We birds want to know what’s going on please. The rest of the ‘Abaco Bird Book Club’ have nominated us to find out. So:
Q. How likely is it that we ‘guys’ will somehow be getting inside a machine and turning up in people’s homes / on their phones (whatever those are). A. Very
Q. How long must we wait before being admired on a screen by humans – we all quite fancy that. A. A week or so
Q. Are we birds going to get any seeds / insects / berries / fish in return. A. No. You will be free. And free as a bird as well.
Q: WHAT HAS THE GESTATION PERIOD OF A WALRUS (16 MONTHS) AND WEIGHS THE SAME AS A PAIR OF FULLY GROWN PINEAPPLES (2 KILOS)? A: THE BIRDS OF ABACO
FIRST FLYER
It is February 2014, and two pallets carrying 500+ heavy books in boxes have just arrived in Nassau. Printed in Italy at the end of January, the cargo had made its way from specialist printers in Florence via Bologna, Leipzig, Brussels, Cincinnati, Miami to Nassau. They spent an unexpectedly long sojourn in Nassau while formalities were unhurriedly dealt with, then made their way safely to the Delphi Club. In early March, the book was launched in the Great Room at Delphi.
Delphi Lodge 2014
The book was generously received. The Delphi years rolled by: happy years of amateur birding, incompetent bonefishing (me), adventures, companionship, conviviality, Kalik. Then a change of ownership at Delphi; the destructive power of Dorian; and the tentacles of Covid spreading round the world.
10 years on at Rolling Harbour Towers HQ, a plan is hatching like an Abaco parrot’s precious egg. Might there be an audience ready for some kind of e-Edition of the whole book, checklists and all? Technology has moved on since 2014. Even I have now read an eBook. There’ll be some tech-stuff involved to get the most practical way to proceed. I’ll need to check with the birds first, and we will get back to you.
SECOND FLYER
Sanderlings on the beach at Delphi – more interested in snacking than eBook stardom
And not just the tail*. Other parts of a bird. Sometimes most of a bird. More rarely, an entire bird. Whichever, a bird affected by leucism stands out from the crowd – out of the ordinary and therefore startling to the eye. I’d be very surprised if the fine turkey vulture in the header image didn’t make you look twice – maybe even to check if some devious photoshop trickery had been at work. Yet it’s just a normal TUVU in the Florida Keys, living a normal vulturine life.
LEUCISTIC DISCOVERY ON ABACO
A leucistic Western Spindalis discovered on Abaco by birder Keith Kemp
For comparison – the real deal
LEUCISM? EXCUSE ME, AND THAT IS?
First, what it is not. It is not albinism, which results from diminished or lost melanin production that affects pigmentation. One characteristic of the condition is the tendency to pink eyes, which of course is seen in humans as well as animals and birds. Meet the perfect example…
WELL, WHAT IS IT THEN?
Put simply(ish), melanin is only one of many ingredients of pigmentation. Leucism is caused through pigment loss involving many types of pigment, not just melanin. In birds this results in unnaturally light or white colouring of feathers that may be partial or entire. The eyes of a bird with leucism are unaffected. At one extreme, if all pigment cells fail, a white bird will result; at the other extreme, pigment defects cause patches and blotches of pale or white on the bird, often called a ‘pied’ effect. The condition can be inherited.
A mallard on Abaco. The species is known for its wide colour variations in both sexes. Sometimes the variations go beyond the usual range: this is a leucistic bird
A leucistic common gallinule (moorhen) on Abaco
Leucistic rock pigeon
BAHAMA (WHITE-CHEEKED) PINTAIL: A PIGMENT PUZZLE
I have found more examples of leucism in the ‘Bahama Duck’ than any other local species on Abaco. But there is also scope for confusion. First, here’s a pintail that is undoubtedly leucistic – note that the eyes and beak are unaffected by pigmentation deficiency:
But not all pale variants can be so confidently labelled. In the first picture, bottom right, there is an obviously an ‘odd’ pintail, silvery rather than ruddy brown like the rest of them (and yes, I do see the coot in the pack as well…). The second photo shows the same bird on dry land.
This is known as a ‘silver pintail’. These are said to be a leuchistic variant, and they are stocked by poultry dealers as ornamental ducks at a higher price than the much-loved standard brown version. However this bird clearly retains the essential markings of a normal pintail that you might expect to be absent (at least in patches) in the ‘true’ leucistic bird. I’ve seen it described as a ‘gray morph’. I wonder where the line is drawn between a noticeable colour variant or morph in a bird; and an obviously pigment-abnormal, leucistic bird where the incidence and extent of the condition seems to be random. I’d go with the morph idea.
A fine example of a ‘pied’ American Robin, an occasional visiting species on Abaco
Leucistic American Robin (Amy Evenstad, PoweredByBirds.com)
PIPING PLOVERS CAN BE LEUCISTIC TOO
PIPL are one of my bird species preoccupations, but until I checked them out I hadn’t imagined what a leucistic one would look like, or whether they had ever been recorded. I now have the answer…
These photos of a leucistic female were featured by Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds, Audubon Connecticut. They were taken by Jim Panaccione, a Biological Science Technician at Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, Newburyport, Massachusetts. I hope he won’t mind their illustrative use here… Despite the theory that leucistic birds may find it hard to find a mate – and might even be attacked by its own species – this pair successfully nested.
OPTIONAL MUSICAL & CULTURAL DIGRESSION
A WHITER SHADE OF PALE
* Obviously, it had to be ‘tail’ in the title to justify one of my clunky ‘jokes’ and an accompanying musical diversion. That’s just the way it is, I’m afraid. Bach’s well-known descending chord sequence of was of course shamelessly ripped off by ingeniously adapted by Procol Harum for ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’, their first single in 1967. Relive a Summer of Love right here and now. And at 2.57 does he really sing ‘….might as well’ve been toast…’?
Any fret-tweakers might like to see the sheet music of Bach’s Air for guitar. You could even play it on Air Guitar – which is relatively easy, being in C major and having no strings.
‘BACH IN A MINUET’
The best known commercial use of the tune was in the famed series of adverts that equated a mild cigar called Hamlet with happiness, accompanied by an excerpt from a jazzy version of Bach’s ‘Air on the G String’. Here is one of the best – and possibly the only advert to my knowledge to feature not one, but two excellent Sir Walter Raleigh jokes.
