{"id":302,"date":"2017-09-24T05:58:14","date_gmt":"2017-09-24T04:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/evolution21stcentury\/?p=302"},"modified":"2017-11-16T09:45:53","modified_gmt":"2017-11-16T09:45:53","slug":"back-4-days-island-hopping-i-seen-rather-lovely-birds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/evolution21stcentury\/back-4-days-island-hopping-i-seen-rather-lovely-birds\/","title":{"rendered":"Back from 4 days island hopping, and I have seen some rather lovely birds"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Hello everyone,<\/p>\n<p>Sorry, I have been away for a few days without internet.\u00a0 On Tuesday (19th) we went to Isabela, and returned on Wednesday, On Thursday (21st) we went to San Cristobal and returned yesterday. Today we began the survey of invasive algae around Santa Cruz.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s been quite an exciting few days, but I hope that you will forgive the absence of posts.<\/p>\n<p>There are a couple of exciting things on their way to you.\u00a0 Hopefully I will be able to post my first &#8216;guest post&#8217; from Jess Howard who works here at the Charles Darwin Foundation, but is also an former-Southampton student.\u00a0 She has kindly written a piece about plastic waste and the problems it can cause for the oceans, and the Galapagos.\u00a0 I hope that I can post that tomorrow (internet permitting).<\/p>\n<p><!--more-->Now to today&#8217;s post.\u00a0 Charles Darwin didn&#8217;t write an exhaustive account of his time in Galapagos.\u00a0 I was surprised that I managed to read the chapter, all 23 pages (in my Penguin Classics edition) in the first half an hour of the flight from the mainland to the islands.<\/p>\n<p>Darwin arrived on Chatham Island, now called San Cristobal, on September 15th, 1835.\u00a0 One of the major things he noted was the tameness of the birds.\u00a0 I must agree.\u00a0 I have never had so many birds just hopping up to me, or sitting on the back of my chair, while I am eating my lunch.\u00a0 Their whole disposition is quite unlike anything I have seen before.\u00a0 If you go to Trafalgar Square, London, or St. Marks, Venice, you run the risk of being dive bombed by pigeons.\u00a0 Here the birds seem to be fascinated in you: &#8220;what are you doing in my patch?&#8221;, while at the same time wholly disinterested in you.<\/p>\n<p>When we think of Darwin and birds, we immediately think of the finches that have been named after him.\u00a0 However, Darwin didn&#8217;t immediately recognise their importance, and didn&#8217;t record on which island he collected which finches he sent back to London.\u00a0 John Gould of the British Museum identified them as finches a fact Darwin acknowledged in the Origin of Species, as he did in other places, that he had not been as careful as he might be in recording the specimens&#8217; origins.\u00a0 We will come to the finches in a post tomorrow.\u00a0 They are devilishly difficult to identify, I think that I have 5 species ID&#8217;d now, but I am happy to be corrected.<\/p>\n<p>The birds that Darwin seemed to comment on, more excitedly, were the mocking birds, and I can see why.\u00a0 They are noisy, nosey and have a lot of &#8216;personality&#8217;.\u00a0 There are 4 species spread over the islands, and I think that I have successfully separated the Santa Cruz species <em>Mimus parvuls<\/em>, from the San Cristobal species <em>Mimus melanotis:<\/em><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_310\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-310\" style=\"width: 220px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-310\" src=\"http:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/evolution21stcentury\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/224\/2017\/09\/fullsizeoutput_1f98-220x300.jpeg\" alt=\"'Jerry' the really noisey station mocking bird (M. parvulus) has a very dark cheek patch, dark cap and relatively 'long' beak, while......\" width=\"220\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/evolution21stcentury\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/224\/2017\/09\/fullsizeoutput_1f98-220x300.jpeg 220w, https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/evolution21stcentury\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/224\/2017\/09\/fullsizeoutput_1f98-751x1024.jpeg 751w, https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/evolution21stcentury\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/224\/2017\/09\/fullsizeoutput_1f98.jpeg 761w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 220px) 100vw, 220px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-310\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">&#8216;Jerry&#8217; the really noisey station mocking bird (M. parvulus) has a very dark cheek patch, dark cap and relatively &#8216;long&#8217; beak, while&#8230;&#8230;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_340\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-340\" style=\"width: 164px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-340\" src=\"http:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/evolution21stcentury\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/224\/2017\/09\/fullsizeoutput_1f71-164x300.jpeg\" alt=\"Mimus melanotis, the San Cristobal mocking bird, has a lighter cheek patch, light cap, and plumage and the beak is shorter as well\" width=\"164\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/evolution21stcentury\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/224\/2017\/09\/fullsizeoutput_1f71-164x300.jpeg 164w, https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/evolution21stcentury\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/224\/2017\/09\/fullsizeoutput_1f71-768x1402.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/evolution21stcentury\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/224\/2017\/09\/fullsizeoutput_1f71-561x1024.jpeg 561w, https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/evolution21stcentury\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/224\/2017\/09\/fullsizeoutput_1f71.jpeg 865w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 164px) 100vw, 164px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-340\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mimus melanotis, the San Cristobal mocking bird, has a lighter cheek patch, light cap and plumage (although\u00a0 it seems to have a\u00a0 speckled tank top on, missing in M. parvulus), and the beak is shorter as well<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The mocking birds really are very boisterous, and are excellent mimics.