Species of the Month

Introduction: One of the surest signs of spring is the return of the American robin, March’s Species of
the Month. From their cheerful morning song to the way they hop about your lawn, what’s not to love
about this little harbinger of better weather?

American robin (Missouri Department of Conservation)

Scientific name: Turdus migratorius

Kingdom: Animalia (animals)

Class: Aves (birds)

Order: Passeriformes (perching birds)

Range: Southern Canada to southern Mexico

Habitat: Open grassy areas and open woodlands with dense shrubs

Lifespan: Average age 2 years

Diet: Berries, worms, insects

Predators: Snakes, squirrels, blue jays, crows, ravens: eggs only; snakes, hawks, house cats: adults only 

Conservation Status: Not listed as threatened or endangered, but protected under the Migratory Bird
Act.

Other Information: The gregarious, ubiquitous American robin is one of the first birds to begin nesting
in the spring. They start shortly after arrival, and may lay as many as three clutches of eggs. Each
clutch gets its own nest. The parents won’t start a new family until the old one has fledged the nest,
about two weeks after hatching. The young won’t become expert fliers for another two weeks after and
will be somewhat reliant on the parents until then.

American robin nest with eggs (Missouri Department of Conservation)

Male robins are slightly larger than females. Unlike many other birds, male and female robins look
nearly identical. Females are slightly lighter in color. Juveniles have a speckled breast, rather than the
familiar reddish coloring.

Juvenile American robin (Hal and Kirsten Snyder)

Outside of breeding and nesting season, American robins typically feed and roost in large flocks. They
roost overnight in trees in dense woods or secluded areas. During spring and summer they are more
solitary. Watch them in your yard. When grounded, their motion is hop hop hop hop or run run run run
run stop run run run run run stop. When stopped they frequently cock their heads. They do this because
they are looking for worms or any danger. They must move the entire head because their eyes don’t
move like ours.

American robin wrestling a worm (Cornell University)

This week's information comes from the Animal Diversity Web at University if Michigan again.

Species of the Month

Christmas is upon us once again and in keeping with tradition, we have another festive Species of the
Month. American mistletoe, like its European cousin, is a Christmas symbol dating back to the arrival
of European settlers who brought their customs with them. The mistletoe association with Christmas
dates back hundreds of years before Europeans reached American shores. Learn more about this little
plant below!

American mistletoe

Scientific name: Phoradendron leucarpum

Kingdom: Plantae (plants)

Class: Magnoliopsida (dicots)

Order: Santalales (hemi-parasitic plants)

Range: Eastern and Southwestern US

Habitat: Forest, swamps, and desert

Diet: Sunlight and water for photosynthesis; xylem and phloem of host plant through parasitism

Predators: Birds and small mammals

Conservation Status: No special protection

Mistletoe berries

Other Information: While it may bring good luck to have mistletoe in your home during Christmas, it
certainly isn't lucky to eat the berries. They are poisonous to humans, though not usually fatal. Mistletoe
is hemi-parasitic, meaning it is a parasitic plant but can also photosynthesize. Berries contain a single
seed, which is spread by when birds defecate after eating the berry. The seed is sticky, and with any
luck the bird will be sitting in a tree when it passes. This sequence of events gave mistletoe its name.
"Mistle" the Anglo-Saxon word for dung, and "tan", the word for twig were combined, as folks in
those days noticed mistletoe grew were birds left dung on the branches. Because it seems to grow out
of nothing, mistletoe was thought to have fertility properties. Mistletoe acts as a parasite by growing
a root-like haustorium (your big word of the day) through the host tree's bark and tapping into its sugars
and water. Parasitization can cause the host tree to become deformed or distorted.

Pine tree with deformations from mistletoe

This week's pictures and information come from University of Wisconsin at LaCrosse.

Species of the Month

Winter returned with a vengeance this week as the temperature dropped to single digits with a wind chill in the minus zone. Arctic air pushed down and along with icicles and dreams of tropical paradise, it provided the inspiration for the species of the month, the Arctic fox. This cunning critter enjoys a polar vortex much more than I do!

Arctic fox (Environment and Natural Resources, Northwest Terr.)