Credits: thanks to Amy Evenstad (PoweredByBirds.com) for use permission for her wonderful TUVU & AMRO photos; other photos by Keith Kemp & Bruce Hallett (Spindalis); Pinterest (rabbit); Nina Henry (mallard); Tony Hepburn (moorhen); Wiki (pigeon); Jim Edmonson (leucistic pintail); Keith Salvesen (silver pintail); Jim Panaccione / Audubon (piping plovers); Procol Harum, esp. Robin Trower for building a great career round being ‘reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix’; J.S. Bach for a nagging tune; Hamlet cigars for ingenuity & making me laugh
“THE DIET OF WORMS”: WORM-EATING WARBLERS ON ABACO
The little worm-eating warbler (Helmitheros vermivorum) is unique. Not because of its worm-eating propensities or its warbler-ishness (or the combination), but because it is the only species currently classified in the genus Helmitheros. TheSwainson’s warbler was once in the same genus, but the WEWA saw off the competition.
SO WHAT IS A HELMITHEROS THEN, IF IT’S SO SPECIAL?
The word is Greek, meaning something like ‘grub-hunter’. And the Latin-derived vermivorum reflects the diet of a VERMIVORE – an eater of worms. But this description is, like a worm, somewhat elastic. It includes caterpillars, larvae, grubs, spiders and similar creatures. But whereas there are other warbler vermivores there is only one Helmitheros.
SOME WORM-EATING FACTS TO DIGEST
WEWAs are sexually monomorphic. Males & females are indistinguishable for most of the year
They can only be reliably sexed at the height of the breeding season…
…don’t ask. OK, a magnifying glass may be needed
They are believed to eat actual earthworms quite rarely. Moth larvae are their best treat
They are ground-nesting birds, one of only 5 new-world warblers to do this
Like some shore-birds, adults may feign injury to lure predators away from the nest
They are vulnerable to nest parasitism by brown-headed cowbirds& feral cats
Fires, deforestation, habitat change & diminished food resources are all threats to the species
As are pesticides, which destroy the primary food source and are in any case potentially toxic
DISTRIBUTION & CONSERVATION STATUS
The breeding range of the worm-eating warbler covers much of the eastern half of the US as far south as the Gulf Coast. It winters in the West Indies, Central America and southeastern Mexico. There is no overlap between summer and winter habitat. Because of the vulnerability of this ground-nesting species to a number of threats (see FACTS above), they are now IUCN listed as ‘Special Concern’ in New Jersey.
WHAT DO THEY SOUND LIKE?
In this case the song and call, as transposed into human, really does sound like the bird itself. The song is a rapid squeaky trill; and the calls for once do actually sound like ‘chip’ or ‘tseet’. See what you think (turn up the volume a bit).
Paul Marvin / Xeno-Canto
THE (ORIGINAL) DIET OF WORMS – A DIGRESSION
Studied European history? Had a laugh over The Diet of Worms in 1521? This was an assembly (or ‘Diet’) of the Holy Roman Empire that took place in the City of Worms in Germany. There had already been several of them. This one resulted in an edict concerning Martin Luther and protestant reformation, with the consequence that… [sorry, I’ll spare you the details. I’ve started yawning already, just as I did at school I expect]
It is always instructive to look at Audubon’s fine depictions from the early c19. Here is his WEWA. Notice that it is here called Sylvia vermivora. So he had the worm-eating part, but the first part of the name – referencing woods – rather strangely relates to a group of old-world warblers. No, I’ve no idea why.
Credits: Photos – Tom Sheley (1); Charmaine Albury (2, 4, 6); Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren (3, 7); Tom Friedel (5). Research material – CWFNJ / Michael J Davenport; Tom Fegely / The Morning Call; assorted magpie pickings & open source
There are four main species of so-called ‘tyrant flycatchers’ (Tyrannidae) found on Abaco: the loggerhead kingbird, the gray kingbird, theLa Sagra’s flycatcher and the Cuban pewee. Three are common permanent residents; the gray kingbird is a summer resident only. Several other flycatcher species are found on Abaco, but they are very uncommon winter residents, rare transients, or vagrants.
The loggerhead featured here became quite a good companion. Like other flycatchers – and indeed the cute little blue-gray gnatcatchers – loggerheads are curious and inquisitive birds, and relatively tame. One can get quite close without ruffling their feathers.
Loggerheads seem to have two methods of observing humans and their mysteries. One is by perching on a branch or in a shrub, watching intently. They stay quite still… until suddenly launching into the air to intercept some passing insect with their hooked beaks (so-called ‘hawking’), before returning to their perch. And staring at you again. The other method is to follow you round, either flying slightly ahead as you progress; or fluttering in the coppice alongside you; or playing catch-up from behind.
A typical quizzical loggerhead sideways look… all flycatchers do this
Loggerhead and gray kingbirds are similar in size, and can be quite easy to confuse. Top seasonal tip: because the grays are summer visitors only, it’s a fairly safe bet that any kingbirds seen between, say, October and April will be the resident loggerheads.
MEMORABLE FACT TO DEPLOY IN CONVERSATION
The collective names for a group of kingbirds are: a Court, a Coronation, or (of course) a Tyranny
Photo Credits: Keith Salvesen Abaco Bahamas; ‘Lordy’ the Loggerhead
“Deck the Reefs with Worms Like Christmas Trees… Fal-La-La-etc-etc ” is a traditional Carol familiar to all. Well, most. Ok, some, then. Oh right – maybe with different words? Anyway, now is the perfect time to take a look at these remarkable subsurface symbols of seasonal good cheer (nb they are wonderful animals not gorgeous plants).
10 CHRISTMAS TREE WORM FACTS TO PONDER
The 2 colourful spirals are not the worm, but complex structures for feeding & respiration
The spirals act as specialised mouth extensions for ‘filter-feeding’
Prey is trapped by the feathery tentacles & guided by cilia (microscopic hairs) to the mouth
The tentacle things are radioles and act as gills for breathing as well as prey traps
There is little evidence that prey slide down the spiral to their doom, like on a helter-skelter
The actual worm lives in a sort of segmented tube, with extremely limited mobility skills
It contains digestive, circulatory & nervous systems – and a brain in the middle of it all
The worm also has a tiny drainage tube (I think I have this right) for excretion etc
They embed themselves into heads of coral such as brain coral. And stay there
And yes, the Christmas trees are retractable… (see below for some action)
HOW DO THE WORMS… YOU KNOW… ERM… REPRODUCE?
