Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Lunar Mountain Mons Huygens Honors Dutch Astronomer Christiaan Huygens


Summary: Lunar mountain Mons Huygens honors Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens, also memorialized by the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft.


Late 18th-century German astronomer Johann Hieronymus Schröter depicted the mountain mass that he named Huygens after Dutch Golden Age astronomer Christiaan Huygens in his study of lunar topography, Selenotopographische Fragmente (Selenographic Fragments), published in 1791: Public Domain, via e-rara.ch ETH Bibliothek Zürich

J. Herschel Crater parents five outlying satellites on Mare Frigoris (Sea of Cold) as a north polar crater system of 10 satellites in the lunar near side’s northwest quadrant.
Lunar mountain Mons Huygens honors Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens, also memorialized by the Cassini-Huygens space-research mission launched collaboratively Oct. 15, 1997, by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Italian Space Agency (ASI).
Mons Huygens is centered at 19.92 degrees north latitude, minus 2.86 degrees west longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The lunar mountain records northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 20.58 degrees north and 19.2 degrees north, respectively. It registers easternmost and westernmost longitudes of minus 2.44 degrees west and minus 3.32 degrees west, respectively. Mons Huygens spans 41.97 kilometers.
The lunar mountain lies along the southeastern Mare Imbrium (Sea of Showers) in the lunar near side’s northwest quadrant. A ghost crater appears in the dark basaltic lava plain, “offshore” to the west of Mons Huygens. Mark Tillotson and Jim Mosher’s online The Moon-Wiki describes the ghost crater as having a diameter of 26 kilometers. Rim remnants of volcanic deposit-buried craters that extrude mare surfaces in circular wrinkle ridge-like patterns are known as ghost craters.
Victorian British selenographer Thomas Gwyn Elger (Oct. 27, 1836-Jan. 9, 1897) described Mount Huygens as a “. . . mountain mass projecting from the escarpment of the Apennines . . .” (page 157) in his lunar survey, The Moon: A Full Description and Map of Its Principal Physical Features, published in 1895. He also noted “. . . one peak rising to 18,000 feet above the Mare Imbrium.”
The north-south mountain mass rises as the tallest peak in Montes Apenninus. Montes Apenninus winds east-northeasterly, defining the southeastern border of Mare Imbrium (Sea of Showers) and ending at the western edge of Mare Serenitatis (Sea of Serenity). The rugged lunar mountain range is centered at 19.87 degrees north latitude, 0.03 degrees east longitude. The range’s northernmost and southernmost latitudes extend to 28.47 degrees north and 14.63 degrees north, respectively. The range’s easternmost and westernmost longitudes reach 7.34 degrees east and minus 10.21 degrees west, respectively. Montes Apenninus stretches 599.67 kilometers in length.
In his 1999-published lunar compendium, Mapping and Naming the Moon, British-born astronomer Ewen Adair Whitaker (June 22, 1922-Oct. 11, 2016) credited German astronomer Johann Hieronymus Schröter (Aug. 30, 1745-Aug. 29, 1816) with introducing the crater’s name (page 218). In his Selenotopographische Fragmente zur Genauern Kenntniss der Mondfläche (Selenographic Fragments for a More Detailed Knowledge of the Lunar Surface), published in 1791, Schröter stated that he was giving the name of Huygens to mountains in Montes Apenninus designated as M, N and P (“. . . die Gebirge M, N, P durch den Nahmen Huygens . . .” [section 170, page 244]).
Schröter included 43 plates of lunar features in his study of lunar topography. Huygens appears in two plates. Schröter marked Huygens’ placement in “Mont. Apennin.” along “Maris Imbrium” in Figure 2 (Mont. Apennin. Pars, Maris Imbrium Pars) and Figure 3 (Mont. Apennin. Pars) of Plate XIV (page 751). Spelled as Huyghens, the mountain appears in Figure 5 (Montes Reliqui) of Selenotopographische Fragmente’s last plate, Plate XLIII, Altitudo Montium Lunae (page 809).
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) officially approved Mons Huygens as the name of Montes Apenninus’ tallest mountain in 1961, during the organization’s XIth (11th) General Assembly, held Tuesday, Aug. 15, to Thursday, Aug. 24, in Berkeley, California. Mons Huygens honors 17th-century Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens (April 14, 1629-July 8, 1695). The Dutch Golden Age polymath’s groundbreaking contributions to invention and science include discovery of Saturnian moon Titan on March 25, 1655; invention of the pendulum clock in 1656; and discovery of Martian volcanic plain Syrtis Major and producing the first-known sketch of the Orion Nebula in 1659.
The IAU's Vth (5th) General Assembly approved Montes Apenninus as the name for Mons Huygens’ resident mountain range. Montes Apenninus namesakes peninsular Italy’s Apennine Mountains.
The takeaways for lunar mountain Mons Huygens, which honors Dutch Golden Age astronomer Christiaan Huygens, are that Mons Huygens lies on the southeastern edge of Mare Imbrium (Sea of Showers) and that the north-south mountain mass rises as the tallest peak in rugged mountain range Montes Apenninus.

Detail shows Mons Huygens (center right) in Montes Apenninus along southeastern border of Mare Imbrium (Sea of Showers) in lunar near side’s northwestern quadrant; ghost crater (center; left of Mons Huygens, right of Huxley Crater) is "offshore" in Mare Imbrium (Sea of Showers): LAC (Lunar Aeonautical Chart) 41: NASA / GSFC (Goddard Space Flight Center) / ASU (Arizona State University), Public Domain, via U.S. Geological Survey / Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature

Acknowledgment
My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:
Detail shows Mons Huygens (center right) in Montes Apenninus, along southeastern border of Mare Imbrium (Sea of Showers) in lunar near side’s northwestern quadrant; ghost crater (center; left [west] of Mons Huygens, right [east] of Huxley Crater) is “offshore” in Mare Imbrium; LAC (Lunar Aeonautical Chart) 41: NASA / GSFC (Goddard Space Flight Center) / ASU (Arizona State University), Public Domain, via U.S. Geological Survey / Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/images/Lunar/lac_41_wac.pdf
Late 18th-century German astronomer Johann Hieronymus Schröter depicted the mountain mass that he named Huygens after Dutch Golden Age astronomer Christiaan Huygens in his study of lunar topography, Selenotopographische Fragmente (Selenographic Fragments), published in 1791: Public Domain, via e-rara.ch ETH Bibliothek Zürich @ https://www.e-rara.ch/zut/wihibe/content/titleinfo/544831; via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_QqVOAAAAcAAJ/page/n786