\u00a0 The have even learned to mimick the call of the recently introduced smooth-billed ani (<em>Crotophaga ani<\/em>).<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_287\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-287\" style=\"width: 260px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-287 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/evolution21stcentury\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/224\/2017\/09\/fullsizeoutput_1f38-260x300.jpeg\" alt=\"fullsizeoutput_1f38\" width=\"260\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/evolution21stcentury\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/224\/2017\/09\/fullsizeoutput_1f38-260x300.jpeg 260w, https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/evolution21stcentury\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/224\/2017\/09\/fullsizeoutput_1f38-768x887.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/evolution21stcentury\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/224\/2017\/09\/fullsizeoutput_1f38-887x1024.jpeg 887w, https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/evolution21stcentury\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/224\/2017\/09\/fullsizeoutput_1f38.jpeg 1030w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 260px) 100vw, 260px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-287\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Introduced as a means of biological control of ticks in cattle&#8230;.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_286\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-286\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-286 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/evolution21stcentury\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/224\/2017\/09\/fullsizeoutput_1f37-300x196.jpeg\" alt=\"fullsizeoutput_1f37\" width=\"300\" height=\"196\" srcset=\"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/evolution21stcentury\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/224\/2017\/09\/fullsizeoutput_1f37-300x196.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/evolution21stcentury\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/224\/2017\/09\/fullsizeoutput_1f37-768x503.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/evolution21stcentury\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/224\/2017\/09\/fullsizeoutput_1f37.jpeg 1023w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-286\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">&#8230;&#8230;the Smooth-billed Ani eats locusts, crickets and grasshoppers (according to Fitter, et al 2016).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_284\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-284\" style=\"width: 252px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-284 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/evolution21stcentury\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/224\/2017\/09\/fullsizeoutput_1f34-252x300.jpeg\" alt=\"fullsizeoutput_1f34\" width=\"252\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/evolution21stcentury\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/224\/2017\/09\/fullsizeoutput_1f34-252x300.jpeg 252w, https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/evolution21stcentury\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/224\/2017\/09\/fullsizeoutput_1f34-768x913.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/evolution21stcentury\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/224\/2017\/09\/fullsizeoutput_1f34.jpeg 845w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 252px) 100vw, 252px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-284\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Although it has not been conclusively shown, it is feared that the Ani might also supplement its diet with nestlings of other endemic species, such as finches. Sightings outside of San Cristobel, Santa Cruz, Floreana, Isabela, Santiago, Santa Fe and Pinzon should be reported to the Galapagos National Park.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The mockingbird will eat all sorts of things from invertebrates and small vertebrates and even sealion placenta (Fitter, Fitter and Hosking, 2016, Wildlife of the Galapagos).\u00a0 Jerry likes to have a varied diet, and here he has decided to make a ghecko into his lunch&#8230;..<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_307\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-307\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-307\" src=\"http:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/evolution21stcentury\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/224\/2017\/09\/fullsizeoutput_1f9c-300x177.jpeg\" alt=\"Poor ghecko.\" width=\"300\" height=\"177\" srcset=\"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/evolution21stcentury\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/224\/2017\/09\/fullsizeoutput_1f9c-300x177.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/evolution21stcentury\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/224\/2017\/09\/fullsizeoutput_1f9c-768x454.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/evolution21stcentury\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/224\/2017\/09\/fullsizeoutput_1f9c-1024x606.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/evolution21stcentury\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/224\/2017\/09\/fullsizeoutput_1f9c.jpeg 2039w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-307\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Poor ghecko. Jerry&#8217;s long beak was put to effective use!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hello everyone, Sorry, I have been away for a few days without internet.\u00a0 On Tuesday (19th) we went to Isabela,[&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2529,"featured_media":307,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[7],"tags":[8,15],"class_list":["post-302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wildlife","tag-finches","tag-mocking-birds"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - 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