This is a delicate area. They are very discreet, but as far as I can make out they eject gametes from their what-I-said-above. There are mummy and daddy worms, and their respective gametes (eggs and spermatozoa) drift in the current and into each other to complete the union. The fertilised eggs develop into larvae, which settle onto coral and burrow into it as their parents did, build their protective tubes, and the process begins again.
YOU DON’T REALLY UNDERSTAND THESE CREATURES, DO YOU?
I won’t lie. I found it hard to work out how the CTWs function in practice. There are plenty of resources showing them in their full glory, but that only takes one so far. Then I came across a short video that shows it all brilliantly simply (except for the reproduction part).
The worms, in their coral burrows, hoist their pairs of ‘trees’. You can easily see small particles – zooplankton – drifting in the water, and the radioles swaying to catch potential food. Suddenly it all makes sense (except the repro bit – I haven’t found footage of that). Next: the New Year Worm (there is no Easter worm).
A WHOLE FESTIVAL OF CHRISTMAS TREE WORMS
Credits: Melinda Riger (Grand Bahama Scuba); Nick Hobgood; Betty Wills; Video by ‘Super Sea Monkey’; Reef Collage by RH; MarineBio; Wikibits & Magpie Pickings
HappyChristmas toallthosewho putupwithRHwithsuchfortitude over many years
I put together this little booklet ages ago, a composition of photos, science-based material, and amateur text. We used to give them to interested guests at Delphi in exchange for a small wildlife-based contribution. In due course I put together this short video. Tech was quite limited then so the quality isn’t great. If you have 2 -3 minutes to spare, I hope it won’t seem to be time wasted.
Almost all the contents are as relevant now as then. Changes in the parrot population have been affected regularly by various weather events, from storms to Dorian. The numbers seemed to be on the up after the hurricane, with increasing sighting reports, I notice, but at the moment I don’t have the latest information on population recovery.
Booklet and Video: Keith Salvesen aka Rolling Harbour. Fine to share this if you like, maybe a credit if you feel like it.
Thanks in particular to Caroline Stahala and her dedicated parrot research project; Sandy Waker; all photographers; the parrots.
Abaco Parrot Amazona lecocephala bahamensis – Keith Salvesen
The long-spined sea urchin Diadema antillarum featured in this post is one of those creatures that handily offers its USP in its name, so you know what you are dealing with. Something prickly, for a start. These are creatures of the reef, and many places in the Caribbean and in the western Atlantic generally sustain healthy populations.
These animals are essentially herbivores, and their value to vulnerable coral reefs cannot be overstated. Where there is a healthy population of these urchins, the reef will be kept clean from smothering algae by their methodical grazing. They also eat sea grass.
HOW DO THE SPINES OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF URCHIN COMPARE?
Small sea urchin species have spines a few cms long at most. The long-spine variety can exceed 10 cms, and the largest may have spines up to 30 cms (= 1 foot) long. The length, as shown here, means that when the creatures are safely lodged in crevices near their algae supply, their spines remain very visible.
Anatomy of a long-spined sea urchin. You may possess a few of these organs yourself…
CAN YOU GIVE US A TEST, PLEASE?
As withSAND DOLLARSand similar creatures, the skeleton of a sea urchin is known as a ‘test’. Urchin tests are remarkably beautiful, especially seen in sunlight. Here are 2 examples I photographed a while ago. You’ll immediately notice the delicate colours and the amazing complexity of the pattern and symmetry. The top one is (or is most like) a long-spined urchin test.
A BIT ABOUT SYMMETRY
Sea urchins are born with bilateral symmetry – in effect, you could fold one in half. If you wear gloves. As they grow to adulthood, they retain symmetry but develop so-called ‘fivefold symmetry’, rather as if an orange contained 5 equal-sized segments. The graphic above gives a good idea of how the interior is arranged inside the segments.
A FEW FACTS TO HAND DOWN TO YOUR CHILDREN
Urchin fossil records date the species back to the Ordivician period c 40m years ago
In the ’90s the population was decimated and still has not recovered fully
Urchins feel stress: a bad sign that the spines here are white rather than black
Urchins are not only warm water creatures: some kinds live in polar regions
Urchins are of particular use in scientific research, including genome studies
Some urchins end up in aquariums / aquaria, where I doubt the algae is so tasty
Kindest not to prod or tread on them
Their nearest relative (surprisingly) is said to be the Sea Cucumber
ARE THEY EDIBLE?
They are eaten in some parts of the world, but only where the gonads and roe are considered a delicacy. Personally, I could leave them or leave them.
CREDITS: Melinda Rogers / Dive Abaco (1, 2, 3, 6, 9) taken Abaco; Melinda Riger / G B Scuba (4, 10, 11) taken Grand Bahama; Keith Salvesen / Rolling Harbour (7, 8) taken Abaco; Wiki graphic (5) CC . RESEARCH Fred Riger for detailed information; otherwise magpie pickings… This is an archive post
The great winter migration of warblers and their arrival in The Bahamas is underway. Reports are appearing – the latest being the Northern Parula. They will have made long journeys – hundreds of miles – and in the spring they will wing their way home for the summer. On Abaco, 38 warbler species are recorded for the main island and the cays, the latest being the first sighting of a Canada Warbler in 2018. Since Dorian the situation has undoubtedly been different, especially with the transients and rare species. The 5 permanent resident warbler are still resident. Sighting records of the winter visitors have been scarce. Many migrants and transients have not been recorded since Dorian, and the rarest perhaps never will be. The hope must be that at least the most common winter warblers will continue to arrive, and in increasing numbers.
First-ever Canada Warbler for Abaco & the entire Bahamas: Aug 2018 (Chris Johnson)
This guide divides the 38 species into categories, with a code for each bird to show:
Resident status – permanent / breeding, migratory or transient
Frequency – likelihood of seeing each species in its season, rated from 1 (very likely) to 5 (extreme rarities, maybe recorded only once or twice since c1950 when recording began)
Numerically, the division breaks down into 3 categories of warbler:
5 permanent residents (PR) that breed on Abaco (B), of which two are ENDEMIC
21 winter residents (WR) ranging from ‘everyday’ species to extreme rarities like the very vulnerable Kirtland’s Warbler that needs a specific winter habitat that Abaco can provide
11 transients, most of which you will be very lucky to encounter
Palm Warbler, Abaco Bahamas (Nina Henry)
The photos that follow show an example of each warbler, where possible both (1) male and (2) taken on Abaco. Where I had no Abaco images – especially with the transients – I have used other mainstream birding resources and Wiki. All due credits at the foot of the post.