For further information:
Consolmagno, Guy; and Dan M. Davis. Turn Left at Orion. Fourth edition. Cambridge UK; New York NY: Cambridge University Press, 2011.
Elger, Thomas Gwyn. “Mount Huygens.” The Moon: A Full Description and Map of Its Principal Physical Features: 157. London UK: George Philip & Son, 1895.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/moonfulldescript00elgerich/page/157
International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Mare Imbrium.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/3678
International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Mons Huygens.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/3987
International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Montes Apenninus.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon.
International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Target: The Moon.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > The Moon.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Page/MOON/target
Jenner, Lynn, ed. “Highest Point on the Moon.” NASA > Missions > Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) > Multimedia > LRO Images. Oct. 27, 2010. Last updated Nov. 1, 2010.
Available @ https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/multimedia/lroimages/lroc-20101027-highest.html
Levy, David H. Skywatching. Revised and updated. San Francisco CA: Fog City Press, 1994.
Marriner, Derdriu. “C. Herschel Crater Honors German-British Astronomer Caroline Herschel.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, March 16, 2011.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/03/c-herschel-crater-honors-german-british.html
Marriner, Derdriu. “J. Herschel Crater Honors British Astronomer John Herschel.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, March 2, 2011.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/03/j-herschel-crater-honors-british_2.html
Marriner, Derdriu. “J. Herschel Crater Parents Five Outlying Satellites on Mare Frigoris.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, March 23, 2011.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/03/j-herschel-crater-parents-five-outlying.html
Marriner, Derdriu. “Near Side Crater J. Herschel Parents Five Satellites Within Its Borders.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, March 9, 2011.
The Moon Wiki. “IAU Directions.” The Moon.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/IAU_directions
The Moon Wiki. “Mons Huygens.” The Moon > Special Features Lists > Mountains.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/Mons_Huygens
Moore, Patrick, Sir. Philip’s Atlas of the Universe. Revised edition. London UK: Philip’s, 2005.
Page, Lewis. “Highest Point on the Moon Found: Higher Than Mount Everest.” The Register > Science. Oct. 29, 2010.
Available @ https://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/10/29/highest_point_on_moon/
Sadler, D. (Donald) H., ed. XIth General Assembly Transactions of the IAU Vol. XI B Proceedings of the 11th General Assembly Berkeley CA, August 15-24, 1961. Oxford UK: Blackwell Scientific Publications, Jan. 1, 1962.
Available @ https://www.iau.org/publications/iau/transactions_b/
Schroeter, Johann Hieronymus. “§ 170.” Page 243-244 of 816. Selenotopographische Fragmente zur Genauern Kenntniss der Mondfläche, Ihrer Erlittenen Veränderungen und Atmosphäare, Saamt den Dazu Gehörigen Specialcharten und Zeichnungen. Mit 43 Kupfertafeln. Göttingen [Germany]: Joh. Georg Rosenbusch, 1791.
Available via e-rara.ch ETH-Bibliothek Zürich @ https://www.e-rara.ch/zut/wihibe/content/titleinfo/544831
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_QqVOAAAAcAAJ/page/n300
Available via Linda Hall Library Digital Collections @ http://lhldigital.lindahall.org/cdm/ref/collection/astro_atlas/id/12429
Schroeter, Johann Hieronymus. “Altitudo Montium Lunae T.XLIII.” Page 809 of 816. Selenotopographische Fragmente zur Genauern Kenntniss der Mondfläche, Ihrer Erlittenen Veränderungen und Atmosphäre, Saamt den Dazu Gehörigen Specialcharten und Zeichnungen. Mit 43 Kupfertafeln. Göttingen [Germany]: Joh. Georg Rosenbusch, 1791.
Available via e-rara.ch ETH-Bibliothek Zürich @ https://www.e-rara.ch/zut/wihibe/content/titleinfo/544831
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_QqVOAAAAcAAJ/page/n846
Available via Linda Hall Library Digital Collections @ http://lhldigital.lindahall.org/cdm/ref/collection/astro_atlas/id/12429
Schroeter, Johann Hieronymus. Selenotopographische Fragmente zur Genauern Kenntniss der Mondfläche, Ihrer Erlittenen Veränderungen und Atmosphäre, Saamt den Dazu Gehörigen Specialcharten und Zeichnungen. Mit 43 Kupfertafeln. Göttingen [Germany]: Joh. Georg Rosenbusch, 1791.
Available via e-rara.ch ETH-Bibliothek Zürich @ https://www.e-rara.ch/zut/wihibe/content/titleinfo/544831
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_QqVOAAAAcAAJ
Available via Linda Hall Library Digital Collections @ http://lhldigital.lindahall.org/cdm/ref/collection/astro_atlas/id/12429
Schroeter, Johann Hieronymus. “TXIV.” Page 751 of 816. Selenotopographische Fragmente zur Genauern Kenntniss der Mondfläche, Ihrer Erlittenen Veränderungen und Atmosphäre, Saamt den Dazu Gehörigen Specialcharten und Zeichnungen. Mit 43 Kupfertafeln. Göttingen [Germany]: Joh. Georg Rosenbusch, 1791.
Available via e-rara.ch ETH-Bibliothek Zürich @ https://www.e-rara.ch/zut/wihibe/content/titleinfo/544831
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_QqVOAAAAcAAJ/page/n786
Available via Linda Hall Library Digital Collections @ http://lhldigital.lindahall.org/cdm/ref/collection/astro_atlas/id/12429
Stratton, F.J.M. (Frederick John Marrian), ed. Vth General Assembly Transactions of the IAU Vol. V B Proceedings of the 5th General Assembly Paris France, July 10-17, 1935. Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press, Jan. 1, 1936.
Available @ https://www.iau.org/publications/iau/transactions_b/
Whitaker, Ewen A. (Adair). “Schröter’s New Names.” Page 218. Mapping and Naming the Moon: A History of Lunar Cartography and Nomenclature. Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press, 1999.


