This name change is just the latest development in the ever-changing science of bird taxonomy. For many years, there has been a steady push and pull between “lumpers”, who tend to find commonalities between species, and the “splitters”, who try to establish differences.

The splitting of the winter wren was based on some interesting sleuthing done in eastern BC, where the two types overlap. It seems that, while wrens of both types can recognize each others’ songs, females will only select males of their own type. DNA studies confirmed that they are distinct species, and have likely been that way for several million years.

It looks like the splitters are holding sway these days: the tiny cackling goose is now distinct from the Canada goose, and the blue grouse has been split into the dusky and the sooty.

Look for another new species off the shores of Stanley Park in late autumn. Among the thousands of surf scoters that often visit, you might see a few black scoters, which were recently split from the common scoter of the old world. Fortunately, we get to keep the old name.

And on the horizon? Studies of the calls of red crossbills show that there may be up to ten distinct types. Will there be a name change? For the moment, it appears that the lumpers rule.

yellow-headed blackbird

From a recent trip to beautiful Frank Lake in southern Alberta, I bring you one of my favorite prairie birds. Working on the prairies, one of the questions I’d often get was, “What’s that black bird with the yellow head?” And they’d think you were being smart when you replied, “Uh, that’s a yellow-headed blackbird.”

You may have noticed my posts becoming more sporadic of late. I am in transition to a new job- and a very exciting one at that- and I may take a wee hiatus from posting for a while, while I get up to speed on my new responsibilities. I will update in the future. Until then, happy birding.

tropical kingbird

Canada geese

‘Tis the season for goslings again: adorable, fluffy, peeping, traffic-stopping broods of wee Canada geese, following their parents through all sorts of inappropriate and dangerous areas. As a result, many of us who work or volunteer in parks, sanctuaries, animal hospitals, etc. find ourselves responding to panicked calls for help or for information regarding said wayward geese. Here are a few of the more common questions I’ve had:

Q: Why do geese nest up high on balconies and ledges?

A: This seems to be pretty common on the prairies, and the balconies probably simulate the cliffs and terraces of riverbanks in a more natural habitat. They’re looking for somewhere isolated from terrestrial predators like skunks or coyotes. Normally, baby geese can survive quite a tumble out of these lofty nests.

Q: There’s a pair of geese nesting on my balcony! It’s adorable!

A: If you’re like most people, it’s adorable for the first three days. A hissing, territorial pair of geese on your balcony tend to wear out their welcome fairly quickly. They’ll be there for at least three weeks. I strongly encourage you to chase her off the balcony before she starts laying eggs. After that, it’ll be difficult and possibly illegal to kick her off.

Q: There’s a family of geese leading their babies through traffic! Are they crazy?

A: No, they’re just birds. Waterfowl often have a nesting territory that is some distance from the brood-rearing areas, up to 2 km with geese. So they need to walk them from the nesting area to the brood-reading areas, normally a wetland of some kind.

Q: I found a gosling all by itself! What should I do?

A: Well, the right thing to do is to let nature take its course. It may not, in fact, be abandoned; the rest of its family might be just around the corner. But if it is well and truly lost, you could pick it up and take it to a wildlife shelter. Do not take it home and try to raise it yourself. This is difficult, illegal, and a complete pain in the ass for all parties concerned.

Canada goose

Lastly, you could drop it off at a local wetland where you see other families of Canada geese. They may very well adopt it. This doesn’t work with most birds! Canada geese are one of the very few species that will readily adopt strange chicks. In fact…

Q: There’s a pair of geese nearby with thirty goslings! Some are clearly bigger than others, IE from other broods. What gives?

A: Where goose populations are dense, we often see “gang brooding”. This may be cooperative: a form of goosey day care, to make foraging easier and safer for the parents. However, there is some evidence that it’s actually a hostile takeover by a dominant pair of geese. They may be actively stealing other parents’ babies, in an effort to “pad” their own brood. Their natural babies stay closer to the parents, and when a predator comes along, they’re more likely to take the foster goslings. Ain’t nature grand?

Q: I hear they mate for life, and if the mate dies they never mate again.

A: That’s half true. They do mate for life (unlike most ducks, that mate for a couple weeks), but if something happens to one of them, the other will likely find a new mate the following year.

Q: Why are there so many Canada geese in my town?

A: They’re native to much of Canada and the northern US, and they haven’t always been this plentiful. In the mid-twentieth century, there were many efforts to increase their numbers, which had slipped due to overhunting and loss of habitat. These efforts were, uh, very successful. So much so that extra geese were relocated to more southerly US cities (encouraged in part, I believe, by hunting associations).

Q: Why are they everywhere in city parks?

A: Geese congregate where there is open water and abundant food. In our cities, we have eliminated their predators and laid out endless expanses of tasty green grass. Thermal pollution from our industries keeps our waterways open through the coldest winters. In these areas, Canada geese find conditions so advantageous that they become non-migratory. They know a good thing when they see it.