PHOTO CREDITS (1 – 37) Bruce Hallett (Header, 3, 9, 12, 14, 17, 21, 22); Tom Reed (1, 4); Cornell Lab (2); Tom Sheley (7, 10); Alex Hughes (5); Gerlinde Taurer (6, 11, 18); Becky Marvil (8, 20a); Woody Bracey (13, 24); Peter Mantle (15); Keith Salvesen (16); William H. Majoros wiki (19); talainsphotographyblog (20b, 26, 34); Charmaine Albury (23); Craig Nash (25); Ann Capling (27); Jerry Oldenettel wiki (28); Dominic Sherony wiki (29); 10000birds (30); Steve Maslowski wiki (31); MDF wiki (32, 33); Avibirds (35); Michael Woodruff wiki (36); Emily Willoughby wiki (37)
CHECKLISTbased on the complete checklist and codes for Abaco devised by Tony White with Woody Bracey for “THE DELPHI CLUB GUIDE TO THE BIRDS OF ABACO” by Keith Salvesen
Anyone who has scuba-dived or snorkelled around the bright coral reefs of the Bahamas, or hunted bonefish out on the Abaco Marls will have come across Southern Stingrays Dasyatis americana. And there are certain places (eg Manjack Cay) where you can actually feed them – and not come to any harm…
FEED THEM? AREN’T THESE GUYS LETHALLY DANGEROUS CREATURES?
The name that always comes to mind in connection with stingrays is poorSteve Irwin, the charismatic Australian wildlife expert who was tragically ‘stung’ over his heart as he swam close over a ray while filming underwater. But this was, it would appear, a dreadful combination of circumstances with a terrible outcome.
The ray’s stinger is in fact an erectile venomous barbed spine near the base of the tail and not on the end of it (as one might expect). But these creatures are not out to harm you – though of course when you are in their environment you should accord them the respect that they merit.
If you are walking / wading in the water, avoid the risk of accidentally treading on a ray. Best to shuffle your feet forward in the sand; if there’s a half-concealed ray feeding or resting on the bottom nearby, it will swim away peacefully. I took the photo below while bonefishing on the Marls; the ray directly ahead slowly makes off as the skiff drifts closer. The next one is of a ray with its young – completely aware of us as we glide past to one side, but not especially bothered.
If you are swimming, snorkelling or diving, don’t get too close – especially by swimming directly over a ray (apparently Steve Irwin’s mistake, so that he was struck right in the chest by the stinger when the ray reacted).
Enough of the potential dangers. The southern stingray is a magnificent creature, as Melinda’s wonderful photographs show. She spends half her life underwater and I’m not aware that she has had a problem with a ray.
Like many larger sea creatures, stingrays need help with their personal care – the removal of parasites, dead skin and so forth. And so they make use of the services offered by small fish like gobies, wrasses and shrimps at a CLEANING STATION. Here are 2 photos of rays doing just that. You can see the tiny fish by the reef, going about their work. There’s a mutual benefit in this symbiotic relationship, in which it is understood that the cleaners are unharmed. Indeed, they will often enter the mouths and gills of a fish to clean… including the teeth. So there’s dental hygiene on offer too…
Photo Credits: Melinda Riger / Grand Bahama Scuba, except for the feeding photo (cheers, Samantha Regan), the ‘specimen’ from Tomas Willems (Wiki) and my two noted above
The most apposite description of brain coral Diploria labyrinthiformisis is essentially a no-brainer. How could you not call the creatures on this page anything else**. These corals come in wide varieties of shape and colour, and 4 types are found in Caribbean waters. They date from the Jurassic period.
Each ‘brain’ is in fact a complex colony consisting of genetically similar polyps. These secrete CALCIUM CARBONATE which forms a hard carapace. This chemical compound is found in minerals, the shells of sea creatures, eggs, and even pearls. In human terms it has many industrial applications and widespread medicinal use, most familiarly in the treatment of gastric problems.
The hardness of this type of coral makes it an important component of reefs throughout warm water zones world-wide. The dense protection also guarantees (or did until our generation began systematically to dismantle the earth) – extraordinary longevity. The largest brain corals develop to a height of almost 2 meters, and are believed to be several hundred years old.
HOW ON EARTH DO THEY LIVE?
If you look closely at the cropped image below and other images on this page, you will see thousands of tiny tentacles nestled in the trenches on the surface. These corals feed at night, deploying their tentacles to catch food. Their diet consists of tiny creatures and their algal contents. During the day, the tentacles retract into the sinuous grooves. Some brain corals have developed tentacles with defensive stings.
THE TRACKS LOOKS LIKE MAZES OR DO I MEAN LABYRINTHS?
The difference between mazes and labyrinths is that labyrinths have a single continuous path which leads to the centre. As long as you keep going forward, you will get there eventually. You can’t get lost. Mazes have multiple paths which branch off and will not necessarily lead to the centre. There are dead ends. Therefore, you can get lost. Or never get to the centre at all.
** On the corals shown here, you will get lost in blind alleys almost at once. Therefore in human terms these are mazes. The taxonomic labyrinthiformisis is Latin derived from Greek, and applied generally to this kind of structure, whether in actual fact a labyrinth or a maze.
CREDIT: all amazing underwater brain-work thanks to Melinda Rogers / Dive Abaco; Lucca Labyrinth, Keith Salvesen / Rolling Harbour
Here is a beautiful inscribed labyrinth dating from c12 or c13 from the porch of St Martin’s Cathedral in Lucca, Italy. Very beautiful but not such a challenge.
Merlins (Falco columbarius) are fierce small falcons that are fast and agile in flight. On Abaco, they are fairly common winter residents – though finding one and managing to photograph it may take a bit of doing. And maybe a dose of luck. The ‘columbarius‘ part of their taxonomy reflects their colloquial name ‘Pigeon Hawk’. Merlins are found throughout much of the northern hemisphere. They are classified as a New World species and an Old World / Eurasian subspecies, F c aesalon. Some argue for two distinct species, the gene pools of the two versions apparently having parted company ten of thousands of years ago. The birds aren’t overly bothered by the debate.
