[Seminar] Colloquia 3/22/2011

[Amy Barnes]

Dept. of Physics & Astronomy
Lewis Hall Rm 101
Tuesday, Mar 22nd @ 4:00 p.m.
Refreshments 3:45 p.m.

Michael D. Collins

Flight Mechanics and Putative Audio Recordings of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker

Independent groups of ornithologists have recently reported sightings in Arkansas and Florida of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, which had been feared extinct since the 1940s. There were many unconfirmed reports over the years, including a pair in the Pearl River along the Louisiana-Mississippi border in 1999. This talk will present data obtained in the Pearl River that reveal interesting new facts about the flight mechanics of this species. Based on historical accounts, this species was expected to have a duck-like flap style, in which the wings remain extended throughout the flap cycle. A video of a bird that was identified in the field as an Ivory-billed Woodpecker shows a radically different flap style, in which the wings are folded closed against the body in the middle of the upstroke, but an overlooked clue in a historical photo supports the hypothesis that there had been a misconception about the flap style. High-pitched calls that were recorded during one of the encounters seem to be consistent with an alarm call that is described in the literature but was never recorded. An apparent double knock, which is characteristic of the Campephilus genus, was recorded in one of the videos. The talk will discuss the data, the observations, and the fieldwork, including the approach of keeping watch from exceptionally tall trees for Ivory-billed Woodpeckers flying over the treetops in the distance (this approach worked, but not as expected).


ALL GRADUATE STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO ATTEND


Amy Barnes
Administrative Secretary
Dept. of Physics & Astronomy
108 Lewis Hall
University, MS 38677

Office: 662-915-7046
Fax: 662-915-5045