Scientific name: Vulpes lagopus

Kingdom: Animalia (animals)

Class: Mammalia (mammals)

Order: Carnivora (carnivores)

Range: Circumpolar- Canada, Alaska, Greenland, northern Europe, northern Asia

Habitat: Arctic tundra

Lifespan: 3-6 years on average

Diet: Small mammals, birds, eggs, insects, berries, carrion, dung

Predators: Red fox, humans

Conservation Status: No special protection

Arctic fox (USFWS)

Other Information: Arctic foxes, unlike other canids, have furry feet. In the cold north, that is a valuable asset. Colors change seasonally, from a summer coat of gray to a white winter coat. They live in a family group in a den with multiple openings and a tunnel system. A breeding pair and a female offspring from the previous litter, plus the new pups, make up the family group. The older offspring helps raise her younger siblings as a tradeoff for food and shelter. This behavior is also seen in some bird species, and that female has been statistically shown to have a higher survival rate of her own future litters. Arctic foxes are opportunistic feeders, eating anything that comes along. Carrion feasts have been known to include seafood such as fish and seals. A favorite small mammal meal is the lemming. They are hunted for fur and as a livestock pest in Iceland.
This week's information once again comes from University of Michigan's Animal Diversity Web.

Species of the Month

This month’s species of the month was supposed to be a lichen called lipstick cladonia, but for being a widespread lichen there is very little information about it. So I changed it to something a little easier to research. This past weekend I saw my first eastern bluebird, so that’s what you get this month.

Scientific name: Sialia sialis

Kingdom: Animalia (animals)

Class:   Aves (birds)

Order: Passeriformes (perching birds)

Range: east of the Rockies from southern Canada to Honduras

Habitat: open areas with trees  

Lifespan: 6-10 years, mortality highest in first year

Diet: primarily insects, also seeds, nuts, and berries

Male bluebird with a cricket (Audubon Field Guide)

Predators: Snakes, house cats, raccoons, black bears, American kestrels. Flying squirrels and chipmunks are egg predators. House sparrows and European starling kill bluebirds and/or compete for nesting sites.

Conservation Status: no special protection

Male with brilliant blue on full display (Smithsonian)

Other Information: Bluebirds are a social, yet territorial bird. At times they gather in flocks, but will also defend a nesting territory and feeding territory from other bluebirds. They also have an interesting dynamic with tree swallows. Two pairs of bluebirds will not nest in boxes that are next to each other, and bluebirds will drive away tree swallows if only one box is available. However, placing two boxes side by side will allow the bluebird and the swallow to coexist as neighbors. Male bluebirds have a brilliant blue backside and red breast; females are dull gray with brownish breast. Her eggs are blue, but sometimes white, in clutches of 3-7. Eggs hatch after 13-16 days and the young fledge nest 2-3 weeks after hatching. Pairs may mate twice in a season, and sometimes the young from the first clutch will help raise the second clutch.

Female bluebird looking with muted colors (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)

Information this month comes from the good folks at University of Michigan's Animal Diversity Web again.

Species of the Month

December’s Species of the Month, like last December’s, is a living symbol of Christmas. Holly, with its green leaves and red berries, has become of a jolly symbol of the most wonderful time of the year. The Species of the Month is American holly, native to the eastern US and lower Midwest.

Scientific name: Ilex opaca

Kingdom: Plantae (plants)

Class:   Magnoliopsida (dicots)

Order: Celastrales (flowering trees)

Range: New York and southern New England south to the Gulf Coast, west to Texas

Habitat: Well-drained forests, coastal areas

Lifespan: About 100 years

Diet: Sunlight and water

Predators: Insects including southern red mite, holly leafminer, and holly midge; fungal diseases; birds may eat the berries and herbivores may browse the leaves.

Conservation Status: No federal protection; listed as Exploitably Vulnerable in New York and Threatened in Pennsylvania.

Winter holly at Gateway National Recreation Area (NPS Facebook photo)

Other Information: American holly is used as an ornamental planting. Its branches are used in Christmas wreaths. The Pilgrims named American holly, based on its similar looks to their familiar English holly, which had been established as a Christmas decoration for some time. A slow grower, it is typically an understory plant, although some have been known to reach 100 feet tall. Because it is usually found in the understory, it is rarely the dominant plant in a forest. However, an excellent example of a holly forest can be found at Sandy Hook, New Jersey. Both male and female hollies flower, but only the females produce berries. Birds are an important method of seed dispersal. Holly’s wood is among the whitest woods on the market. It is not very strong so its commercial use is limited. Small green flowers are hardly noticeable.

This week's holly information comes from the US Forest Service. 

My 2016 Christmas card, featuring holly in my yard

Coastal holly in North Carolina (NPS)

More holly in New Jersey (NPS Facebook photo)