Merlin World Range Map: yellow = summer, blue = winter
HOW DO MERLINS DIFFER FROM AMERICAN KESTRELS (AMKE)?
Slightly larger and notably heavier (thus having more speed and endurance in flight)
Different colouring, e.g. lacking the indicative reddish-browns of the AMKE
Distinctive tail-barring as against black ends to the tail feathers with a white fringe
Unlike the AMKE they don’t hover, but close in directly on the small birds that are the main prey, often flying very low to surprise the victim.
For comparison: Merlin in South Abaco, American kestrel at Sandy Point
SO JUST HOW FIERCE ARE MERLINS?
Formidable! If you are a small or even medium-sized bird, you need to keep your wits about you. Merlins are largely ‘omni-habitat’ within their range, which includes open country, shrubland, light forest, and grasslands. They are fast, agile and strong. They can fly high, at medium height or at ground level, and are expert in surprise attack and rapid pursuit of prey. If you are a large bird of prey – a red-tailed hawk, perhaps – they may attack you with ferocity. They may not actually be trying to nail you, but to get you out of their territory and their catchment area.
Most of a merlin’s prey is taken in flight, and their speciality is ‘tail-chasing’ terrified birds. Breeding pairs may hunt cooperatively, with one bird flushing prey from cover into the open for its mate to… well, you get the picture – they are clever too. They may even pursue birds that have been flushed out by another bird of prey in the vicinity.
MERLINS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS
This is a slightly fraught relationship, because Merlins do not always pose as one might wish. Sometimes they are hard to see, being fairly well camouflaged unless they choose to ‘go out on a limb’.
And sometimes they don’t play by the rules relating to light and focus, making a clear shot difficult
This photo (2017) was taken on Elbow Cay (north end) by Jan Purdy Hulme Metcalf. It’s the first merlin photo from one of the Cays that I have come across.
FALCONRY AND MEDIEVAL HISTORY
Merlins were popular birds in medieval English falconry, and according to the 1486 Boke of Seynt Albans, the ‘Marlyon’ was considered the appropriate hunting bird for a lady. This book contained an essay on hunting attributed to Dame Juliana Berners, the prioress of a Priory near St Albans, who, game lady that she must have been, also contributed to one of the earliest treatises on fishing, ‘Fysshynge wyth an Angle‘ (hence, angling).
FURTHER HISTORICAL DIGRESSION (feel free to skip to final para)
While reading up further about Dame Juliana, I came across (wiki-tnx) a wonderful ranking for birds of prey matched to status that I hadn’t encountered before. Here’s the list, from Emperor to Knave / Servant. A Tercel was / is a male falcon, especially a Peregrine or Gyrfalcon. A Musket is a sparrowhawk.
The Boke of Seynt Albans also contains list of collective nouns for animals and birds, many familiar today such as “gaggle of geese”. There are also humorous collective nouns for different professions, such as a “diligence of messengers”, a “melody of harpers”, a “blast of hunters”, “a subtlety of sergeants”, and a “superfluity of nuns”…
Merlins are still trained for hunting smaller birds; and because of their speed and agility they are used in falconry displays. Despite changing habitat, and a perceptible dip in population from the use of pesticides now banned (such as DDT), the Merlin seems to be holding its own very well 5 centuries after the Boke was written.
AND FINALLY… AUDUBON’S HANDSOME MERLINS
Credits: Becky Marvil (1 & 7); RH (2); Rhonda Pearce (3); Craig Nash (4 & 5); Gerlinde Taurer (6); Prairie Boy; (8) Jan Purdy Hulme Metcalf (2017 photo); (9) wiki – not taken on Abaco, but I liked it; Dame Juliana Berners (1486); Magpie Pickings
A spectacular entry in my WTF? series came courtesy of Adam Rees and a night dive in Florida waters: the guitarfish, (Gr: rhinos – nose; batis – ray) . Until I saw Adam’s photos, this creature was unknown to me. It sounded so improbable, and conjured up some nightmare piscine-based modification of a Stratocaster, an instrument whose classic looks should not be meddled with without consequent loss of liberty.
The guitarfish belongs to a family of rays, Rhinobatidae, of which there are many species worldwide. In some ways the fish looks like a crossover with a shark. Although they have a ‘ray face’ and small wings, there is also a sharklike appearance with its fins and a sharklike swimming action (see video, below). If you think there is a primitive or prehistoric look to the guitarfish, you’d be right. According to the temporal range chart they date from the late Jurassic era.
I have been trying to nail the exact model of Adam’s finny Strat-ray. I am putting my money on the Atlantic guitarfish Rhinobatos lentiginosus, which may (or may not) be the same as the spotted or freckled; and is similar to the more widely photographed shovelnose guitarfish with its cute face. Not that I am very bothered: it’s the overall unusualness of Adam’s creature that really counts.
The strange thing is that although the guitarfish is a denizen of, for example, floridian, caribbean and mexican gulf waters, it is said to be unrecorded for the Bahamas. These bottom-feeding creatures inhabit shallower waters near coastlines and estuaries. They eat crabs, shellfish and worms – all in plentiful supply in Bahamas waters – so I can’t see a reason why they should not be found there. Perhaps they are seen but unreported. I have in mind the recent reports of SAWFISH and BATFISH. So kudos awaits the person who reports – with photo – the ‘first’ Bahamas guitarfish. Maybe there’s scope for a song about it!
GUITARFISH ‘LIVE’
Usually caught by mistake by anglers, or as bycatch by fishing vessels
Inedible (unless someone knows better…)
Non-aggressive and harmless to humans despite having a mouthful of small teeth
Swims like a shark – the tail has no spinal structure
Has a cute face (unlike a a shark)
Adults are about 30 inches long
They may bury themselves in sand or mud to ambush prey
They are viviparous, giving birth to live young that are born fully developed
As a postscript, it’s worth mentioning that on the same night dive, Adam also came across the uncommon batfish, a seriously prickly-looking starfish, and a spotted eagle ray. Worth losing sleep for.
..
A similar kind of guitarfish, showing the very sharklike movements in the water
Credits: Adam Rees, with many thanks; Greg Hume; Johan Fredriksson wiki; magpie pickings, in particular Florida Museum of Natural History / Taylor Sullivan and the truthful parts of various Wiki articles
Abaco’s birding records compiled for over 20 years include 33 shorebird species. For a few, the islands and cays are a permanent residence; for many others they are winter quarters; some species are visitors transient in their migrations; a few are rare vagrants. The complete checklist of Abaco’s shorebirds is below, along with 3 links to specific posts.