Sunday, March 27, 2011

American Northern Flicker Habitats: Brown Body, Cavity Nest, White Egg


Summary: North American northern flicker habitats from Canada through Mexico and Caribbean and Central America get brown bodies from white eggs in cavity nests.


northern flicker (Colaptes auratus) in Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge, Sweetwater County, southwestern Wyoming; June 7, 2006: Tom Koerner/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Public Domain, via USFWS National Digital Library

North American northern flicker habitats adjust to cultivation through Picidae family predatory wildlife associations with ants and to naturalism through distribution ranges from Canada southward through Mexico and Caribbean and Central America.
Northern flickers bear their common name from their call and their flashing white-spotted plumage and the scientific name Colaptes auratus from their wood-pecking and golden underwings. Ornithologists consider boreal, Cayman, collared, Cuban, Guadalupe, Guatemalan, Mexican and red-shafted subspecies subsequent to Carl Linnaeus's (May 23, 1707-Jan. 10, 1787) nominate Colaptes auratus auratus classification. Linnaeus's eastern-dwelling, yellow-shafted flickers from 1758 and Johann Gmelin's (Aug. 8, 1748-Nov. 1, 1804) western-dwelling red-shafted (Colaptes auratus cafer, pecking, golden infield) northerners from 1788 dominate.
Nine-year lifespans expect forest edges, open coniferous, deciduous, mature, mixed or second-growth forests, orchards, parklands, riparian woodlands, suburban backyards, tree-edged farmlands and tree-scattered fields and grasslands.

March through July facilitate brooding one three- to 14-egg clutch, followed by another if the first fails, up to 100 feet (30.48 meters) above the ground.
Parents-to-be gut 2- to 4-inch- (5.08- to 10.16-centimeter-) long, 3-inch- (7.62-centimeter-) wide entrances, with tunnels, in dead stubs, fence-posts, heart rot-weakened live trees and utility poles. They have woodchip-lined cavity nests within 10- to 36-inch (25.4- to 91.44-centimeter) by 7- to 8-inch (17.78- to 20.32-centimeter) tunnels habitable within 15 to 28 days. Day-shift mothers-to-be and night-shift fathers-to-be implement 11- to 13-day incubations of 0.75- to 1.42-inch (19- to 36-millimeter) by 0.63- to 1.29-inch (16- to 33-millimeter) white eggs.
Agricultural, golf-course and suburban pesticides, land clearances and predatory Cooper's hawks, feral goats, raccoons, sharp-shinned hawks, snakes, squirrels and starlings jeopardize North American northern flicker habitats.

Fathers-to-be keep elliptical, oval or subelliptical, glossy, smooth eggs warm and hatchlings with closed eyes, egg tooth-tipped bills and successively brown-orange, red and black skin fed.
Nestlings lack feather quills for six days, learn to see with unsealed eyes as 10-day-olds and, at tunnel ends, live off regurgitated insects in paternal bills. They move from cavity nest interiors to summits within 17 to 18 days, to entrance holes as 21-day-olds and to nearby roosts as 25- to 28-day-olds. Adults need ants, beetles, butterflies, fruits, moths and snails and bayberry, dogwood, elderberry, grape, hackberry, poison ivy, poison oak, sumac, sunflower, thistle and wild cherry seeds.
North American northern flicker habitats up to 6,889.76 feet (2,100 meters) above sea level offer winter-coldest temperatures at minus 45 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 42.77 degrees Celsius).

Aspen, bayberry, black-gum, dogwood, elderberry, grape, hackberry, oak, pine, poison ivy, poison oak, sumac, sunflower, thistle, Virginia creeper and wild cherry promote northern flicker life cycles.
Black mustaches and no mustaches versus red mustaches and no mustaches qualify as respective hallmarks of yellow-vaned males and females and of red-vaned males and females. Black V-marked breasts, black-patterned brown plumage, black-spotted backs, bellies, flanks and wings, down-curved bills, flared, long, pointed-tipped tails, rounded, slim heads and white-patched rumps reveal adults. Fast-beat, gliding undulations on 1.65- to 2.09-inch (4.2- to 5.3-centimeter) wingspans suggest 1.10- to 1.29-inch- (2.8- to 3.3-centimeter-) long, 3.88- to 5.64-ounce (110- to 160-gram) adults.
North American northern flicker habitats tender courtship- and territory-related falling-, rising-toned, loud, rolling rattles, even-spaced, loud, rapid drumming, loud kyerr calls and rhythmic, soft wick-a-wick-a calls.

illustration of eggs of northern flicker (Colaptes auratus) under synonymous common name of yellow-shafted flicker; Illustrations of the Nests and Eggs of Birds of Ohio, Plate LIV, figure 5, opposite page 188: Public Domain, via Biodiversity Heritage Library

Acknowledgment
My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:
northern flicker (Colaptes auratus) in Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge, Sweetwater County, southwestern Wyoming; June 7, 2006: Tom Koerner/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Public Domain, via USFWS National Digital Library @ https://digitalmedia.fws.gov/cdm/singleitem/collection/natdiglib/id/18581/rec/4
illustration of eggs of northern flicker (Colaptes auratus) under synonymous common name of yellow-shafted flicker; Illustrations of the Nests and Eggs of Birds of Ohio, Plate LIV, figure 5, opposite page 188: Public Domain, via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/34908331

