The Birds of Nebraska

The Birds of Nebraska PDF

Author: Paul Johnsgard

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2018-07-06

Total Pages: 309

ISBN-13: 160962128X

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This annotated list of the birds of Nebraska grew gradually out of research associated with my writing of the Birds of the Great Plains: Breeding Species and Their Distribution (Johnsgard, 1979a). It expands and updates an earlier version that was published in 2013 by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries DigitalCommons’ Zea Books (Johnsgard, 2013a). It has been updated and modified in its current revision to conform with the most recent (2017) major revision of the American Ornithologists’ Society’s Checklist of North American Birds (Chesser et al., 2017). It has also been modified in its current revision to conform very closely to the most recent “Official List of the Birds of Nebraska” by the Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union (Gubanyi, 1997, and later supplements in the Nebraska Bird Review, to 84:138–150). The NOU’s official state list of birds (461 species as of 2017) is based on actual specimen evidence or some other convincing basis of each species’ proven occurrence in the state. That list includes 337 “regular” species, 29 “casual” species, 90 “accidental” species, and 5 extinct or extirpated species. In this edition I have classified 368 of the 461 species of Nebraska birds as ranging in relative frequency of occurrence as “abundant” to “rare.” There are also 61 species considered to be of “accidental” occurrence, having been reliably reported in Nebraska no more than five times, 20 that are considered “extremely rare” or “very rare,” if reported from six to 25 times. There are also three extinct, four extirpated, and five unsuccessfully introduced species. Thirteen hypothetical species of dubious origin or identification are mentioned parenthetically. The text includes more than 123,000 words, nearly 200 literature references, and 19 pages of drawings and maps.

At Home and at Large in the Great Plains: Essays and Memories

At Home and at Large in the Great Plains: Essays and Memories PDF

Author: Paul Johnsgard

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 176

ISBN-13: 1609620704

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These fourteen essays originally appeared in Prairie Fire, a monthly newspaper that for seven years has carried important messages of social, environmental, and economic issues to residents of Nebraska, Iowa, Colorado, and South Dakota, and subscribers in the rest of the world. They discuss the North American east-west ecological boundaries, spring migration events, bird feeders, feathered survivors of a glacial past, the threatened sharp-tailed grouse, the effects of climate change, some "sacred places"-Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, the Ashfall Fossil Beds, Squaw Creek Refuge, the Hutton Niobrara Ranch Sanctuary, and Yellowstone National Park-, our troubles with mountain lions and grizzly bears, and crane season in Wyoming. There is also an expanded informal autobiography, "My Life in Biology" and a current and comprehensive list of all publications of a writer described as "probably the world's most prolific living author of ornithological and natural history literature."

A Naturalist’s Guide to the Great Plains

A Naturalist’s Guide to the Great Plains PDF

Author: Paul A. Johnsgard

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 164

ISBN-13: 1609621263

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This book documents nearly 500 US and Canadian locations where wildlife refuges, nature preserves, and similar properties protect natural sites that lie within the North American Great Plains, from Canada's Prairie Provinces to the Texas-Mexico border. Information on site location, size, biological diversity, and the presence of especially rare or interesting flora and fauna are mentioned, as well as driving directions, mailing addresses, and phone numbers or internet addresses, as available. US federal sites include 11 national grasslands, 13 national parks, 16 national monuments, and more than 70 national wildlife refuges. State properties include nearly 100 state parks and wildlife management areas. Also included are about 60 national and provincial parks, national wildlife areas, and migratory bird sanctuaries in Canada's Prairie Provinces. Many public-access properties owned by counties, towns, and private organizations are also described.

The North American Swans: Their Biology and Conservation

The North American Swans: Their Biology and Conservation PDF

Author: Paul Johnsgard

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2020-03-23

Total Pages: 168

ISBN-13: 1609621719

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Among birds, swans are relatively long-lived species and are also among the most strongly monogamous, having prolonged pair and family bonds that strongly influence their reproductive and general social behavior, which, in combination with their beauty and elegance, contribute to the overall high degree of worldwide human interest in them. This volume of more than 59,000 words describes the distributions, ecology, social behavior, and breeding biologies of the four species of swans that breed or have historically bred in North America, including the native trumpeter and tundra swans, the introduced mute swan, and the marginally occurring whooper swan. Also included are 5 distribution maps, 15 drawings, 27 photographs by the author, and a reference section of nearly 1,000 literature citations.