I have divided the species into 3 categories: sandpipers & kin; plovers; and a catch-all ‘large shorebird’ group that includes one or two sandpipers. Of the 26 birds featured and shown in the main checklist below, 23 are ones you might reasonably hope or expect to encounter on Abaco, though some only if you are lucky or your field-craft is excellent. The others are the long-billed dowitcher, American avocet and Wilson’s phalarope (of which only one has ever been seen on Abaco, with a photo to prove it). Many of these are showcased in my book The Birds of Abaco.
The codes tell you, for any particular bird, when you may see it (P = permanent, WR = winter resident, TR = transient, V = vagrant); whether it breeds (B) on Abaco; and your chance of seeing it, graded from easy (1) to vanishingly unlikely (5).
Black-necked Stilt Himantopus mexicanus PR B 3
American Avocet Recurvirostra americana WR 4
American Oystercatcher Haematopus palliatus PR B 2
“CATCHING THE EYE”: OYSTERCATCHERS (+ BONUS ID TIP)
I’m focusing (ha!) on oystercatchers and their eyes. Like the extraordinary one in the header image. Notice the bright orangey-red ‘orbital ring’, the egg-yolk-reminiscent eye and the pitch black iris. An eye-catching and unmistakeable feature of this handsome black and white shorebird, the American Oystercatcher.
Here’s another AMOY eye, with a different smudge of black by the iris. I don’t know for sure, but I suspect that AMOY specialists are able to ID individual birds at least in part by their different eye markings. And you can see that the eye-ring smartly matches the beak into the bargain.
This wonderful photograph of a loving AMOY pair with their precious egg safely encircled by a rocky nest was taken on LBI, NJ by ‘Northside Jim’, whose amazing photos I sometimes include. See how brightly the eyes of each bird stand out, like tiny archery targets.
The World is Mine Oyster
This well-captioned AMOY shot was generously put on Wiki by photographer Dan Pancamo
OYSTERCATCHER ID TIPS
A while ago, when I was choosing AMOY photographs for publication, I idly wondered what was the difference between them and Eurasian Oystercatchers (yes, yes, I hear you – apart from geographical, I mean…). At a first comparative glance, to me they looked remarkably similar in coloration and size. Assuming both species were to be discovered on the same shoreline, how best might one distinguish them? The main differences seemed to be:
Leg colouring differs, AMOY legs being generally pale pink as opposed to the stronger coloured legs of the EUROY (if they can be called that). However there are considerable EUROY variations (see below), from pink to orange to reddish, that are presumably seasonal. The leg colour, assuming they are visible to the watcher, is not quite a definitive identifier.
Both species have black heads and necks, but the AMOY’s back plumage shades to dark brown. But how distinctive would that be in low light or indifferent weather?
Mrs RH, looking over my shoulder, saw it at once: the eyes. If you can see the eyes, you can tell instantly what make of OY you are looking at. Here are a some Eurasian Oystercatchers showing their own distinctively red eyes and orbital rings.
As so often, I have since found that the excellent Birdorable site has nailed the differences clearly and simply. Eye colour, leg colour and – less obviously – the AMOY’s brownish back as opposed to the EUROY’s entirely black and white body. Sorted.
HUTIAS: ABACO’S EXTINCT RODENTS LIVE ON… ELSEWHERE
Note: my original article on the Hutia predates Dorian & a few references may be a bit out of date
The Bahama hutia (Geocapromys ingrahami) has the distinction of being the only indigenous land mammal in the Bahamas. Historically found on a number of islands, the species is now confined to very limited locations. Abaco is, sadly, no longer one of them; they are officially shown as extirpated here from about 1600. Hutias had been recorded on Great Abaco by early explorers from Europe, but their survival was already threatened by hunting and land clearance as the human population expanded.
Further evidence of their long-term existence on Abaco – prehistoric, even – comes from research carried out by divers in the land-based Blues Holes. SAWMILL SINK has been a particularly rich source of the remnants of early creatures, including well-preserved skeletons, carapaces or other remains of crocodiles, turtles, birds, bats – and hutias. These date from the Pleistocene epoch of the Quartenary period, spanning roughly 2.5m years and ending some 12,000 years ago. You can see some of these treasures in the wonderful Natural History Museum at Friends of the Environment in Marsh Harbour.
A c20 hutia from the Exumas on display in the museum
Exhibits in the museum – there’s even a dead parrot for Monty Python fans
The population of the extant Bahama hutia species Geocapromys ingrahami became so depleted that by the 1960s they were considered to be extinct. Then in 1966 a colony was discovered on East Plana Cay. Some have since been relocated (see below) and the overall population is now confined to a handful of locations, for which reason the Bahama hutia is IUCN listed as vulnerable. All the usual man-caused threats to their survival apply, as well as predation by dogs and feral cats. One place to find them is in the Exumas, but because they are mainly nocturnal creatures and there are few of them, a sighting is a rare event, let alone getting a decent photo op.
A ‘Demarest’s Hutia’ – not the Bahamian species, but very similar
The terrific header image and the second image were taken by teenager Cole Fiechter while on a sailing trip with his parents and brother in the excellently named ‘Truansea’. On the beach of the Exumas Land and Sea Park at Warderick Wells, they encountered “a guinea pig with a rat’s tail”: a hutia. Cole’s photograph features in the indispensible Guide to the Natural History of the Bahamas, with which I was peripherally involved. See the cover on the sidebar.
MARK CATESBY‘s take on the hutia in the c18, where he describes it as a rabbit
The BAHAMAS NATIONAL TRUST notes that “Bahama hutias occur naturally only on East Plana Cay (located between Acklins and Mayaguana). Historically however, they were found on ten Bahamian islands. In a move to protect the species, a small Bahama hutia population was transplanted to two locations – Little Wax Cay and Warderick Wells (Exumas). These three locations now host the only known populations of this particular species in the whole world”.
It looks as though Warderick Wells might be your best bet to see a Bahama hutia if you are visiting the Bahamas. Don’t be too confident of coming across one – but if you do see one, you will have had the pleasure of seeing a very rare creature.
