Geology Reports⌕ Search

Geology topics

B. Meanley

Publications and source records attributed to B. Meanley.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
USGS1960

Color of the tarsi and toes of the black rail

Examination of two fresh specimens of the Black Rail ( Laterallus jamaicensis ) has prompted us to call attention to the color of the tarsi and toes of this species, since our observations do not agree with published accounts. Audubon (Ornithological Biography, vol. IV; 361, 1838) and Friedmann (Birds of North and Middle America, U.S. Nat'l. Mus. Bull., 50: 154, 1941) state that the tarsi and toes are bright yellowish-green. Descriptions in other publications are similar. Prominent bird artists, including Fuertes, have depicted the color of these appendages as yellowish-green, yellow, or green; while Allan Brooks' illustration of this species (The Book of Birds, vol. I, National Geographic Society, p. 291, 1932) shows pink legs. An adult female specimen was collected by J. A. Hagar, C. S. Robbins, and R. E. Stewart near Elliott Island, Maryland, on 8 June 1958. A second adult Black Rail, presumed to be a female by its dull color and call, was caught alive by the authors in the same area on 17 June 1958, and is still held in captivity. The tarsi and toes of these two birds show no trace of yellow or green. They appear grayish, matching "Flint" (plate 56-1C) or "Gunmetal" (plate 48-2C) in Maerz and Paul's "A Dictionary of Color" (1930), and "blackish-brown" in the color charts provided with Palmer and Reilly's "A Concise Color Standard" (Am. Ornith. Union Handbook Fund, 1956). A grayed-off blackish-brown would seem to be an appropriate description.

The Auk↗
USGS1959

Notes on Bachman's sparrow in Central Louisiana

Notes on the ecology of Bachman’s Sparrow ( Aimophila aestivalis ) were obtained during a study of birds in relation to the direct or artificial seeding of Longleaf Pine ( Pinus palustris ) and Loblolly Pine ( P. taeda ) in central Louisiana from 1955 to 1957. Stoddard (in Burleigh, “Georgia Birds,” pp. 667-668, 1958) has presented an account of the ecology of this species in the pine woods of southern Georgia. Detailed studies in Louisiana have not been reported. Observations were made on experimental lands of the Kisatchie National Forest, about 25 miles southwest of Alexandria, Rapides Parish.

Louisiana↗
USGS1959

Observations on the fulvous tree duck in Louisiana

The Fulvous Tree Duck is a locally common breeding bird of the rice fields of southwestern Louisiana. Observations made in 1955, 1956 and 1957, showed that this species was probably most abundant in the vicinity of Mamou, Evangeline Parish, and Roanoke, Jefferson Davis Parish. Tree ducks arrive in the rice country as the rice is planted in the spring and usually depart following fall harvest. A few winter in the coastal marshes. The nesting period extends from late May well into August. Thirteen and 20 pairs were found nesting in two separate five-square-mile areas. All nests observed were in rice fields. Clutch size in several nests found by John J. Lynch averaged about 13 eggs. A clutch of 23 eggs was probably a dump nest. Several investigators have reported incubation periods varying from 24 to 26 days. Nests were constructed of rice or other plants that occurred in the rice fields; they usually had a canopy and ramp; none was lined with down. Renesting compensated for some first attempt losses. Depredations on rice plantings sometimes occurred in spring in water-planted rice fields. Favorite foods were seeds of grasses and sedges found in rice fields. Flocks totalling 3000 were occasionally seen in the fall on the Lacassine Wildlife Refuge.

The Wilson Bulletin↗
USGS1958

Post-copulatory display in fulvous and black-bellied tree ducks

The courtship display of tree ducks has been characterized as simple, resembling that of the swan (Delacour, 'Waterfowl of the World', vol. 1, p. 32, London, 1954). However F. Finn ('Bird Behaviour', p. 262, London, 1919) called attention briefly to the fact that "there is frequently a marked display after, but not before, pairing, both parties executing a step-dance in the water with one wing held aloft." So far as we know, this curious display has not been described in detail nor pictured.

The Auk↗
USGS1958

Growth and development of the king rail

Growth and development of the King Rail ( Rallus elegans ) from hatching to first flight were studied by observations and measurements of captive birds and by observations of natural nests in the field. This is the fourth in a series of reports on the life history of the King Rail (Meanley 1953, 1956, and 1957). Information in this paper is intended to supplement the data of Bent (1925) on growth and development and the description of juvenal plumage given by Friedmann (1941).

The Auk↗
USGS1957

Notes on the courtship behavior of the king rail

The King Rail ( Rallus elegans ) has been well known to collectors, hunters, and bird watchers ever since its discovery by Audubon in the early 1800's but few detailed behavior studies have been made of this species. The present paper, the third in a series based on observations in the rice fields of eastern Arkansas (Meanley, 1953 and 1956), presents information concerning the courtship behavior of this rail.

The Auk↗
USGS1943

Bachman's sparrow in Maryland

The Bachman's Sparrow ( Aimophila aestivalis bachmani ) is known to be quite rare and irregular in distribution in the northern part of its range. Because of this the northern limits of its range have been rather ill-defined. According to the A. 0. U. Check-List, Fourth Edition: 343, 1931, this bird ranges north to central Virginia in the eastern part of its range and is casual near Washington, D. C. Its distribution in the north-central portion of its range, including the Appalachian Mountains, is discussed in detail by Brooks (Wilson Bull., 50: 86-109, 1938). The discovery in May, 1942, of three pairs of these birds nesting on the Beltsville Research Center, Prince George County, Maryland, considerably extends the northern limits of the known breeding range of this species in the Piedmont and coastal-plain region east of the Appalachian Mountains.

The Auk↗