Robinson
James N. M. Smith
The Role of Vegetation in Cowbird Parasitism of Yellow Warblers	200	(4)
William H. Howe
Fritz L. Knopf
Association of Cowbird Parasitism and Vegetative Cover in Territories of Southwestern Willow Flycatchers	204	(6)
Jamie C. Uyehara
Mary J. Whitfield
Interhabitat Differences in Parasitism Frequencies by Brown-headed Cowbirds in the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia	210	(10)
David Ward
James N. M. Smith
Cowbird Parasitism and Nest Predation in Fragmented Grasslands of Southwestern Manitoba	220	(9)
Stephen K. Davis
Spencer G. Sealy
Cowbird Parasitism in Grassland and Cropland in the Northern Great Plains	229	(7)
Rolf R. Koford
Bonnie S. Bowen
John T. Lokemoen
Arnold D. Kruse
Distribution and Habitat Associations of Brown-headed Cowbirds in the Green Mountains of Vermont	236	(8)
Daniel R. Coker
David E. Capen
Impacts of Cowbird Parasitism on Wood Thrushes and Other Neotropical Migrants in Suburban Maryland Forests	244	(11)
Barbara A. Dowell
Jane E. Fallon
Chandler S. Robbins
Deanna K. Dawson
Frederick W. Fallon
Cowbird Distribution at Different Scales of Fragmentation: Trade-offs between Breeding and Feeding Opportunities	255	(10)
Therese M. Donovan
Frank R. Thompson III
John R. Faaborg
Brown-headed Cowbird Parasitism of Migratory Birds: Effects of Forest Area and Surrounding Landscape	265	(6)
Lisa J. Petit
Daniel R. Petit
Biogeographic, Landscape, and Local Factors Affecting Cowbird Abundance and Host Parasitism Levels	271	(9)
Frank R. Thompson III
Scott K. Robinson
Therese M. Donovan
John R. Faaborg
Donald R. Whitehead
David R. Larsen
Cowbird Parasitism in a Fragmented Landscape: Effects of Tact Size, Habitat, and Abundance of Cowbirds and Hosts	280	(18)
Scott K. Robinson
Jeffrey P. Hoover
James R. Herkert
Within-landscape Variation in Patterns of Cowbird Parasitism in the Forests of South-central Indiana	298	(13)
Donald E. Winslow
Donald R. Whitehead
Carolyn Frazer Whyte
Matthew A. Koukal
Grant M. Greenberg
Thomas B. Ford
Effects of Land-use and Management Practices on the Presence of Brown-headed Cowbirds in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and Maine	311	(12)
Mariko Yamasaki
Toni M. McLellan
Richard M. DeGraaf
Christine A. Costello
Part V. Cowbird Management, Host Population Limitation, and Efforts to Save Endangered Species
Introduction	323	(10)
Stephen I. Rothstein
Terry L. Cook
Brown-headed Cowbird Control on Kirtland's Warbler Nesting Areas in Michigan, 1972-1995	333	(9)
Michael E. DeCapita
Cowbird Control and the Endangered Least Bell's Vireo: A Management Success Story	342	(15)
John T. Griffith
Jane C. Griffith
Cowbird Control Program at Fort Hood, Texas: Lessons for Mitigation of Cowbird Parasitism on a Landscape Scale	357	(14)
Timothy J. Hayden
David J. Tazik
Robert H. Melton
John D. Cornelius
Results of a Brown-headed Cowbird Control Program for the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher	371	(8)
Mary J. Whitfield
Contributors	379	(2)
Index	381