Birds

Frank B. Gill, Ornithology, 3^rd ed. (New York: W. H. Freeman, 2006)

Noble S. Proctor and Patrick J. Lynch, Manual of Ornithology: Avian Structure & Function (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1993)

Cornell Lab of Ornithology http://www.allaboutbirds.org/Page.aspx?pid=1189

Gary Ritchison, Department of Biological Sciences, Eastern Kentucky University, Avian Biology http://people.eku.edu/ritchisong/avian_biology.htm

Birding.com http://www.birding.com/basics.asp (among other things, site includes a page with terminology and diagrams of parts of a bird): http://www.birding.com/bird_identification.asp

The Birds of North America Online (requires paid subscription) http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna

American Ornithologists’ Union Check-list of North American Birds http://www.aou.org/checklist/north/print.php

Searchable Ornithological Research Archive (SORA, gateway to free articles in academic journals) http://sora.unm.edu/

Scott Weidensaul, Living on the Wind: Across the Hemisphere with Migratory Birds (New York: North Point Press, 1999)

Links http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Environment/NHR/bird.html

 

Raptors

Scott Weidensaul, Raptors: The Birds of Prey: An Almanac of Hawks, Eagles, and Falcons of the World (New York: Lyons & Burford, 1996)

Nick Fox, Understanding the Bird of Prey (Blaine, WA and Surrey, BC: Hancock House Publishers, 1995)

Raptor Flipbook http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/id/recreation/sites/menan_butte/raptors.Par.72847.File.dat/RaptorFlipbook_e.pdf

Raptor Research Foundation http://www.raptorresearchfoundation.org/

Brian K. Wheeler, William S. Clark, and Pete Dunne, Photographic Guide to North American Raptors

Raptor Facts http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/id/special_areas/birds_of_prey_nca.Par.34069.File.dat/raptorfacts.pdf

Arizona Wildlife Raptors http://www.azgfd.gov/i_e/ee/resources/books/raptor_booklet.pdf

Hawk Migration Association of North America http://www.hmana.org/

Journey North Hawk Watchers’ Primer http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/HawkPrimer.html

Clay Sutton, Pete Dunne, and David Allen Sibley, Hawks in Flight: The Flight Identification of North American Migrant Raptors

HawkCount http://www.hawkcount.org/index.php

Jerry Liguori, with a Foreword by Pete Dunne, Hawks at a Distance: Identification of Migrant Raptors (Princeton University Press, 2011)

Pete Dunne, David Sibley, and Clay Sutton, Hawks in Flight: The Flight Identification of North American Raptors, 2^nd ed. (Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012)

The North American Banders’ Manual for Raptor Banding Techniques (North American Banding Council, 2001) http://avescr.org/Descargas/NABC/English/Raptor_Manual.PDF

 

 

Bald Eagles

Jon M. Gerrard and Gary R. Bortolotti, The Bald Eagle: Haunts and Habits of a Wilderness Monarch (Washington and London: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1988)

Scott Nielsen, A Season With Eagles (Stillwater, MN: Voyageur Press, 1991)

Alan E. Hutchinson with Photography by Bill Silliker, Jr., Just Eagles (Minocqua, WI: Willow Creek Press, 2000)

Journey North: Bald Eagle http://www.learner.org/jnorth/eagle/

American Eagle Foundation: The American Bald Eagle http://earthwww.americaneaglefoundation.com/vu-study/biology.php

Center for Conservation Biology (Virginia) http://www.ccbbirds.org/what-we-do/research/species-of-concern/virginia-eagles/

Center for Biological Diversity, Bald Eagle Population in 2007 http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/birds/bald_eagle/report/index.html

 

Anatomy

Avian internal anatomy http://www.life.illinois.edu/ib/461/Internal_Anatomy.pdf

Avian external anatomy http://www.life.illinois.edu/ib/461/External_Anatomy.pdf

Feet, beaks, eyes, wings http://www.dvrconline.org/raptoradapt.html

Nictitating membrane http://featheredphotography.com/blog/2011/10/20/bald-eagle-nictitating-membrane/