For further information:
Baicich, Paul J.; and Harrison, Colin J.O. Nests, Eggs, and Nestlings of North American Birds. Second edition. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press, Princeton Field Guides, 2005.
Bangs, Outram. April 1898. "Some New Races of Birds From Eastern North America: Colaptes auratus luteus, subsp. nov. Northern Flicker." The Auk, vol. XV (old series vol. XXIII), no. II: 177-178. New York NY: L.S. Foster.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/27447364
Cory, Charles B. (Barney). October 1886. "Descriptions of Thirteen New Species of Birds From the Island of Grand Cayman, West Indies: Colaptes gundlachi, sp. nov." The Auk, III (old series vol. XI), no. IV: 502. New York NY: L.S. Foster.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/15933387
Gmelin, Jo. Frid. (Johann Friedrich). 1788. "36. Picus cafer." Caroli a Linné Systema Naturae, tom. I, pars I: 431. Editio Decima Tertia, Aucta, Reformata. Lipsaie [Leipzig]: Impensis Georg Emanuel Beer.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2897031
Griscom, Ludlow. 1933. "The Ornithology of Guerrero, Mexico: Colaptes cafer nanus subsp. nov." Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College, LXXV, no. 10: 381-382.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2806840
Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia, 2nd edition. Volumes 8-11, Birds I-IV, edited by Michael Hutchins, Jerome A. Jackson, Walter J. Bock and Donna Olendorf. Farmington Hills MI: Gale Group, 2002.
Gundlach, John. 1858. "Notes on Some Cuban Birds, With Descriptions of Three New Species: 1. Colaptes chrysocaulosus." Annals of the Lyceum of Natural History of New York, vol. VI: 273. New York NY: Wiley & Halsted; London UK: Trubner & Co.; Paris, France: Hector Bossange.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/16023877
Jones, Howard. 1886. Illustrations of the Nests and Eggs of Birds of Ohio. Illustrations by Mrs. N.E. Jones. Vol. II. Circleville OH: s.n. (sine nomine).
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/34908243
Lafresnaye, Fr. (Frédéric) de. February 1844. "Oiseaux Nouveaux du Mexique: 6. Familia Picidae Genus Colaptes Swainson. Col. mexicanoïdes Nob." Revue Zoologique, septième année (février):42-43.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2284713
Linnaeus, Carl. 1758. "8. Cuculus auratus." Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, Secundum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, cum Characteribus, Differentiis, Synonymis, Locis, Tomus I, Editio Decima, Reformata: 112. Holmiae [Stockholm, Sweden]: Laurentii Salvii [Laurentius Salvius].
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/727017
Peterson, Alan P., M.D. "Colaptes auratus (Linnaeus) 1758." Zoonomen: Zoological Nomenclature Resource > Birds of the World -- Current Valid Scientific Avian Names > Piciformes > Picidae > Colaptes.
Available @ http://www.zoonomen.net/avtax/pici.html
Ridgway, Robert. 21 March 1876. "Ornithology of Guadeloupe Island, Based on Notes and Collections Made by Dr. Edward Palmer: 7. Colaptes mexicanus rufipileus, nobis." Bulletin of the United States Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories, vol. II, no. 1: 191-192. Washington DC: Government Printing Office.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/32141273
Swainson, William. June 1827. "A Synopsis of the Birds Discovered in Mexico by W. Bullock, F.L.S. and H.S., and Mr. William Bullock, jun.: 84. Colaptes Mexicanus." The Philosophical Magazine, Or Annals of Chemistry, Mathematics, Astronomy, Natural History, and General Science, vol. I (January-June 1827), no. VI (June): 440. London UK: Richard Taylor.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/15530450
Vigors, N.A. (Nicholas Aylward). 1829. "Sketches in Ornithology: Colaptes collaris." The Zoological Journal, vol. IV (April 1828-May 1829): 354. London UK: G.B. Sowerby.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2310720


Saturday, March 26, 2011

American Hairy Woodpecker Habitats: Black Body, Cavity Nest, White Egg


Summary: North American hairy woodpecker habitats year-round from Canada south through Mexico and Central America get black bodies from white eggs in cavity nests.


male hairy woodpecker (Picoides villosus); Whitby, Durham Region, Southern Ontario, east central Canada; January 2006: Mdf, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

North American hairy woodpecker habitats adapt to cultivators through Picidae family predatory wildlife associations with farm and garden pests and to naturalists through distribution ranges from Canada southward through Mexico and beyond.
Hairy woodpeckers bear their common name and the scientific name Picoides villosus (woodpecker-like full of hair) because of the hair-like, long, white feathers on their backs. Ornithologists consider, as valid or not, subspecies categorizations subsequent to Carl Linnaeus's (May 23, 1707-Jan. 10, 1787) classification in 1766 of the nominate Picoides villosus villosus. They debate Cabanis, Chihuahua, extimus, fumeus, Harris, intermedius, jardinii, Maynard, Mexican, Modoc/sierra, Newfoundland, northern, parvulus, piger, Queen Charlotte, Rocky, scrippsae, Sitka, southern and white-breasted subspecies validity.
Sixteen-year lifespans expect beaver ponds, coniferous, deciduous, mature, mixed or second-growth forests, forest edges, open woodlands, orchards, river groves, suburban backyards and wooded parks and swamps.

March through July facilitate brooding one three- to six-egg clutch, followed by a second if the first fails, at three- to 55-foot (0.91- to 16.76-meter) heights.
Parents-to-be gut in 17 to 24 days tunnels with elongated, 2- to 2.5-inch- (5.08- to 6.35-centimeter-) high, 1.25- to 1.5-inch- (3.18- to 3.81-centimeter-) wide entrance holes. Ten- to 15-inch- (25.4- to 38.1-centimeter-) deep, 4.5-inch (11.43-centimeter) diameter cavity nests within dead stubs, heart rot-weakened trees, nest-boxes or telegraph poles house glossy, smooth eggs. Day-shift mothers-to-be and night-shift fathers-to-be implement 10- to 15-day incubations of 0.79- to 1.14-inch (20- to 29-millimeter) by 0.63- to 0.75-inch (16- to 19-millimeter) white eggs.
Homelessness from agro-industry, construction, recreation, tourism and urbanization and predation by badgers, foxes, opossums, raccoons, sparrows, squirrels, starlings and weasels jeopardize North American hairy woodpecker habitats.

Blind, helpless, large-headed, naked hatchlings keep purring in their cavity nests and their sharp, single tooth from their time in the eggs and know pink skin. They live off insects in the bills of both parents in the furthest interiors the first eight days and on cavity summits as nine- to 11-day-olds. They move to entrances as 12- to 19- or 21-day-olds and, while maintaining daily parental contact another three weeks, to nearby roosts as 20- to 22-day-olds. Adults need acorns, ants, aphids, bark beetle larvae, bees, berries, caterpillars, cockroaches, crickets, fruits, grasshoppers, millipedes, moths, sap, seeds, spiders, suet, sugarcane juices, wasps and wood-borers.
North American hairy woodpecker habitats at 2,952.76- to 11,318.9-foot (900- to 3,450-meter) altitudes offer winter's coldest temperatures at minus 60 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 51.11 degrees Celsius).