Q: How can we reduce their numbers? They’re out of control!

A: We can stop feeding them, for starters. Next, one of the more humane and effective methods of population control is egg-addling, where licensed individuals (IE not just anyone, as these birds have legal protection as migratory birds) addle or shake the newly-laid eggs. This kills the embryo inside at an early stage. Parents continue to brood the eggs, which simply don’t hatch. It’s more effective than destroying the nest; the parents would simply re-lay. As waterfowl only have one brood per season, addling eggs once per season is an effective population control.

Q: Shouldn’t we  shoot all these excess geese in our parks? We could feed the poor!

A: Perhaps. But they are protected as migratory birds, and a culling program would probably involve introducing legislation, which would be politically challenging. There would be protests, unpleasant images in the media, etc. and so far nobody has taken it on, as far as I know. Efforts to control mute swans in Chesapeake Bay, for example, have been highly controversial.

Q: I live in Great Britain and I’m outraged at the spread of your geese which some boob introduced to our country. Kindly come and get them. (Yes, I got this comment while working on a cruise ship.)

A: We’ll get right on that, as soon as you come and get your starlings, pigeons and house sparrows. Oh, you can take back your dandelions, too.

marsh wren: that awkward age

football-playing penguins, courtesy The Guardian

From the Guardian, a very cute (and well-edited) video of penguins playing soccer (or football, depending). It’s an enrichment program at a zoo in New Zealand.

dark-eyed junco

Today’s bird is the ubiquitous dark-eyed junco, and with it a plea to please keep your cats indoors. Cornell University reports that this confiding little sparrow is the number one victim of backyard cats, with more juncos taken than any other species including house sparrows. 

The data on how many birds are eaten by cats in backyards, parks and vacant lots are still not entirely clear, and the issue is of course a bit contentious. Many cat owners still consider it a cat’s birthright to wander at will, though the risks to the cat’s own health (and accompanying vet bills) are high. Not to mention the costs to local wildlife. While many cat owners will adamantly claim that their cat doesn’t hunt, if every cat in North America caught only one bird per year, that would be over seventy million dead birds, a greater toll than from any single oil spill in history. Most estimates actually run into the hundreds of millions.

dark-eyed junco

According to the American Bird Conservancy, in England…

” During a five-month period in 1997, 964 cats killed more than 14,000 animals. The mean number of catches or kills per cat was 16.7, and birds were 24% of the prey. The mean kill rates for belled cats was 19 and for no-bells 15. In other words, cats wearing bells killed more.”

A study in Wichita, Kansas revealed:

“In a study of cat predation in an urban area, 83% of the 41 study cats killed birds. In all but one case, when feathers were found in scat, the owner was unaware that their cat had ingested a bird. In fact, the majority of cat owners reported their cats did not bring prey to them. Instead, the owners observed the cats with the bird or found remains in the house or in other locations. A de-clawed cat killed more animals than any other cat in the study.”

And a reminder that even well-fed cats hunt (this one comes with a free, delightful mental image):

“Well-fed cats kill birds and other wildlife because the hunting instinct is independent of the urge to eat. In one study, six cats were presented with a live small rat while eating their preferred food. All six cats stopped eating the food, killed the rat, and then resumed eating the food.”

Meow.

barn swallows

Happy Mother’s Day.

house finch

great tit juvenile, Tromso, Norway

Science Daily reports on yet another account of infidelity among normally monogamous birds. In this case, female blue tits (European cousins to our chickadee) are not only getting some on the down-low, but their illicit love-chicks may also have a head start in life over Daddy’s own chicks, for reasons not fully understood.

Infidelity among ostensibly monogamous birds has been studied quite a bit in recent years, and seems to be happening wherever scientists look for it. While birds have long been held up as paragons of traditional family values, either by mating for life as Canada geese generally do, or by teaming up and working hard together to raise a brood, as most songbirds do, it seems that we would be better off distinguishing between social monogamy and genetic monogamy, which seems to be quite rare.

tree swallows

Tree swallows are among the most shameless profligates, with up to 50% of their eggs sired by the neighbour or perhaps a handsome stranger flying through the territory. The theory is that the females are hedging their bets. They may have chosen a mate for his great nest site, but perhaps he’s not genetically the top of the line, so to speak. So she gathers a bit of genetic material (um, sperm) on the side. Presumably, her mate is doing the same. 

black-capped chickadee

Black-capped chickadees also tend to sneak about on each other from time to time. Females tend to have rendezvous with males who are of higher social rank than their mate, and these trysts tend to take place in the other male’s territory, indicating that the females are actively seeking out these liaisons.

Chickadees have also been the subject of a number of divorce studies of late.

“Out of 144 partnerships over 8 years, we observed 11 divorces and 38 faithful pairs between seasons. Females usually divorced between their first and second breeding seasons for males of higher social rank than their previous partners…”

There you have it. I learned long ago that holding up members of the animal kingdom as examples of human virtue will backfire on you every time.