Nictitating membrane video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVMwNstIllE

Feathers and feet (Bald Eagle, Golden Eagle, waterfowl, turkeys, vultures, other raptors) http://www.lab.fws.gov/pdfs/Trail.2003c.pdf

Human hand compared to Bald Eagle talons http://picasaweb.google.com/joyofretirement/May26EaglesFeasting#5611174067593818258 

Leg, toes, and talons gripping strength http://www.hawkquest.org/TA/XL/Gripping.pdf

Beak strength http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/gen11/gen11058.htm

Juvenile eagle tongue http://www.flickr.com/photos/critter1/4436679606

 

Photoperiodism

                  http://raptorresource.blogspot.com/2010/12/decorah-bald-eagles-many-animals.html

Effect of ambient temperature on reproduction http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2009/03/20/rspb.2009.0213.full.pdf

 

Courting, Mating, and Nesting

Journey North, Bald Eagles Nesting Phenology http://learner.org/jnorth/tm/eagle/NestingPhenology.html

 

Reproduction

Avian female reproductive system http://www2.ca.uky.edu/afspoultry-files/pubs/Anatomy_Female_reproductive.pdf

David Hancock, Mating and egg-laying http://www.hancockwildlife.org/article.php/EggsLaidAndDevelopment

 

Eggs and Hatching

Audubon, Decoding the egg http://archive.audubonmagazine.org/truenature/truenature0509.html

                  The Incredible Egg http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww36eiv.htm

Norfolk Eagle Cam, Development of the egg http://eaglecam.tumblr.com/post/3168337097/a-second-egg

Avian embryonic development http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3i0Y4k_QvHc

Center for Conservation Biology, Eagle egg http://eaglenest.blogs.wm.edu/2010/02/26/what-is-in-those-eagle-eggs/

Center for Conservation Biology, Incubation (brood) patch http://eaglenest.blogs.wm.edu/2011/03/05/incubation-brood-patch/

Brood patch: http://cdnmo.coveritlive.com/media/image/201102/phpiRA5a7JRD320612010-04-30095650WVEC2.jpg

Laura Erickson: What is a brood patch? (video) http://lauraerickson.com/Radio/SoundFiles/Current/2012-April/BroodPatch/publish_to_web/index.html

Catalina Island, Two Harbors, Chick chirps inside egg before hatch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aolVeif394c

Egg tooth http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z328/Carolyne-12/Eggtooth-1.jpg

Center for Conservation Biology: Hatching http://eaglenest.blogs.wm.edu/2010/03/05/how-do-i-get-out-of-this-egg/

Condor egg hatching http://blog.sandiegozooglobal.org/2012/03/08/condors-big-day-approaching/

 

Nestlings

Precocial and altricial http://www.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Precocial_and_Altricial.html

Avian yolk sac scar (belly button) (partway down the page) http://www.birds.cornell.edu/Publications/Birdscope/Autumn2005/ask_anne.html

Bortolotti, Nestling Age and Sex http://www.usask.ca/biology/bortolotti/pubs/jfo-55-4-467-481.pdf

Center for Conservation Biology http://eaglenest.blogs.wm.edu/2011/04/30/bald-eagle-chick-development/

 

Feathers, Molting, Plumage

                  Nestling feathers http://www.houstonzooblogs.org/zoo/tag/pin-feathers/

Feather types, anatomy, growth, color, and molting http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=15+1829&aid=2776

The Modern Apprentice http://www.themodernapprentice.com/feathers.htm

Cornell Lab of Ornithology http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/studying/feathers/

Aging, Sexing, and Molt http://www.life.illinois.edu/ib/461/Molt_Anatomy.pdf

Wing feathers http://www.lab.fws.gov/idnotes/WingFeathers-prnt.pdf

Raptor flight feather molting http://www.aba.org/birding/v41n4p34.pdf

Uropygial (preen) gland http://eaglenest.blogs.wm.edu/2011/04/30/bald-eagle-chick-development/

