Bird Banding

Question 1

How do Juncos migrate?

Answer 1

• Females migrate earlier and go further south to eliminate competition.
• Males tend to spend the winter further north to shorten the spring migration and take advantage of prime breeding territories as the first ones to arrive.
• Juncos migrate elevationally rather than longitudinally.

Question 2

What is the bird-banders grip?

Answer 2

• Technique of handling the bird in the non-dominant hand for efficient processing.
• Neck between index and middle
• The palm encases the bird’s back so that the wings are held together.
• Mitigates injury and stress

Question 3

Jason contrasted short and long migrants relative to their feeding habits. What is the general pattern?

Answer 3

Longer migrants are more dependent on seasonal food.

Question 4

How do radioisotopes identify where birds originate from?

What do you need to know for this technique to be effective?

Answer 4

a. Some isotypes occur predictably geographically on an East-West basis and some change on a North-South basis. Based on the unique combination of isotypes in a bird, you can pinpoint the location where that isotope combination went into the body.
b. Where to sample from the bird that will represent the growth conditions of the bird - need a piece of tissue or sample that incorporated that isotope

Question 5

What is one of the most limited nutrients during migration?

Answer 5

Water. Required to eliminate nitrogenous waste.

Question 6

How have some birds evolved to counteract noise pollution?

Answer 6

Sing and call in lower or higher frequencies and impart the knowledge on to juveniles.

Question 7

Are blue birds’ feathers really blue in colour?

Answer 7

There is no blue pigment that birds can produce. Instead the keratin particles in the feathers reflect blue light, while causing the red and yellow wavelengths to cancel each other out.

Question 8

Bird colours are an honest signal - explain.

Answer 8

Carotenoids, naturally occurring pigments, influence feather colour production. They are costly to produce. The more vivid the colour, the healthier and more resourceful the bird is in foraging for food, which is attractive to mates.

Question 9

Grumpiest, angriest, and a jerk.

Answer 9

Black-capped Chickadee

Question 10

Female birds typically select a mate based on a certain criteria. What criterion is typically used for dimorphic birds? Monomorphic birds?

Answer 10

Dimorphic
- Colouration and size.

Monomorphic
- Courtship displays and nest building.