Hi Tweets,

The American Ornithologists Union is apparantly on the fast track, now, =
with getting their journal publication up-to-date. I just received the =
third "Auk" since the first of the year; usually they come out =
quarterly.

Anyhow, thought that some of us might be interested in the contents.

Jon. Anderson
Olympia, Washington
festuca at olywa.net

First the Big News!

Fortieth Supplement to the American Ornithologists Union Check-List of =
North American Birds.=20
I'll let everyone read this one themselves :-), but they did split =
Gray-cheeked and Bicknell's Thrush; Split Baltimore and Bullock's =
Oriole; Split Saltmarsh and Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow; SPLIT EASTERN =
TOWHEE AND SPOTTED TOWHEE; SPLIT THE SCRUB-JAYS; It's the 'Mexican Jay' =
again; Split Gilded Flicker from N Flicker; many Mexican/Central =
American changes.



Selection in sapsuckers (Sphyrapicus): III. Mitochondrial-DNA sequence =
divergence at the cytochrome-B locus. Carla Cicero and Ned K Johnson. =
pp 547-563. Confirmed monophyly of genus, with S. thyroideus =
(Williamson's Sapsucker) closer to the ancestral species. Members of =
genus are more similar to Melanerpes than to Colaptes based on mtDNA.

Humidity levels in Pied Flycatcher nests measured using capsule =
hygrometers. Michael D Kern and Richard J Cowie. pp 564-570. Large =
clutches had lower water vapor pressure than small ones. Nest humidity =
was low at start of incubation, rose during midincubation and remained =
elevated. Nest-box study in Powys, south-central Wales.

Predictive approaches to habitat quantification: Dark-rumped Petrels on =
Haleakala, Maui. Chas A Brandt, Julia K Parrish and Cathleen N Hodges. =
pp 571-579. Model can help direct and refine on-the-ground nest =
searches.

Nest site selection by Roseate Terns and Common Terns in the Azores. =
Jaime A Ramos and Adrian J del Nevo. pp 580-589. Roseate terns nested in =
areas with high relief and/or tall vegetation. Common terns selected =
more open areas.

Estimation of lean and lipid mass in shorebirds using total-body =
In Waitangi Forest, nests preferentially located within 25m of native or =
seral vegetation. Minor changes in forest mgmt, such as allowing wide =
road-margins and preserving remnants of native forest and marsh would =
greatly support kiwis.

Autumn stopover on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec by woodland =
Nearctic-Neotropic migrants. Kevin Winker. pp 690-700. Migrants have =
probably not arrived via a long-distance, trans-Gulf migration.

The debate over species concepts and its implications for ornithology. =
Robert M Zink and Mary C McKitrick. pp 701-719. After review, they think =
that Phylogenetic Species Concept should replace Biological Species =
Concept.

Successional changes and habitat selection in hayfield bird communities. =
Eric K Bollinger. pp 720-730. Bird species richness and diversity =
increased with hayfield age.

Immigration in a small population of Snow Geese. Stephen R Johnson. pp =
731-736. Resightings of marked birds from Howe Island, Alaska colony =
(only US colony of Lesser Snows) indicate emigration of males to Wrangel =
Is, Russia and Banks Is, NWT colonies. Unmarked females arrived at Howe =
Isl.

Effects of handicapping on female condition and reproduction in Tree =
Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor). David W Winkler and Paul E Allen. pp =
737-747. Foraging efficiency of swallows was reduced when 1/3 of flight =
feathers were clipped.

Genetic and environmental factors influencing clutch size in equatorial =
and temperate zone Stonechats (Saxicola torquata axillaris and S.t. =
rubicola): An experimental study. Eberhard Gwinner, Sibylle Konig and =
Chris S Haley. European stonechats lay 5-5.6 eggs/clutch and those from =
Kenya lay 3-3.1. F1 hybrids had 4.07 eggs/clutch.

In Memorium: Fred J Pierce, 1902-1992. By Peter C Petersen
In Memorium: John Farrand, Jr., 1937-1994. By Francois Villeumier.

Reliability of the Breeding Bird Survey: Effects of Restricting Surveys =
to Roads. Jonathan Bart, Matthias Hofschen, and Bruce G Peterjohn. pp =
758-761.

Avian Premaxilla and Tarsometatarsus from the Uppermost Cretaceous of =
Heimerdinger Clench. pp 800-804.=20

Conservation Commentary: Ornithology and the National Biological Survey. =
Stanley E Senner and Susan R Drennan. pp 804-806. "We believe that the =
fate of the NBS per se is less important than is continuation of the =
functions that it performs. In the long run, however, we also believe =
that those functions will best be served by maintaining the NBS, and we =
expect continued assaults on both the NBS and its functions."