 

Juveniles

Plummage and eye development http://www.swbemc.org/plummage.html

Progressive photos http://featheredphotography.com/blog/2013/01/27/a-guide-to-aging-bald-eagles/

Progressive photos http://www.onthewingphotography.com/wings/2011/02/16/bald-eagles-one-to-five-years-old/

 

Flight

                  Thermal Soaring http://www.aviationweather.ws/095_Thermal_Soaring.php

Thermals and soaring http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/nature/q0253.shtml

Soaring flight http://www.paulnoll.com/Oregon/Birds/flight-soaring-land.html

Catching a salmon http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hecXupPpE9o

 

Government

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: Bald Eagle http://www.fws.gov/midwest/eagle/index.html

Environmental Protection Agency: Bald Eagle http://www.epa.gov/region1/ge/thesite/restofriver/reports/final_era/B%20-%20Focus%20Species%20Profiles/EcoRiskProfile_bald_eagle.pdf

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: Bald Eagle Breeding Pairs 1990-2006 http://www.fws.gov/midwest/eagle/population/nos_state_tbl.html

Migratory Bird Treaty Act (1918) http://www.fws.gov/laws/lawsdigest/migtrea.html

Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (1940) http://www.fws.gov/midwest/midwestbird/EaglePermits/bagepa.html

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service National: Bald Eagle Management Guidelines http://www.fws.gov/northeast/EcologicalServices/pdf/NationalBaldEagleManagementGuidelines.pdf

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: Eagle Permits http://www.fws.gov/midwest/midwestbird/EaglePermits/index.html

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: Bald Eagle Sensitivity to Human Activity http://www.fws.gov/midwest/eagle/conservation/baea_nhstry_snstvty.html

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: Conservation Measures to Benefit Bald Eagles http://www.fws.gov/midwest/eagle/conservation/baea-moreconserve.html

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: Possession of Eagle Feathers and Parts http://www.fws.gov/le/pdf/PossessionOfEagleFeathersFactSheet.pdf

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: National Eagle Repository http://www.fws.gov/le/national-eagle-repository.html

 

Environment, Conservation, and Threats to Raptors

Rachel Carson, Silent Spring (originally published 1962; fortieth anniversary edition with Introduction by Linda Lear and Afterword by Edward O Wilson, Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2002)

Center for Biological Diversity http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/

American Bird Conservancy http://www.abcbirds.org/

North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI) http://www.nabci-us.org/main2.html

Animal Diversity Web http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/about/

International Union for Conservation of Nature: Priceless or Worthless? The World’s Most Threatened Species (2012) http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/44234ae6#/44234ae6/1

North American Nature Photography Association: Principles of Ethical Field Practices http://www.nanpa.org/docs/NANPA-Ethical-Practices.pdf

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: Bird Hazards http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/CurrentBirdIssues/Hazards/BirdHazards.html

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: Avian Interactions with Power Lines http://nmavianprotection.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/APLIC_2hour_shortcourse.pdf

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: Suggested Practices for Avian Protection On Power Lines http://www.dodpif.org/downloads/APLIC_2006_SuggestedPractices.pdf

Power line dangers http://www.themodernapprentice.com/electrocution.htm

Avian Protection Plan Guidelines (power lines) http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/CurrentBirdIssues/Hazards/APP/AVIAN%20PROTECTION%20PLAN%20FINAL%204%2019%2005.pdf

Cornell Lab of Ornithology: Get the Lead Out http://www.birds.cornell.edu/page.aspx?pid=1508

Journey North: Get the Lead Out http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/eagle/GetTheLeadOut.html#1

Lead is Poison Coalition http://www.dodpif.org/downloads/APLIC_2006_SuggestedPractices.pdf

American Bird Conservancy Policy Statement on Wind Energy http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/policy/collisions/wind_policy.html