—Encroachment of woody plants is widespread in semiarid grasslands of the southwestern United States. Wildlife responses to shrub removal techniques in the region are relatively unknown. In 2008 and 2009, we examined avian responses to prescribed burning of ungrazed shortgrass prairie within a study area (4811 ha) near Amarillo, Texas, that is heavily encroached by honey mesquite (Prosopis glan...

European Starlings ( Sturnus vulgaris ) were introduced to New York City in 1890 and have since become one of North America’s most common species. Starlings are aggressive competitors and commonly usurp cavities of other hole-nesting species. These characters make it a clear choice for a species whose invasion is likely to have significantly affected native cavity-nesting birds. Using Christmas...

Os fungos coprófilos representam um grupo especializado ecologicamente que estão associados a esterco de animais, especialmente os herbívoros, todavia existe alguns registros em aves e invertebrados, podendo também estar associado solos contaminados por fezes (Krug et al., 2004).

Between 1995 and 1997, we studied breeding birds in fragments of native tallgrass prairie in southwestern Missouri to determine the effect of habitat fragmentation on grassland bird populations. Data on density and nesting success collected in 13 prairie fragments of various sizes revealed three levels of area sensitivity. The most area-sensitive species, Greater Prairie-Chicken ( Tympanuchus c...

Classically, the mitochondrial genome is sequenced by a series of amplicons using conserved PCR primers. Here we show how shot-gun transcriptome sequencing can be used to obtain the complete set of protein-coding genes from the mtDNA of four passerine bird species. With these sequences, we address the still unresolved basal Passerida relationships (Aves: Passeriformes). Our analysis suggests a ...

In the present paper we analyze the phylogenetic position of the derived Gondwanan theropod clade Unenlagiidae. Although this group has been frequently considered as deeply nested within Deinonychosauria and Dromaeosauridae, most of the features supporting this interpretation are conflictive, at least. Modification of integrative databases, such as that recently published by Hu et al. (2009), p...

The Yellow Wagtail, Motacilla flava Linnaeus, Motacillidae (Passeriformes : Aves) is a slender 15 16 cm long bird that inhabits open country near water such as wet meadows. Cytological investigation depicted the diploid chromosome count between 78 and 85 with 80 as modal value. No structural uncertainty was observed between macroand microchromosomes. Z W were fourth in order of size, both sub-m...

Miocoracias chenevali, nov. gen., nov. spec., a new genus and species of roller (Aves: Coraciiformes s. s.: Coraciidae) is described from the Early Miocene of Saint-Gérand-le-Puy. This family had not yet been reported from the rich fossil avifauna of this area. Although the material is fragmentary it shows morphological characteristics different from those of the extinct family Geranopteridae, ...