Apple, aspen, birch, cherry, chokecherry, corn, Douglas-fir, elm, hemlock, June-berry, juniper, maple, mulberry, oak, peanuts, pine, plum, serviceberry, sunflower and walnut promote hairy woodpecker life cycles.
Orange-red crown patches, red-patched crowns and white-patched backsides of heads qualify as respective hallmarks of gray-brown-eyed juvenile, red-brown-eyed male adult and red-brown-eyed mature female hairy woodpeckers. Black napes, tails and upper-parts, black-and-white-striped cheeks, blue-gray feet and legs, white backs, outer wing-feathers and underparts, white-barred black wing-feathers and white-tipped black bills reveal adults. Gliding and wing-beat undulations on 12.99- to 16.16-inch (33- to 41-centimeter) wingspans suggest 7.09- to 10.24-inch (18- to 26-centimeter), 1.41- to 3.35-ounce (40- to 95-gram) adults.
North American hairy woodpecker habitats team bold, grating, loud, low-pitched, sharp, short peek calls, courtship-, intrusion-, mating-, territory-related, even-tapped, loud drumming and rattle and whinny sounds.

illustration of eggs of hairy woodpecker (Picoides villosus) under scientific synonym of Picus villosus; Illustrations of the Nests and Eggs of Birds of Ohio, Plate LXIV, figure 1, opposite page 264: Public Domain, via Biodiversity Heritage Library

Acknowledgment
My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:
male hairy woodpecker (Picoides villosus); Whitby, Durham Region, Southern Ontario, east central Canada; January 2006: Mdf, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Picoides-villosus-001.jpg
illustration of eggs of hairy woodpecker (Picoides villosus) under scientific synonym of Picus villosus; Illustrations of the Nests and Eggs of Birds of Ohio, Plate LXIV, figure 1, opposite page 264: Public Domain, via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/34908447

For further information:
Allen, Glover M. (Morill). April 1905. "Summer Birds in the Bahamas: 37. Dryobates villosus piger, subsp. nov." The Auk, vol. XXII (old series vol. XXX), no. 2: 124-126. Cambridge MA: The American Ornithologists' Union.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/15936467
Audubon, John James. 1838. "Harris's Woodpecker. Picus Harrisi, Aud.." The Birds of America, From Original Drawings, vol. IIII (1835 to 38): plate CCCCXVII (417), figures 8, 9. New York NY: J.J. Audubon; Philadelphia PA: J.B. Chevalier.
Available via Cincinnati Digital Library - The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County @ http://digital.cincinnatilibrary.org/digital/collection/p16998coll33/id/428/rec/120
Audubon, John James. 1842. "Harris' Woodpecker. Picus Harrisii, Aud." The Birds of America, From Drawings Made in the United States and Their Territories, vol. IV: 242-244. New York NY: J.J. Audubon; Philadelphia PA: J.B. Chevalier.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/40447227
Audubon, John James. 1839. "Harris's Woodpecker. Picus Harrisii." Ornithological Biography or, An Account of the Habits of the Birds of the United States of America; Accompanied by Descriptions of the Objects Represented in the Work Entitled The Birds of America, and Interspersed with Delineations of American Scenery and Manners, vol. V: 192-193. Edinburgh Scotland: Adam and Charles Black, MDCCCXXXIX.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/33240189
Baicich, Paul J.; and Harrison, Colin J.O. Nests, Eggs, and Nestlings of North American Birds. Second edition. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press, Princeton Field Guides, 2005.
Batchelder, Charles Foster. 24 June 1908. "The Newfoundland Hairy Woodpecker: Dryobates villosus terraenovae, subsp. nov." Proceedings of the New England Zoölogical Club, vol. IV (1903-1914): 37-38.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/12606264
Cabanis, Jean Louis; Ferdinand Heine Sr. 1863. "D. hyloscopus (Picus hyloscopus Cab. & Heine)." Museum Heineanum, Pars IV Scansores, Sectio II Picidae: 69. Halberstadt, Germany: Frantz.
Available via Google Books @ https://books.google.com/books?id=moM-AAAAcAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
Available via HathiTrust @ https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uiug.30112010227590?urlappend=%3Bseq=311
Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia, 2nd edition. Volumes 8-11, Birds I-IV, edited by Michael Hutchins, Jerome A. Jackson, Walter J. Bock and Donna Olendorf. Farmington Hills MI: Gale Group, 2002.
Jones, Howard. 1886. Illustrations of the Nests and Eggs of Birds of Ohio. Illustrations by Mrs. N.E. Jones. Vol. II. Circleville OH: s.n. (sine nomine).
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/34908243
Linnaeus, Carl. 1766. "16. Picus villosus." Systema Naturae, tomus I: 175-176. Editio Duodecima, Reformata. Holmiae [Stockholm, Sweden]: Laurentii Salvii [Laurentius Salvius].
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/42946371
Malherbe, Alfred. Octobre 1845. "Description de trois espèces nouvelles du genre Picus, Linné: 2. P. (Leuconotopicus)  Jardinii." Revue Zoologique, huitième année: 374-375.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2327598
Nelson, E.W. (Edward William). January 1897. "Preliminary Description of New Birds From Mexico and Guatemala in the Collection of the United States Department of Agriculture: Dryobates sanctorum, new species. Chiapas Woodpecker." The Auk, vol. XIV (old series vol. XXII), no. 1: 50. New York NY: L.S. Foster.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/16074061
Nuttall, Thomas. 1840. "Great Spotted Woodpecker. Picus septentrionalis, nobis." A Manual of the Ornithology of the United States and Canada: The Land Birds: 684. Second edition. Boston MA: Hilliard, Gray, and Company.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/33389004
Oberholser, Harry C. (Church). 3 June 1911. "A Revision of the Forms of the Hairy Woodpecker (Dryobates villosus [Linnaeus]): Dryobates villosus icastus, new subspecies." Proceedings of the United States National Museum, 40, no. 1840: 612-613. Washington DC: Government Printing Office.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/15845914
Oberholser, Harry C. (Church). 3 June 1911. "A Revision of the Forms of the Hairy Woodpecker (Dryobates villosus [Linnaeus]): Dryobates villosus orius, new subspecies." Proceedings of the United States National Museum, 40, no. 1840: 609-611. Washington DC: Government Printing Office.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/15845911
Osgood, Wilfred H. (Hudson). 1901. "Natural History of the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia: Dryobates picoideus sp. nov. Queen Charlotte Woodpecker." North American Fauna, no. 21: 44-45. Washington DC: Government Printing Office.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/25800297
Peterson, Alan P., M.D. "Picoides pubescens (Linnaeus) 1766." Zoonomen: Zoological Nomenclature Resource > Birds of the World -- Current Valid Scientific Avian Names > Piciformes > Picidae > Picoides.
Available @ http://www.zoonomen.net/avtax/pici.html
Ridgway, Robert. 1887. "D. villosus maynardii Ridgw. Bahaman Hairy Woodpecker." A Manual of North American Birds, page 282. Philadelphia PA: J.P. Lippincott Co.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/7567536
Swainson, William. 1831 (MDCCCXXXI). "Picus audubonii." Fauna Boreali-Americana; Or the Zoology of the Northern Parts of British America, second volume: The Birds: 306. London UK: John Murray.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/27217492
Swarth, H.S. (Harry Schelwald). 9 October 1911. "Description of a New Hairy Woodpecker From Southeastern Alaska: Dryobates villosus sitkensis, subsp. nov." University of California Publications in Zoology, vol. 7 (1910-1912), no. 9: 315-318. Berkeley CA: University of California Press.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/29511081


Wednesday, March 23, 2011

J. Herschel Crater Parents Five Outlying Satellites on Mare Frigoris


Summary: J. Herschel Crater parents five outlying satellites on Mare Frigoris (Sea of Cold) as a near side north polar crater system of 10 satellites.


