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Brooke Meanley

Publications and source records attributed to Brooke Meanley.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS1971

Blackbirds and the southern rice crop

Blackbirds have been a problem to the rice grower since colonial times. The problem has existed wherever rice is grown because man, by his culture of rice (Oryza sativa), creates food-rich ricefield marshes that apparently are more attractive to blackbirds than the natural marshes in which they have flourished for centuries. In the 1700's and 1800's, rice was grown in the lowlands of South Carolina, Georgia, and North Carolina - on the major migratory route of the bobolink ( Dolichonyx oryzivorus ), the historic "ricebird" of that area because of its consumption of ripening rice. By the late 1800's the rice-growing industry had largely shifted to the coastal prairies of Louisiana and Texas, which are bordered by some 5 million acres of marshland-breeding habitat for the redwinged blackbird ( Agelaius phoeniceus ) and the boat-tailed grackle ( Cassidix mexicanus ). By 1900, rice was being grown on the Grand Prairie of eastern Arkansas, which bestrides the largest blackbird flyway in the country. In recent decades, rice culture has spread to other sections of Arkansas and thence to contiguous areas in Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennesee, and Missouri. In effect, then, man has taken the rice to the blackbirds.

Resource Publication↗
USGS1970

Head-scratching method of the Swainson's warbler

Ficken and Ficken (Auk, 85: 136, 1968) suggest that the "Head-scratching method may prove a valuable addition to the set of complex characters that can be used in defining genera," and that field observers should continue to fill gaps in our knowledge of this behavior. In the course of a series of observations of Swainson's Warblers ( Limnothlypis swainsonii ) in the Dismal Swamp, Virginia, I saw head-scratching in three individuals, four times in one, three in another, and once in the third. All three birds used the direct method, bringing the foot forward and under the wing.

The Auk↗
USGS1969

Natural history of the King Rail

The King Rail ( Rallus elegans Audubon), largest of North American rails, is indeed an elegant bird, as its Latin name implies. Its striking appearance (fig. I), secretive nature, and association with a variety of wetland habitats make it a favorite of bird students and rail hunters. The King Rail is found in most of the eastern half of North America, from the Atlantic coast to the Great Plains and from the Gulf of Mexico to southern Canada. It is most abundant in the fresh and brackish tidal marshes of the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, the domestic ricefields of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas, and the marshes of southern Florida. It is fairly common in parts of the Midwest Prairie and Great Lakes region. I began my studies of this interesting bird in 1950 in the Arkansas ricefields, and have continued them until 1967, both in the field and in the laboratory.

North American Fauna↗
USGS1963

Pre-nesting activity of the purple gallinule near Savannah, Georgia

Observations on the pre-nesting activity of the Purple Gallinule ( Porphyrula martinica ) were made by me at the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge, Jasper County, South Carolina from 9 to 16 April 1960, 12 to 23 April 1961, and 28 to 30 April 1963. Jasper County is in extreme southeastern South Carolina. The Refuge headquarters is approximately 10 miles (16 km) up the Savannah River from the port of Savannah, and about 20 miles from the ocean.

South Carolina↗
USGS1962

Pellet casting by king and clapper rails

The King Rail ( Rallus elegans ) and Clapper Rail ( Rallus longirostris ), whose major food is crustaceans, reject the exoskeletal fragments of these animals through the regurgitation of pellets. Seven King Rail pellets collected in Dorchester County, Maryland, averaged 2.0 cm long by 1.5 cm wide.

The Auk↗
USGS1962

Ecological notes on mixed populations of king rails and clapper rails in Delaware Bay marshes

The closely related King Rail ( Rallus elegans ) and Clapper Rail ( Rallus longirostris ) are characteristic of distinct types of habitat in the coastal plain along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Ordinarily, King Rails are found in both fresh and brackish tidal marshes, and Clapper Rails in tidal salt marshes. In a few areas, however, intermediate brackish-salt marshes occur where King and Clapper rails may be found together.

The Auk↗