Hi all,

I wanted to tip everyone to a fascinating paper that was published recently
in the Wilson Journal of Ornithology, by three Ohio researchers: Cheryl
Dykstra, Jeff Hays, and Melinda Simon. They have been studying nesting
Red-shouldered Hawks in southern Ohio for years, and have discovered some
fascinating relationships between these beautiful raptors and certain types
of foliage, most notably black cherry. The leaves of this tree are loaded
with toxins, and the hawks use it to adorn their nests, apparently as a
natural insecticide.

The paper is a short but good read, and is a wonderful bit of research into
the relationships between animals and plants. I suspect that few readers of
this list subscribe to the Wilson Journal, so if you would like to have a
look at the paper, I've posted it to my blog:
http://jimmccormac.blogspot.com/

Jim



Jim McCormac

Columbus, Ohio

Like nature? Visit my blog: http://jimmccormac.blogspot.com/

Like birds? Join the Ohio Ornithological Society: http://www.ohiobirds.org






______________________________________________________________________

Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/.

You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]