Detail shows lunar near side’s J. Herschel Crater system of parent and 10 satellites on northwestern Mare Frigoris; G. E. Ulrich’s Geologic Map of the J. Herschel Quadrangle of the Moon (1969): Dept. of Interior-US Geological Survey/NASA/USAF ACIC, via USGS Publications Warehouse

J. Herschel Crater parents five outlying satellites on Mare Frigoris (Sea of Cold) as a north polar crater system of 10 satellites in the lunar near side’s northwest quadrant.
J. Herschel Crater is centered at 62.31 degrees north latitude, minus 41.86 degrees west longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The lunar impact crater’s northernmost and southernmost latitudes extend to 64.86 degrees north and 59.77 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes reach minus 36.37 degrees west and minus 47.35 degrees west, respectively. J. Herschel Crater’s diameter spans 154.44 kilometers.
J. Herschel classifies as a crater system, with parentage of 10 satellites. All of the system’s satellites occupy easterly placements with respect to their parent.
The crater system evenly divides its satellites in their external and internal placements. Five lie within their parent’s borders.
Five of J. Herschel Crater’s 10 satellites lie outside of their parent crater. Satellites P and R are found to the east. Satellites F, M and N are sited on Mare Frigoris.
J. Herschel P claims the most northerly position of the 10 satellites. P is centered at 63.61 degrees north latitude, minus 33.01 degrees west longitude. P narrows its northernmost and southernmost latitudes to 63.71 degrees north and 63.51 degrees north, respectively, and its easternmost and westernmost longitudes to minus 32.78 degrees west and minus 33.23 degrees west, respectively. With a diameter of 6.06 kilometers, P is the smallest of its parent’s 10 satellites.
J. Herschel R claims the most easterly position of the system’s 10 satellites. R is centered at 62.59 degrees north latitude, minus 30.7 degrees west longitude. R slims its southernmost and northernmost latitudes to 62.74 degrees north and 62.45 degrees north, respectively, and its easternmost and westernmost longitudes to minus 30.38 degrees west and minus 31.01 degrees west, respectively. R’s diameter measures 8.73 kilometers.
Satellite P in the terra (highland, upland) east of its parent traces a fairly straight, north-south line through satellites M and N in Mare Frigoris. All three satellites express center longitudes around minus 33 degrees west.
J. Herschel N somewhat approximates the imaginary line’s midpoint, with centering at 60.15 degrees north latitude, minus 33.04 degrees west longitude. N trims its northernmost and southernmost latitudes to 60.26 degrees north and 60.03 degrees north, respectively, and its easternmost and westernmost longitudes to minus 32.81 degrees west and minus 33.27 degrees west, respectively. N has a diameter of 6.93 kilometers.
J. Herschel M anchors the line’s southernmost terminus, with centering at 57.35 degrees north latitude, minus 33.11 degrees west longitude. M slims its northernmost and southernmost latitudes to 57.49 degrees north and 57.21 degrees north, respectively, and its easternmost and westernmost longitudes to minus 32.84 degrees west and minus 33.37 degrees west, respectively. M’s diameter measures 8.59 kilometers.
J. Herschel F forms the western apex of a triangle with satellites M and N in Mare Frigoris. F is centered at 58.87 north latitude, minus 35.5 degrees west longitude. F obtains its northernmost and southernmost latitudes at 59.18 degrees north and 58.56 degrees north, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes reach minus 34.9 degrees west and minus 36.11 degrees west. With a diameter of 18.88 kilometers, F is the largest of its parent’s 10 satellites.
The takeaways for J. Herschel Crater’s parentage of five outlying satellites on Mare Frigoris in the near side’s northwest quadrant are the north polar region crater system of 10 satellites evenly divides its internal and external satellites, that two of the system’s five outlying satellites occupy eastern highlands while three lie on Mare Frigoris and that a fairly straight, north-south line, aligned at minus 33 degrees west longitude, links two Mare Frigoris satellites (M, N) with one (P) of the upland satellites.

Detail shows J. Herschel Crater system of parent and 10 satellites, including north-south alignment of satellite P in eastern upland with satellites N and M on Mare Frigoris: LAC (Lunar Aeronautical Chart) 11: NASA / GSFC (Goddard Space Flight Center) / ASU (Arizona State University), Public Domain, via U.S. Geological Survey / Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature

Acknowledgment
My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:
Detail shows lunar near side’s J. Herschel Crater system of parent and 10 satellites on northwestern Mare Frigoris; G. E. Ulrich’s Geologic Map of the J. Herschel Quadrangle of the Moon (1969): Dept. of Interior-US Geological Survey/NASA/USAF ACIC, via USGS Publications Warehouse @ https://pubs.usgs.gov/imap/0604/plate-1.pdf
Detail shows J. Herschel Crater system of parent and 10 satellites, including north-south alignment of satellite P in eastern upland with satellites N and M on Mare Frigoris: LAC (Lunar Aeronautical Chart) 11: NASA / GSFC (Goddard Space Flight Center) / ASU (Arizona State University), Public Domain, via U.S. Geological Survey / Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/images/Lunar/lac_11_wac.pdf