A HUTIA’S TAIL (very different from a rat…)
Credits: Cole Fiechter (1, 2); Keith Salvesen / FOTE (3, 4); ‘Yomangani’ wiki (5); OS (6); Princeton UP (7). Research credits PNAS, BNT, FOTE
Yesterday was World Lizard Appreciation Day (or something similar), and it is only right to acknowledge the occasion. Everyone knows about CURLY TAIL LIZARDS. Everyone loves them and their little ways. But there are other lizards that may be found on Abaco and in the wider Bahamas. ANOLES, green and brown, should not be overlooked in the global celebration. They don’t have curly tails, but they do have a special power, the ability to display a DEWLAP. These are essentially folds of neck skin that are seen in many creatures – even large ones like the moose – and which in some species are inflatable / retractable.
A while back, Abaconian Rhonda Pearce took an outstanding sequence of photos of anoles. To begin, here are some impressive dewlaps to admire.
And here are a few green and brown anoles hanging out on trees and leaves in an anoley-type way. In a couple of these images, you can see the dewlap in its non-display mode. They are all just… lizards. Non-scary, non-venomous, non-poisonous little guys that are probably a peripheral part of everyone’s experience, but which really deserve a closer look.
You can read more about anoles, including their interesting sex lives, in the excellent Wiki article HERE. Usually, this is where I put a list of the various anole-related mating rituals, but actually the Wiki entry is more comprehensive (but you don’t get free jokes).
ADDENDUM: On this topic, at Crossing Rocks I did once photograph 2 curly tails in amorous conjunction on a lorry tyre / tire.
OPTIONAL MUSICAL DIGRESSION
The first time I heard the word ‘dewlap’ (misheard by the young me as ‘dewlat’) was in the mid-60s, in Georgie Fame’s excellent Ballad of Bonnie & Clyde. This song – and doubtless the film – was number 1 in the UK and maybe also the States.
I assumed then that a ‘dewlat’ was some sort of valuable gold coin – like a gold sovereign – that bank robbers put into a specially designed ‘dewlat bag’ to carry them away… Ah! The naivety of youth.
Bonnie and Clyde advanced their reputation
And made the graduation into the banking business
“Reach for the sky,” sweet-talking Clyde would holler
As Bonnie loaded dollars in the dewlap bag
Credits: all fantastic photos, Rhonda Pearce with thanks as ever; Vogue
A few years ago I was wandering along a track in South Abaco looking for birds in the coppice, when I came across this aggressive-looking creature. I could only get a partial shot of the insect, and I wondered whether to try to reach towards it to get a more complete shot. Perhaps I could have, but extremely fortunately for me (as I later discovered) I didn’t touch it.
I’ve just been reading an article about these critters, which has prompted me to re-examine their place in nature’s ‘scary’ heap. A: of the world’s most agonising stings, it is No. 3.
The creature turned out to be a Spider Wasp (aka Pepsis Wasp), of the Pompilidae family. The insect is familiarly known as a Tarantula Hawk, for reasons given in unsparing detail below. For it turns out that this creature would be the hardest bastard insect on Planet Bastard in the Galaxy Bastardion.
It’s lucky that I didn’t try to collect it to keep in a small box as a pet. Note, for start, the complex eating apparatus… and it’s not for nibbling leaves as I had thought, but chopping up small insects. The leg claws and barbs are for pinning down its prey. You would not believe how unpleasant these little buddies are – and that’s before we even mention the sting…
SPIDER WASPS IN ACTION
These wasps are known in some countries as “horse-killers”. The Pepsis wasp is a sub-species, and is called Tarantula Hawk because it hunts tarantulas and uses them in a most ingenious and cruel way… Some claim that these insects are unaggressive to humans – if you leave them alone, they will spare you. I’ve also read that“The tarantula hawk is relatively docile and rarely stings without provocation”Now read on to see if it might be sensible to provoke one or not.
SCARY CRITTERS & LIVING LARDERS
(Trigger Warning: this is really rather gross)
SPIDER WASPS are ‘solitary’ insects that feed on ground spiders / tarantulas by stinging them to paralyse them, then eating them. In the most sinister way, the females also make use of them for breeding purposes. Hear this! They build a nest in a burrow, find a spider (a tarantula for choice), paralyse it with their sting, drag it to the nest and lay a single egg on its abdomen. Then they seal up the burrow.
If of a nervous disposition, look away now
When the egg hatches, the larva chews a hole on the spider’s abdomen and enters a living larder. It gradually eat its host as it grows. The spider’s vital organs are left till last, so that the spider stays alive as long as possible until the larva has reached full-size. After several weeks, the larva spins a cocoon and pupates (often over winter). Finally, the wasp becomes an adult, bursts Alien-like from the spider’s abdomen (deftly evading Ripley), and tunnels out of the burrow…
Do NOT try this at home or more than 10 yards from a medical centre
SPIDER WASPS: MORE FEARFUL FACTS
Their hunting improves with experience – the more spiders they eat, the quicker they find, attack & kill them
Males use ‘perch territories’ to scan for receptive females from a tall plant or other vantage point, a behaviour known as HILL-TOPPING
Adult wasps also feed on a variety of plants for nectar & pollen. They may become intoxicated on fermented fruit, which affects their ability to get around (I think we’ve all been there at some time…)
The female Pepsis gets her spider in two main ways: approaching a tarantula causing it to rear up defensively on its legs, thus exposing its abdomen to the sting or
She locates a tarantula’s burrow, using her sense of smell. She tricks the spider into emerging by tweaking the web at the burrow’s entrance or ‘intruding’ (see video below)
The wasp uses her long stinger to stab her prey. The poison rapidly paralyses the spider. She then drags it to her burrow, lays her egg onto the tarantula’s abdomen, seals the burrow and leaves. Job done
The hooked claws and barbs on the wasps’ long legs are weapons for grappling with victims
The stinger of a female tarantula hawk can be up to 7 mm (1/3 inch) long – and the sting is among the most painful insect stings in the world (see below)
Only the females sting (males may pretend to) because the stinger is linked to the ovipositor (egg-laying organ)
You can distinguish females from males by the curled antennae of the female. Mine was therefore female
The Pepsis wasp has (unsurprisingly) very few predators, though apparently roadrunners and bullfrogs may tackle them
Here is a hypnotically fascinating 3-minute video of the life-or-death struggle
SPIDER WASP –v- TARANTULA
THE STING
The sting of these wasps is among the most painful of any insect, though the most intense pain lasts on a few minutes. Entomologist Justin Schmidt bravely submitted himself to the stings of various insects and described this pain as“…immediate, excruciating pain that simply shuts down one’s ability to do anything, except, perhaps, scream. Mental discipline simply does not work in these situations.”