The North American Perching and Dabbling Ducks

The North American Perching and Dabbling Ducks PDF

Author: Paul Johnsgard

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2017-03

Total Pages: 229

ISBN-13: 1609621093

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This volume, the fourth in a series of books that collectively update and expand P.A. Johnsgard's 1975 The Waterfowl of North America, summarizes research findings on this economically and ecologically important group of waterfowl. The volume includes the mostly tropical perching duck tribe Cairinini, of which two species, the muscovy duck and the wood duck, are representatives. Both species are adapted for foraging on the water surface, mostly on plant materials, but typically perch in trees and nest in elevated tree cavities or other elevated recesses. This volume also includes the dabbling, or surface-feeding, duck tribe Anatini, a large assemblage of duck species that mainly forage on the water surface but nest on the ground, or only very rarely in elevated locations. Of this tribe, 12 species that regularly breed in North America are included, among them such familiar species as mallards, wigeons, pintails, and teal. Descriptive accounts of the distributions, populations, ecologies, social-sexual behaviors, and breeding biology of all these species are provided, together with distribution maps. Five additional Eurasian and West Indian species have been reported several times in North America; these have been included with more abbreviated accounts, but all 17 species are illustrated by drawings, photographs, or both. The text includes about 84,000 words and contains more than 1,000 references. There are also 12 distribution maps, 21 drawings, 28 photographic plates, and 58 anatomical or behavioral sketches.

The North American Quails, Partridges, and Pheasants

The North American Quails, Partridges, and Pheasants PDF

Author: Paul Johnsgard

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2017-10-10

Total Pages: 134

ISBN-13: 1609621174

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This book documents the biology of six species of New World quails that are native to North America north of Mexico (mountain, scaled, Gambel's, California, and Montezuma quails, and the northern bobwhite), three introduced Old World partridges (chukar, Himalayan snowcock, and gray partridge), and the introduced common (ring-necked) pheasant. Collectively, quails, partridges, and pheasants range throughout all of the continental United States and the Canadian provinces. Two of the species, the northern bobwhite and ring-necked pheasant, are the most economically important of all North American upland game birds. All of the species are hunted extensively for sport and are highly popular with naturalists, birders, and other outdoor enthusiasts.

The North American Whistling-Ducks, Pochards, and Stifftails

The North American Whistling-Ducks, Pochards, and Stifftails PDF

Author: Paul Johnsgard

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2017-03-24

Total Pages: 186

ISBN-13: 1609621107

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Although the 12 species representing three waterfowl tribes described in this volume are not closely related, they fortuitously provide an instructive example of adaptive evolutionary radiation within the much larger waterfowl lineage (the family Anatidae), especially as to their divergent morphologies, life histories, and social behaviors. The whistling-ducks (Dendrocygna), with three known North American species, are notable for their permanent pair-bonds, extended biparental family care, and strong social cohesion. In contrast, males of the five typical pochards of North American diving ducks (Aythya) establish monogamous pair-bonds that are maintained only long enough to assure that the female's eggs are fertilized. The endpoint of this behavioral gradient, promiscuity or polygyny, exists among at least some of the typical stifftails (Oxyura). Such diverse reproductive strategies have exerted powerful evolutionary influences on interspecies variations in sexual dimorphism, sexual behavior, anatomy, ecology, and other traits. This volume includes more than 63,000 words, plus some 200 maps, photos, drawings, and sketches, and nearly 650 literature citations. It is the last of five volumes that describe all 55 waterfowl species that have been historically documented in North America; collectively, the volumes total over 300,000 words, with nearly 3,000 literature citations, and more than 600 maps, photos, drawings, and sketches.