For further information:
Birt, W.R. (William Radcliffe). “On a Group of Lunar Craters Imperfectly Represented in Lunar Maps.” Report of the Thirty-Second Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, Held at Cambridge in October 1862: 9-12. London UK: John Murray, 1863.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/29362303
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/reportofbritisha63brit/page/9
Boint, Steve. “Profiles of Features in the J. Herschel Crater, Fontanelle Crater, and La Condamine Crater Area.” Selenology Today, no. 9 (February 2008): 1-12.
Available @ http://www.lunar-captures.com//Selenology_Today/selenologytoday9.pdf
Bowker, David E.; J. Kenrick Hughes; Lunar and Planetary Institute. “Digital Lunar Orbiter Atlas of the Moon.” USRA LPI (Universities Space Research Association’s Lunar and Planetary Institute) > Resources.
Available via Universities Space Research Association’s (USRA) Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) @ https://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/lunar_orbiter/book/lopam.pdf
Bowker, David E.; and J. Kenrick Hughes. “Photo No. IV-139-H1 Plate 84.” Lunar Orbiter Photographic Atlas of the Moon. Prepared by Langley Research Center. NASA SP-206. Washington DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Scientific and Technical Information Office, Jan. 1, 1971.
Available via NASA NTRS (NASA Technical Reports Server) @ http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19730005152
Available via Universities Space Research Association’s (USRA) Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) @ https://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/lunar_orbiter/book/lopam.pdf
Consolmagno, Guy; and Dan M. Davis. Turn Left at Orion. Fourth edition. Cambridge UK; New York NY: Cambridge University Press, 2011.
Elger, Thomas Gwyn. “J. F. W. Herschel.” The Moon: A Full Description and Map of Its Principal Physical Features: 82. London UK: George Philip & Son, 1895. Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/moonfulldescript00elgerich/page/82

Hawke, B.R. (Bernard Ray); C.R. (Cassandra Runyon) Coombs; L. (Lisa) R. Gaddis; P. (Paul) G. Lucey; and P. (Pamela) D. Owensby. “Remote Sensing and Geologic Studies of Localized Dark Mantle Deposits on the Moon.” Proceedings of the 19 Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston, Texas: 255-268.
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1989LPSC...19..255H
International Astronomical Union. “Anaximander.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/254
International Astronomical Union. “C. Herschel.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/8045
International Astronomical Union. “Herschel.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/2477
International Astronomical Union. “Horrebow.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/2557
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Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/10056
International Astronomical Union. “J. Herschel.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/2779
International Astronomical Union. “J. Herschel B.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/10156
International Astronomical Union. “J. Herschel C.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/10157
International Astronomical Union. “J. Herschel D.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/10158
International Astronomical Union. “J. Herschel F.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/10159
International Astronomical Union. “J. Herschel K.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/10160
International Astronomical Union. “J. Herschel L.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/10161
International Astronomical Union. “J. Herschel M.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/10162
International Astronomical Union. “J. Herschel N.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/10163
International Astronomical Union. “J. Herschel P.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/10164
International Astronomical Union. “J. Herschel R.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/10165
International Astronomical Union. “Mare Frigoris.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/3674
Levy, David H. Skywatching. Revised and updated. San Francisco CA: Fog City Press, 1994.
Lunar and Planetary Institute. “Digital Lunar Orbiter Photographic Atlas of the Moon: Photo Number IV-152-H1.” USRA LPI (Universities Space Research Association’s Lunar and Planetary Institute) > Resources.
Available via Universities Space Research Association’s (USRA) Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) @ https://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/lunar_orbiter/bin/info.shtml?430
Lunar and Planetary Institute. “Digital Lunar Photographic Orbiter Atlas of the Moon: Photo Number IV-152-H2.” USRA LPI (Universities Space Research Association’s Lunar and Planetary Institute) > Resources.
Available via Universities Space Research Association’s (USRA) Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) @ https://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/lunar_orbiter/bin/info.shtml?431
Lunar and Planetary Institute. “Digital Lunar Orbiter Photographic Atlas of the Moon: Photo Number IV-164-H1.” USRA LPI (Universities Space Research Association’s Lunar and Planetary Institute) > Resources.
Available via Universities Space Research Association’s (USRA) Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) @ https://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/lunar_orbiter/bin/info.shtml?470
Lunar and Planetary Institute. “Digital Lunar Photographic Orbiter Atlas of the Moon: Photo Number IV-164-H2.” USRA LPI (Universities Space Research Association’s Lunar and Planetary Institute) > Resources.
Available via Universities Space Research Association’s (USRA) Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) @ https://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/lunar_orbiter/bin/info.shtml?471
Marriner, Derdriu. "C. Herschel Crater Honors German-British Astronomer Caroline Herschel." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, March 16, 2011.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/03/c-herschel-crater-honors-german-british.html
Marriner, Derdriu. "J. Herschel Crater Honors British Astronomer John Herschel." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, March 2, 2011.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/03/j-herschel-crater-honors-british_2.html
Marriner, Derdriu. "Near Side Crater J. Herschel Parents Five Satellites Within Its Borders." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, March 9, 2011.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/03/near-side-crater-j-herschel-parents.html
The Moon Wiki. “J. Herschel.” The Moon > Lunar Features Alphabetically > J Nomenclature.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/J._Herschel
The Moon Wiki. “Mare Frigoris.” The Moon > Lunar Features Alphabetically > F Nomenclature > Frigoris, Mare.
Available @ https://the-moon.us/wiki/Imbrium,_Mare
Moore, Patrick, Sir. Philip’s Atlas of the Universe. Revised edition. London UK: Philip’s, 2005.
Nelson, Edmund. “J. Herschel.” The Moon and the Condition and Configurations of Its Surface: 255-256. London UK: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1876.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/moonconditioncon00neis/page/255
Royal Astronomical Society Council. “Obituary: W.R. Birt.” Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, vol. XLII, no. 4 (Feb. 10, 1882): 142-144.
Available via Harvard ADSABS @ http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/full/seri/MNRAS/0042//0000143.000.html
Smyth, W.H. (William Henry), Capt. “Chapter IV: Origin of the Observatory.” Ædes Hartwellianæ; or, Notices of the Manor and Mansion of Hartwell: 223-. London UK: Printed for private circulation by John Bowyer Nichols and Son, MDCCCLI (1851).
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/deshartwellian00smytrich/page/223
Ulrich, G. E. (George Erwin). “Geologic Map of the J. Herschel Quadrant of the Moon.” Geologic Atlas of the Moon. IMAP-604 (LAC-11). Prepared in cooperation with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the USAF Aeronautical Chart and Information Center. Department of the Interior United States Geological Survey, 1969.
Available USGS Publications Warehouse @ https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/i604
Ulrich, G.E. (George Erwin). “Probable Igneous Relations in the Floor of the Crater J. Herschel.” Astrogeologic Studies Annual Progress Report July 1, 1965 to July 1, 1966. Part A Lunar and Planetary Investigations:123-132. Washington DC: Department of the Interior United States Geological Survey, December 1966.
Available via NASA NTRS (NASA Technical Reports Server) @ https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19670022605.pdf
U.S. Geological Survey. Color-Coded Topography and Shaded Relief Map of the Lunar Near Side and Far Side Hemispheres. U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Investigations Series I-2769. Page last modified Nov. 30, 2016. Flagstaff AZ: U.S. Geological Survey Astrogeology Science Center, 2003.
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Wilhelms, Don. The Geologic History of the Moon. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1348.
Available via Arizona State University Space Exploration Resources (SER) @ http://ser.sese.asu.edu/GHM/
Wilhelms, Don E. To a Rocky Moon: A Geologist’s History of Lunar Exploration. Tucson AZ: University of Arizona Press, Jan. 1, 1993.
Available via USRA LPI (Universities Space Research Association’s Lunar and Planetary Institute ) @ https://www.lpi.usra.edu/publications/books/rockyMoon/


