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Field
Guide IDs: BREEDING:
Habitat generalist:
forest, woodland, gardens, parks. 2 broods, occ
3. DISPLAYS:
Courting groups of
males chase female, or male struts around female
with tail spread, wings shaking, throat
inflated. NEST:
Now also buildings,
other structures offering sufficient support, also
shrubs, occ on ground; unkempt foundation of
protruding twigs and grass, cup of mud lined with
fine grass. EGGS:
Pale blue, occ
white, usu unmarked, occ flecked with brown. 1.1"
(28 mm). DIET:
Includes
earthworms, snails, etc.; much fruit. Young fed
insects. CONSERVATION:
Winters s to
Bermuda and Guatemala. Rare cowbird host. Once
widely hunted for food. Has expanded range into
Great Plains and drier lowlands of w as trees have
been planted, structures erected, and irrigation
extended, creating suitable nesting sites and moist
grassland for foraging. NOTES:
Experiments
demonstrate that earthworms are located by sight,
not by sound. Adults often belligerently defend
nest. Male cares for fledged first brood while
female incubates second clutch. Often roost
communally when fledged young are strong enough.
Poisoning by spraying of DDT for Dutch elm disease
in 1950s was instrumental in generating concern
over potential "Silent Spring"; DDT-coated elm
leaves eventually processed by earthworms, which
were then devoured by robins, leading to death or
reproductive failure. Common resident
throughout campus, nesting in a variety of trees
and tall shrubs and on artificial substrates, such
as planters and the eaves of buildings.
Occasionally seen in flocks from fall through
spring. ESSAYS: Birds
and the Law;
Tool
Using;
DDT
and Birds;
Mobbing;
Bathing
and Dusting;
Range
Expansion REFERENCES:
Eiserer, 1976;
Knupp et al., 1977, Paszkowski, 1982; Wheelwright,
1986. |
