Leslie G. Underhill, Rene Navarro, Megan Loftie-Eaton
{"title":"The open-access journal Biodiversity Observations: report for 2023","authors":"Leslie G. Underhill, Rene Navarro, Megan Loftie-Eaton","doi":"10.15641/bo.1515","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15641/bo.1515","url":null,"abstract":"Volume 13 of Biological Observation, published in 2023, contained 39 papers. The largest number of papers in a single volume was in the year 2016, when Volume 7 contained 103 papers. \u0000 ","PeriodicalId":155392,"journal":{"name":"Biodiversity Observations","volume":"41 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139603663","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Cape Sparrow trapped in Cape Weaver nest","authors":"H. Oschadleus","doi":"10.15641/bo.1513","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15641/bo.1513","url":null,"abstract":"On 29 November 2023, during a bird ringing session at the Vanrhynsdorp Sewage Works, we discovered a dead female Cape Sparrow Passer melanurus hanging from an old Cape Weaver Ploceus capensis breeding nest. This is the first record of a nest fatality of a Cape Sparrow in any weaver nest.","PeriodicalId":155392,"journal":{"name":"Biodiversity Observations","volume":"35 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139612243","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Powerful wind kills hundreds of birds","authors":"Ryan M Tippett, Les G Underhill","doi":"10.15641/bo.1498","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15641/bo.1498","url":null,"abstract":"Extreme weather events are predicted to occur with increasing frequency as a result of global climate change. These extremes take multiple forms. This note reports an abnormal weather event in which winds, apparently Force 10 on the Beaufort Scale (90-100 km/hour), killed hundreds of birds at a farmhouse in the Karoo, South Africa. The wind was so strong that it removed birds from their roosts in trees and flung them against the walls of the farmhouse with such force that it killed them. There are no published accounts of comparable events in southern Africa.","PeriodicalId":155392,"journal":{"name":"Biodiversity Observations","volume":"49 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139172888","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BA Owolabi, OS Okeyode, OS Odewumi, AA Adewumi, AH Olasunkanmi, OM Fakokunde
{"title":"Record of Progressive Greying in Laughing Dove Spilopelia senegalensis in Nigeria","authors":"BA Owolabi, OS Okeyode, OS Odewumi, AA Adewumi, AH Olasunkanmi, OM Fakokunde","doi":"10.15641/bo.1486","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15641/bo.1486","url":null,"abstract":"While birding at Okinni (7°50'38\"N, 4°30'57\"E), Osun State, Nigeria, on 22 September 2022, a Laughing Dove Spilopelia senegalensis was seen with an unusual plumage that distinguished it from the other Laughing Doves in the area.","PeriodicalId":155392,"journal":{"name":"Biodiversity Observations","volume":"616 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139204350","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Non-colonial ground-nesting birds on Robben Island: positive impact of the removal of feral cats on the abundance of Chukar Partridge and Fiery-necked Nightjar","authors":"L.G Underhill, Chris Wilke, Barry Hattingh","doi":"10.15641/bo.1484","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15641/bo.1484","url":null,"abstract":"The near complete removal of feral cats Felis catus was one of five major drivers of change at Robben Island in the first decades of the 21st century. This note demonstrates that the abundance of Chukar Partridge and of Fiery-necked Nightjar has increased during this period.","PeriodicalId":155392,"journal":{"name":"Biodiversity Observations","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139212361","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Sighting of Orange-Headed Thrush Geokichla citrina at Shekha Wetland: An Important Bird Area, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India","authors":"Shahzada Iqbal, Amee V. Mehta, Mirza Altaf Beig","doi":"10.15641/bo.1230","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15641/bo.1230","url":null,"abstract":"Thi note reports the sighting on the 8 February 2020 of Orange-Headed Thrush Geokichla citrina at Shekha Wetland (27°51'21\" N and 78°13'05\" E), Aligarh District, Uttar Pradesh, India.\u0000 ","PeriodicalId":155392,"journal":{"name":"Biodiversity Observations","volume":"30 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133553884","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Marbled Teal Marmaronetta angustirostris breeding in Wadi Djedi at Ziban region, Algerian Sahara","authors":"Y. Nouidjem, F. Mimeche","doi":"10.15641/bo.1063","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15641/bo.1063","url":null,"abstract":"This note reports the breeding of Marbled Teal Marmaronetta angustirostris at Wadi Djedi wetland at Ziban oasis, in the northeastern Algerian Sahara). On 14 May 2019, two females and their ducklings were observed. This breeding provides evidence that Marbled Teal may breed elsewhere in the region and provides the first information concerning the breeding strategy of this species in Algeria, especially in the northeastern Algerian Sahara Urgent measures and regular surveys are needed to protect this vulnerable species and their preferred habitats.","PeriodicalId":155392,"journal":{"name":"Biodiversity Observations","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124784610","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Behavioural and anatomical observations of the amphibious snail Pirenella conica (Gastropoda: Potamididae)","authors":"A. Orstan","doi":"10.15641/bo.1396","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15641/bo.1396","url":null,"abstract":"The coastal snail Pirenella conica (Gastropoda: Potamididae) was observed and photographed in its mud flat habitat (Alaçati Bay, Karaburun Peninsula, Türkiye) and in the laboratory. The snails were amphibious; they moved about in damp sediment when the sea had receded and readily left the water in the laboratory to move on dry surfaces. The siphon, normally used for the intake of oxygenated water in submerged snails, remained open when snails were out of water, suggesting that they can also breathe air. Videos of snails taken from below explained the mechanics of their stop-and-go locomotion. Close-up photographs also revealed the presence of a pallial eye at the top of the siphonal canal. When a snail was partially buried in soft sediment, its pallial eye remained above the sediment. The pallial eye may orient the snail and help it detect potential dangers when its tentacular eyes are obstructed.","PeriodicalId":155392,"journal":{"name":"Biodiversity Observations","volume":"113 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133329501","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Note on the nest-building behaviour, socio-negative interactions and courtship display of the Lesser Antillean Bullfinch Loxigilla noctis sclateri in a suburban area of St Lucia","authors":"Vladislav Marcuk, Donovan de Boer","doi":"10.15641/bo.1342","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15641/bo.1342","url":null,"abstract":"We provide details of the nest-building behaviour of the Lesser Antillean Bullfinch, including observational notes on nest materials and courtship elements, and also on socio-negative interactions. The information is based on field observations of a breeding pair in a suburban area in St Lucia.","PeriodicalId":155392,"journal":{"name":"Biodiversity Observations","volume":"46 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132607870","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Bird surveys at windfarms in the Eastern Cape, South Africa","authors":"V. Parker","doi":"10.15641/bo.1409","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15641/bo.1409","url":null,"abstract":"Bird surveys were conducted at four windfarm sites and four control sites in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Numbers of the Blue Crane Grus paradisea decreased at three out of four windfarm sites after commencement of windfarm activities and did not decrease at any of the control sites. Numbers for several bird species of the fynbos and grassland tended to increase at windfarm sites after commencement of windfarm activities, and did not increase at the control sites.","PeriodicalId":155392,"journal":{"name":"Biodiversity Observations","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114240118","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}