Subject: Books about waterfowl behavior, Barn Swallow at Wenatchee
Date: Feb 6 18:43:13 2004
From: David Beaudette - drtbrdr at earthlink.net


Greetings,

A single Barn Swallow was seen on my walk today along the Loop Trail at
Wenatchee. The bird was working the shoreline of the Columbia River at the
south end of Wenatchee Confluence State Park. This site can be viewed from
the Loop Trail at the north end of Walla Walla Point Park, which is the park
just south of Confluence Park. I know of only one other February record of
Barn Swallow for the Wenatchee area: a flock of five at Confluence Park on 2
February 2003 by Beth St. George.

Thanks to all who sent suggestions about waterfowl books that cover the
courtship displays. The number one suggestion was:
Johnsgard, P. A. 1965. Handbook of waterfowl behavior. Cornell Univ.
Press, Ithaca, NY. 378 pp. [Dr. Richard E. Johnson writes "The best book I
know of is a little old (but the displays haven't changed), and it covers
(describes and illustrates) nearly every display of every species"]

Other suggestions were:
American Ornithologists' Union. 1992-. The Birds of North America: Life
Histories for the 21st Century, ed. by F. Gill & A. Poole. [species
accounts].
Bent, A. C. 1923. Life histories of North American wild fowl. Order: Anseres
(Part I). U.S. Natl. Mus. Bull. 126. Washington, D.C. 244 pp.
Bent, A. C. 1925. Life histories of North American wild fowl. Order: Anseres
(Part II). U.S. Natl. Mus. Bull. 130. Washington, D.C. 316 pp.
Baldassarre, G. A., and E. G. Bolen. 1994. Waterfowl Ecology and
Management. John Wiley and Sons, NY. 609 pp.
[Displays for representative members of duck tribes Anatini (Mallard),
Aythyini (Canvasback), and Mergini (Common Goldeneye) are
illustrated and described in Ch. 3]

Good Birding,
Dave Beaudette
Wenatchee,WA
drtbrdr AT earthlink.net
6 Feb 2004