Schmidt produced his SCHMIDT STING PAIN INDEXThe pain scale, based on 78 species, runs from 0 to 4, with 4 awarded for the most intense pain. Spider Wasps of the species Pepsis – i.e. Tarantula Hawks – have a sting rating of 4.0, described as“blinding, fierce, shockingly electric. A running hair drier has been dropped into your bubble bath”Only the bite of the Bullet Ant – and the sting of the Warrior Wasp – is ranked higher, with a 4.0+ rating, vividly described as“pure, intense, brilliant pain. Like fire-walking over flaming charcoal with a 3-inch rusty nail in your heel”
LIGHT RELIEF AFTER THE PAIN
1. In 1989, New Mexico chose the Tarantula hawk wasp as the official state insect. The choice seems to have been left to schoolchildren and I’m guessing here (or gender-stereotyping) but I suspect it was the boys’ choice that won…
2. Tarantula Hawk is a “psychedelic progressive metal band” from San Diego, Ca. Their short discography includes their debut Tarantula Hawk (CD/LP, 1998); Burrow (Live CD, 2000, self-released); and Untitled. The cover of their debut provides the perfect ending for this post, vividly depicting the colour and texture of the swirling fiery pain you could experience (and I don’t really mean from listening to the music…)
Quite a while back (in the Pre-Covid Era), Black-faced Grassquits Tiaris bicolor were honoured by the American Ornithological Union with a classification change from emberizid to tanager. For the reasons that follow, the species regarded this both as scientific promotion and as merited status elevation. I invited an authoritative Spokesquit to explain why.
*******************
Hi, human friends, I’m a black-faced grassquit and I have a couple of observations to make on behalf of BFGs, if I may. First, we seem to be universally described by you as ‘common’, whereas we are actually quite refined in our behaviour. Secondly, the words most used to portray us are ‘dull’ and ‘drab’. And ‘stubby’. Well, excuse me… I – we – ask you to give us a second look. Maybe check out these images for a start.
Unsurprisingly we were very excited when the perceptive classifications committee of the American Ornithological Union gave us an upgrade. That’s the way we saw it anyway. For many years we were classified under the heading emberizidae.
We kept company with some buddies like the handsome Greater Antillean Bullfinches, but also with a lot of New World sparrows. Frankly, we never felt entirely comfortable with them. Annoyingly chirpy, for a start. And in truth, more drab than us (I’m told).
And so we officially became a type of tanager. Scientists even reckon (rather late in the day, in my view) that we are closely related toDarwin’s finches. Posh relations suddenly. And now we get to be with other birds that are dome-nesters like us. And how about this – we are now in the same category as some really cool birds…
How’s this for a colourful gang to be joining: scarlet tanager, summer tanager, rose-breasted grosbeak, indigo bunting, painted bunting – these are our new cousins. It’s like being related to an avian rainbow that can fly. BFGs “dull” and “drab”? I don’t think so.
6 UNDULL FACTS ABOUT BFGS
Make grassy dome-nests (like Bananaquits) and line them with soft grasses
Both sexes build the nest together
Both share egg-sitting duties and later chick-feeding & maintenance
Though quite gregarious by day, for some reason they tend to roost alone
They have a short ‘display’ flight with vibrating wings and a strange buzzing call
Otherwise, their flight is ‘weak, bouncy & fluttering’ (Whatbird assessment)
THE EVERYDAY TWITTERING SONG
THE DISPLAY BUZZING SONG
Photo Credits: Alex Hughes (1, 10); Tom Sheley (2, 3); Bruce Hallett (4, 9); Tom Reed (5, 11); Becky Marvil (6); Peter Mantle (7); Gerlinde Taurer (8); Keith Salvesen (12); Larry Towning (13). Other Credits: ABA, AOU, Whatbird? (sound files)
The WTF? series is dedicated to the wilder, less conventionally fish-shaped side of reef life – those creatures that you may come across, blink into your face-mask, and silently mouth the words ‘What’s That Fish?’ (that’s what it looks like you are saying, anyway).
Let’s meet some Arrow Crabs Stenorhynchus seticornis, one of the very few creatures surely to have a triangular body plus a huge pointy nose (rostrum), supported on long skinny legs. To which add, they wear tiny blue gloves on their two front claws.
These crabs are coral reef dwellers and mostly stay concealed during the day. Their body is protected by a carapace, and the rostrum has serrated edges like a tiny rasp or file. I haven’t found a definitive reason for this gadget, but I suspect it is more for probing than for piercing or fighting.
There’s a considerable colour variation among these crabs, as these images show. The body may even have blue iridescent lines (#2, above). And those claws may be any of 50 shades of blue…
Arrow crabs are most active at night. They eat feather-duster worms (illus.) and similar invertebrates such as bristle worms.
Like certain types of shrimp, they also have a symbiotic relationship with anemones, whereby they make use of an anemone to benefit from the food it captures – and possibly for cover too. They are protected from anemone stings, whereas some of their predators are not.
This was the place where I was going to tell you about the arrow crab’s private life, but, well… “it’s complicated”. Briefly it is: male passes sperm-filled capsule to female; she uses it in some way whereby it fertilises her eggs; she then ‘broods’ the eggs in one of her ‘swimming legs’; the eggs hatch into larvae and swim off to eat plankton; each one then grows & moults, repeating the process until it has reached adult form. On balance, humans have arguably perfected a preferable method.
Arrow Crabs are apparently popular aquarium creatures, although they sound to me rather a disagreeable challenge. They can move quickly on those long legs, and it seems as if they inclined to be aggressive to other inhabitants of the tank. As far as I can make out, it’s best not to put 2 of them together: they certainly won’t be doing the sperm capsule thing described earlier…
Master of Disguise
Photo credits: Melinda Riger / G B Scuba (1, 3, 4, 5, 6); Adam Rees / Scuba Works (2, 8, 9); Nick Hopgood,Wiki (7); Chuck Elliot – video
FIERCE LITTLE FALCONS: MERLINS ON ABACO
.
. 
ROLLING HARBOUR ABACO 
You must be logged in to post a comment.