Hi all,



I am writing to see if anyone has or knows about nests of Ruby-throated
Hummingbirds and/or Blue-gray Gnatcatcher that are in collections, private
or otherwise. And if so, if it would be possible for me to borrow the
nest(s).



I am working with Ray Showman, who is an expert on lichens, to document the
species composition of lichens that these two bird species use in the
construction of their nests. Nests with some location data are best - even
to the county level - but we would like to examine nests that lack any sort
of collection information, too. We're most interested in Ohio nests, but
would like to inspect any nests we can get our hands on. Nest collections,
at least of these two species, seem to be fairly sparse in academic
collections, thus our attempt to cast a broader net.



As you may or may not know, hummingbirds and gnatcatchers shingle the
exterior of their nests with lichens, and bind the affair together with
spider silk. Amazing construction jobs, really; I couldn't build one of
those things with training from Martha Stewart and a doubling of my hand-eye
coordination.



Lichens are organisms created by the symbiotic pairing of a fungus and an
alga, and form those interesting scaly crusts that we see on tree bark and
rocks. They are among the most sensitive easily observed organisms in
regards to air quality; lichens disappear rapidly if pollution becomes too
oppressive. These birds clearly use them in part for camouflage, as lichens
make their tiny cup nests look much like a bump on a branch, but lichens
have some interesting chemical properties that may come into play.



Anyway, if you can put me onto some nests it would be highly appreciated. We
don't have to significantly alter the nests to study them, so I can return
them after the study. If you have any leads, please contact me privately at
this e-mail address. Thanks!



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






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