Invasive Birds of Texas - Houston Museum Of Natural Science

Patterns and Trends of
Invasive Birds of Texas
Daniel Brooks, Ph.D.
Houston Museum of Natural Science
What the heck is this +#~*%??
Questionnaire
 What species?
 Your name and e-mail (or other contact info.)
 Where you saw it?
 When you saw it?
 What was the habitat?
 Describe “architecture” where bird was observed
 How large was the flock?
 What was the bird(s) behavior?
 Did you observe any breeding behavior?
 What was your observation time?
Kindly e-mail observations to: dbrooks@hmns.org
Marketing
 List-servs (TEXBIRDS, OG, Texas Ornithology)
 Data sheets at birding festivals / Meetings
 Newsletters and Meeting announcements:
OG, TOS and Audubon (Houston & Austin)
 Houston Chronicle / Gary Clarke
 HMNS Board Meetings
Marketing
Reports (June 2008 - current)
Red-vented bulbul ~ 195 Scaly-breasted Munia ~ 885
Monk parakeett ~ 8000 Orange bishop ~ 90
Egyptian goose ~ 170
Mute swan ~ 35
Most reports
 Bernice Hotman: 155 munia reports
 Jack Hart: 60 bulbul reports
 Dan Brooks: 40 goose reports
Most diverse site
Bear Creek Park – Greg Page
 Scaly-breasted munia
 Bronze mannakin
 Orange bishop
 Orange-cheeked waxbill
 Pin-tailed whydah
 Zebra finch
Non-targeted species:
Larger species of birds
 Emu
 Gamebirds
 Golden pheasant
 Indian peafowl
 Waterfowl
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Black swan
Bar-headed goose
Ruddy shelduck
Common shelduck
Red-crested pochard
 Diamond dove
 Kookaburra
Non-targeted species:
Cage and song birds
 Numerous parrots
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
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

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

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Red-masked parakeet
Blue-fronted parakeet
Black-fronted parakeet
Little corella
Cockatiel
Budgerigar
Rose-ringed parakeet
Rosy-faced lovebird
Red-whiskered bulbul
Bananaquit
Asian glossy starling
Finches



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Magpie manikin
Silverbill
Black-rumped waxbill
Brimstone canary
Pix are valuable support data
Habitat association
Foraging behavior
Interspecific associations
Social behavior
Seasonal reproduction
Nest structure
Scaly-breasted Munia
Data reported June 2008 – February 2015
 Nearly 900 reports from 214 individuals
 Most are single reports, but some submitted >150
 several reported seeing munias up to 7 yr prior
Red-vented Bulbul
Data reported June 2008 – May 2012
 151 reports from 60 individuals
 Most are single reports, but some submitted up to 60
 several reported seeing bulbuls up to 7 yr prior
Activity patterns
 Foraging / Feeding = 43%
 Perching / Resting = 15%
 Calling = 7%
 Other = 35%
Activity patterns
 Foraging / Feeding = 34%
 Perching / Resting = 21%
 Calling = 14%
 Other = 31%
Habitat association
 Majority (N = 470) in urban areas
 e.g., Backyards with birdfeeders, gardens
 About 1/3 (N = 282) in preserves
 Kleb Woods Nature Preserve (n = 190)
 Addicks Reservoir/Bear Creek Park (n = 74)
 Arthur Storey Park (n = 10)
 various reservoirs, drainage basins (n = 8)
Habitat association
All found in urban areas
96% (N = 76) of reports - bulbuls use
residential areas
4% (n = 3) - used small fragments of 2o
growth w/in mosaic of urban park along
White Oak Bayou
Perch type
 Perched in 25 sp. of plants
 Most frequently used Oak trees and Crepe myrtle
 15 species native to our region
 6 exotics from munia’s native range
 4 exotics from outside native range
 Mean perch height = 2.86 m (r = 0.3-7.6, N = 18)
 More perch low in trees (<5 m, n = 21) than high (>5 m, n = 6)

Perched on 3 different types of abiotic structures
 Most frequently perched on feeders
 Mean perch height = 1.14 m (r = 0.03-1.8, N = 38)
Perch type
 Perched in 37 sp. of plants
 Most frequently used Bamboo, Crepe myrtle, Fig and Tallow
 16 species native to our region
 15 exotics from bulbul’s native range
 5 exotics from outside native range
 Mean perch height = 6.5 m (r = 1.7-14.5, N = 19)
 Perched on 10 different types of abiotic structures
 Most frequently perched on utility lines and water
baths/fountains
 Mean perch height = 3.2 m (r = 1.2-7.3, N = 21)
Adult : Juvenile ratio
100%
90%
Percent of adults and juveniles
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
Jun
Month
Aug
Sept
Oct
Nov
Dec
Monthly flock size
Mean
Median
Jan
9
Dec
Feb
8
7
6
5
Nov
Mar
4
3
2
1
Oct
Apr
0
Sep
May
Aug
Jun
Jul
Months
Dec
20
Nov
25
Oct
Sep
Aug
July
June
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
Mean and Max
Monthly flock size
Mean
Max
15
10
5
0
Mega-flocks (>50)
March 2011 – February 2013
 100-150 in apartment courtyard in SW Houston
 2 with yellow bands – year-round residents
 Many HOSPs; tried controlling - only possible with cat
February 2011-2013
 50-70 in well-planted yard in NW Houston
 No aggression - BUDG, MODO, WWDO, NOCA, HOSP, BLJA
August 2008–2011
 > 2000 in large grassy field in Stafford
 Many small flocks of < 25 juveniles and adults
accumulated throughout the day, dispersed at night
State Distribution
Local Distribution
Addicks Reservoir/
Bear Creek Park
Local
Distribution
Distribution
Cullinan Park
Distribution