Carnegie Museum of Natural History

One of the Four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh

avian research

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Bugs on Bugs on Bugs…on Birds

Big fleas have little fleas

Upon their backs to bite ‘em;

And little fleas have lesser fleas

And so, ad infinitum.

-Ogden Nash

Flat flies, louse flies, keds. The distinctive members of the fly family Hippoboscidae go by many names. All are obligate blood feeders found on mammals or birds and have a flattened body shape suitable for sliding in between the feathers and fur of their hosts. Their life history is as strange as their appearance, I assure you. While the vast majority of flies and other insects lay numerous eggs to reproduce, female hippoboscids prefer a more mammalian strategy. A single fertilized egg hatches within the female, and the developing larva is nourished within the mother through specialized “milk” glands until it is fully grown. The hugely swollen female then gives birth to a mature larva which immediately pupates, and later emerges as a winged adult hungry for a blood meal.

Hippoboscids are frequently encountered at the banding station at Powdermill Nature Reserve. Last year, most of the birds that were processed here were checked for these parasites, which were collected. Not much is known about these flies on songbirds as most of the research conducted deals with raptors. While identifying the flies under a microscope, we discovered these flies were often carrying some smaller bugs with them on their abdomens. These hitchhikers were bird lice and avian skin mites (see photos).

fly with white circle drawn around bird lice on abdomen
Dorsal view of a hippoboscid fly with several bird lice hitching a ride on its abdomen.

 

fly with white circle drawn around mites
Ventral view of a hippoboscid fly carrying several female avian skin mites (Epidermoptidae), each surrounded by a cluster of white eggs.

Both of these small parasites are wingless and poor dispersers, but can conveniently get from bird to bird by riding on the hippoboscid flies, a strategy called phoresy. In the case of the skin mites, the females actually require a hippoboscid to reproduce. They attach themselves to the body of the fly and lay their eggs all around them in a clump. To add to the craziness, sometimes the mites attach to the lice which attach to the fly, which you find on birds. So there you have it. Bugs on bugs on bugs… on birds!

Andrea Kautz is a Research Entomologist at Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Powdermill Nature Reserve. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

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Adult Flycatcher

Adult Flycatcher

This adult Flycatcher undergoes the pre-basic molt of the wintering grounds. These adults can be readily identified by their white bars and wear on the feather tips.

Powdermill Nature Reserve’s avian research center is part of Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s biological research station in Rector, Pennsylvania.  The research center operates a bird banding station, conducts bioacoustical research, and performs flight tunnel analysis with the goal of reducing window collisions.

 

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Acadian Flycatcher

acadian flycatcher

This Flycatcher has a pale yellow mouth lining.

Powdermill Nature Reserve’s avian research center is part of Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s biological research station in Rector, Pennsylvania.  The research center operates a bird banding station, conducts bioacoustical research, and performs flight tunnel analysis with the goal of reducing window collisions.

 

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Comparing Pictures to Mounts

ruby throated hummingbird
The Ruby-throated hummingbird, which has iridescent, fuchsia feathers on its neck, a dark green head, and a long black beak.

Each week, staff at Powdermill Nature Reserve staff posts stunning,
high-resolution photos of birds that land in their nets on their Facebook page.

The photos show detailed characteristics of local birds, like the
subtle coloring of a Common Yellowthroat or the sharp beak of a Pine
Siskin, that are hard to see as they fly above.

Powdermill is Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s environmental
research center in Rector Pa, where thousands of birds are identified, banded,
and released each year. As they band, research staffers often snap pictures
that highlight the huge variety of different birds flying through Western
Pennsylvania’s skies.

One favorite is the Ruby-throated hummingbird, which has
iridescent, fuchsia feathers on its neck that abut a dark green heads and long
black beak.

Comparing the Powdermill pictures to Bird Hall in the museum
is an interesting exercise. For example, Powdermill’s high resolution pictures let
you appreciate each and every line of the hummingbird’s bright feathers. But in
the museum, to see a taxidermy mount of a ruby throated humming bird
helps you grasp the miniscule size of these little birds that don’t often grow
larger than 3.5 inches.

Powdermill’s pictures and Bird Halls specimens work
in tandem to encourage us to pause and consider tiny players in our huge
local ecosystem, helping us all foster a little more appreciation for the
natural world.

taxidermied birds
Specimens on display in Bird Hall at Carnegie Museum of Natural History

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Fall Bird Banding at Powdermill

bird banding at Powdermill Nature Reserve

Fall is an exciting and busy time for our avian researchers at Powdermill Nature Reserve, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s environmental research center in Rector Pennsylvania.

As birds migrate south, thousands fly through Powdermill, where they are identified, banded, and studied before they continue their long journey to their winter nesting grounds.

Researchers band anything from worm-eating Warblers to brightly colored purple finches in their nets each year.

This fall alone, more than 4,000 birds representing 150+ species have been studied and banded since September. Researchers catch the birds in specially designed mist nets that are cast each morning before dawn. Caught birds are carefully transported to a banding station, where they are identified, measured, and given a small band issued through the US Geological Survey.  Bands provide information for other researchers and don’t affect the birds flight, nesting, or eating habits.

Above all else, the well being of every bird is Powdermill’s top priority at all times. The entire banding process takes less than a minute, and the vast majority of birds are actually quite calm during their short visit at the banding station.

But why band birds at all?

The fundamental goal of bird banding has always been to record the age, sex, wing length, fat deposits, and body mass of captured species as a way of monitoring, year to year, how avian populations are faring in the wild.

Banding gives us insight into many things like the life cycles and longevity of birds, habitat use, and how disease and environmental toxins are affecting wild bird populations.

Want to learn more? You can see monthly and annual banding summaries online or follow Powdermill Nature Reserve on Facebook for weekly updates and stunning pictures.