Subject: Re: Longevity and feaking.
Date: Jul 25 12:01:54 1998
From: "Martin J. Muller" - martinmuller at email.msn.com


Dear tweetsters, Davey,

Hope this is not too late or repeating other postings (I'm on digest mode).

Regarding references for bird longevity:

Klimkiewicz, M. K., and A. G. Futcher. 1989. Longevity records of North
American birds, Supplement 1. Journal of Field Ornithology 60: 469-494.

These are results based on band returns, Kathy Klimkiewicz works at the Bird
Banding Lab.

For a more popular approach see:

Ehrlich, P. R., D. S. Dobkin, and D. Wheye. 1988. The birder's handbook. A
field guide to the natural history of North American Birds. Fireside Book
Simon & Schuster Inc., New York. pp. 643-647

and the references therein.

As for the wiping of the bill, I've never heard of birds leaving a scent
trail. With a few exceptions (Turkey Vultures for instance), the sense of
smell is not well-developed in birds. However, feaking (wiping the bill) is
a very frequent behavior after a meal, to remove whatever prey/food remnants
from the bill.

Martin Muller, Seattle
MartinMuller at email.msn.com