Birdlife of Houston, Galveston, and the Upper Texas Coast

Cover

Download PDF (17.0 MB)
 

Title Page, Copyright

Download PDF (1.1 MB)
 

Contents

Download PDF (63.8 KB)
 

Foreword

Download PDF (32.8 KB)
pp. vii-viii

At the age of eight, when I became interested in birds and nature, I was living near downtown Houston. I soon met consummate naturalists such as Joe Heiser and Armand Yramategui. They became my mentors. Over the next thirty years I spent many happy days in the field on the Upper Texas Coast, and I have ...

Preface

Download PDF (39.9 KB)
pp. ix-x

Birders have access to many excellent field guides that assist with bird identification. Because of their broad audience and short species accounts, such guides are generally limited to a few illustrations, identification tips, and brief statements concerning the bird's biology and range. As most birders' interests ...

Acknowledgments

Download PDF (49.7 KB)
pp. xi-xii

Ted Eubanks would like to thank his parents,Ted and Mary, for providing the spark, and his wife, Virginia, for allowing the spark to glow for so many years. Bob Behrstock is grateful to his parents Jerome and Salli for encouraging his natural history pursuits from early childhood. He also recognizes Ben and...

History

Download PDF (46.3 KB)
pp. 1-3

John James Audubon, the fountainhead from whom so much of America's ornithological knowledge flows, visited the Upper Texas Coast (UTC) in 1837. A fledgling republic but a year old, Texas seduced Audubon not only with its promise of wildlife yet unnamed (he did find a new species of rattlesnake) but ...

Geology, Climate, and Habitats

Download PDF (746.8 KB)
pp. 4-15

The Upper Texas Coast exists as a discrete entity only in a geopolitical sense, extending from the Sabine River at the Texas-Louisiana border south to the western edge of Brazoria County. As we define it, the region comprises seven counties: Jefferson, Chambers, Galveston, Harris, Waller, Brazoria, and Fort Bend. The ...

Diversity

Download PDF (47.8 KB)
pp. 16-17

Because of the UTC's geological heritage, it lacks many substrate types and elevational features that are known for their special bird assemblages - there are no talus slopes, mesas, volcanic islands, on- or off-shore nesting cliffs, brushy slopes, or rain-shadow deserts. The UTC's latitude precludes rain forest, tundra, ...

Nesting and Migration

Download PDF (85.0 KB)
pp. 18-27

The eradication of bottomland hardwood forests has doubtless diminished the breeding populations of many Neotropical migrants. Deep forest birds such as Wood Thrush, Red-eyed Vireo, Hooded Warbler, and Summer Tanager have declined in numbers proportionate to the loss of mature bottomland forests....

Exotic and Detrimental Species

Download PDF (31.0 KB)
p. 28-28

A factor in the decrease of locally nesting Neotropical birds is the introduction of exotic species. Such birds compete for resources such as food and nest sites and may spread avian diseases. The well-known European Starling has effectively displaced many native cavity-nesting birds. In much of the country, starlings ...

Hazards for Birds

Download PDF (52.0 KB)
pp. 29-31

The greatest negative influence upon the UTC's native ecology has been explosive human population growth that began in the mid-1800s. Table 6 dramatically illustrates population change that occurred on the UTC during a single century. ...

Format of the Species Accounts

Download PDF (40.8 KB)
pp. 32-33

Common and scientific names and the order of the species accounts conform to the seventh edition of the A.O.U. Check-list of North American Birds (American Ornithologists' Union 1998) and recent supplements (Banks et al.2002,2004). One exception is the White-chinned Petrel, which occurs in the main body ...

Abbreviations Used in the Text [Contains Color Plates]

Download PDF (43.4 MB)
p. 34-34

Species Accounts

Download PDF (1.3 MB)
pp. 35-268

Forty-two species of ducks, geese, and swans have occurred on the UTC's many marine and aquatic habitats, ranking these birds as one of the region's best-represented groups. Although waterfowl are diverse and plentiful during much of the year, only a few are permanent residents. The balance visit from the prairie ...

Appendix 1. Birding and Environmental Organizations on the Upper Texas Coast

Download PDF (21.7 KB)
p. 269-269

Appendix 2. Plants Mentioned in the Text

Download PDF (43.0 KB)
pp. 270-272

Bibliography

Download PDF (75.5 KB)
pp. 273-278

Index

Download PDF (107.9 KB)
pp. 279-287