Saturday, March 19, 2011

North American Blue Jay Habitats: Blue Body, Cup Nest, Marked Pale Egg


Summary: North American blue jay habitats year-round in southern Canada and the United States east of the Rockies hold blue bodies, cup nests and marked pale eggs.


blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata) in Johnston County, central North Carolina; Feb. 16, 2006: Ken Thomas, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

North American blue jay habitats allay cultivator anxieties through Corvidae family predatory wildlife associations with pests and naturalist apprehensions through distribution ranges seasonally in Canada and year-round there and the United States.
Blue jays bear their common name from colors bestowed with the French loan word jai (gay, merry) and the scientific name Cyanocitta cristata (crested, dark-blue chatterer). Ornithologists consider bromia (boisterous), cyanotephra (dark-blue ashes) and semplei subspecies since Carl Linnaeus's (May 23, 1707-Jan. 10, 1787) nominate Cyanocitta cristata cristata subspecies classification in 1758. Large-sized northern bromia, mid-sized coastal cristata, mid-sized inland cyanotephra and small-sized Florida semplei subspecies respectively designate North America's dull, vivid, strikingly color-contrasted and pale blue jays.
Seven-year lifespans expect coniferous, deciduous or mixed forests, parklands or woodlands, forest edges, tree-edged fields, meadows or pastures, suburban or urban woods or tree-lined city streets.

March through July facilitate brooding one two- to seven-egg clutch, followed by another if the first fails in the north, or two to three further south.
Parents-to-be gather bark, feathers, grass, leaves, mosses, stems, sticks and twigs into mud-bound, rootlet-lined, 4- to 4.5-inch- (10.16- to 11.43-centimeter-) high, 2.5-inch- (6.35-centimeter-) deep cup nests. Seven- to 8-inch (17.78- to 20.32-centimeter) outer, 3.5- to 4-inch (8.89- to 10.16-centimeter) inner diameter nests house eggs at 5- to 50-foot (1.52- to 15.24-meter) heights. Mothers-to-be implement 16- to 18-day incubations of American crow-like, 0.91- to 1.26-inch (23- to 32-millimeter) by 0.71- to 0.87-inch (18- to 22-millimeter), oval, semi-glossy, smooth eggs.
American crows, bobwhites, cardinals, falcons, grackles, hawks, mockingbirds, mourning doves, opossums, owls, raccoons, scrub-jays, snakes, squirrels, white-winged doves and woodpeckers jeopardize North American blue jay habitats.

Eggshell- and excrement-eating parents keep brown-, gray-, olive-, purple-blotched, dotted, flecked, speckled, spotted blue-green, buff, cream-buff, gray-white, green-white, olive, pink-buff eggs, helpless hatchlings and nests predator-free.
Nestlings live off parent-foraged, parent-portioned food while they look around with unsealed eyes as five-day-olds and, as seven-plus-day-olds, less cream- or pale yellow-skinned, red-mouthed and thin. They manage feathering as eight- or nine-day-olds and move to nearby roosts as 17- to 21-day-olds and, after another parent contact-filled three weeks, to physical independence. Adults need acorns, beechnuts, beetles, berries, carrion, caterpillars, cicadas, corn, fruits, grains, grasshoppers, hazelnuts, hickory nuts, lizards, mice, peanuts, snails, spiders, sunflower seeds and tree frogs.
North American blue jay habitats through 3,280.84 feet (1,000 meters) above sea level offer winter's coldest temperatures at minus 45 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 42.77 degrees Celsius).

Alder, beech, cherry, dogwood, elderberry, fir, hazelnut, hemlock, hickory, pitch pine, red spruce, sour-gum, sunflower, viburnum, white oak and white pine promote blue jay life cycles.
Downy, fluffy, pale scruffiness and visible beak-based gapes versus slightly paler colors and smaller sizes respectively qualify as juvenile female and male and mature female hallmarks. Black-beaked, black-collared, black-footed, black-legged, blue-crested, blue-mantled, dark-eyed, gray-under-bodied, long-billed, white-throated adults reveal black bill-to-eye patches, black-barred, long, white-cornered blue tails and white trailing-edged, white-streaked blue wings. Flapping, flat-winged, gliding flight on 13.38- to 16.93-inch (34- to 43-centimeter) wingspans suggest 9.5- to 12-inch (24- to 30-centimeter), 2.25- to 3.5-ounce (65- to 100-gram) adults.
Adults and juveniles turn out typically ethereal queedle-ee-dee chortles, feeding-related soft clucks and harsh jay-jay screams in nests and roosts in North American blue jay habitats.

illustration of eggs and nest of blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata) under scientific synonym of Cyanurus cristatus; Illustrations of the Nests and Eggs of Birds of Ohio, Plate XXXVI, between pages 122-123: Public Domain, via Biodiversity Heritage Library

Acknowledgment
My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:
blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata) in Johnston County, central North Carolina; Feb. 16, 2006: Ken Thomas, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blue_Jay-27527.jpg
illustration of eggs and nest of blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata) under scientific synonym of Cyanurus cristatus; Illustrations of the Nests and Eggs of Birds of Ohio, Plate XXXVI, between pages 122-123: Public Domain, via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/34907803

For further information:
Baicich, Paul J.; and Harrison, Colin J.O. Nests, Eggs, and Nestlings of North American Birds. Second edition. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press, Princeton Field Guides, 2005.
Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia, 2nd edition. Volumes 8-11, Birds I-IV, edited by Michael Hutchins, Jerome A. Jackson, Walter J. Bock and Donna Olendorf. Farmington Hills MI: Gale Group, 2002.
Jones, Howard. 1886. Illustrations of the Nests and Eggs of Birds of Ohio. Illustrations by Mrs. N.E. Jones. Vol. I. Circleville OH: s.n. (sine nomine).
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/34907587
Linnaeus, Carl. 1758. "8. Corvus cristatus." Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, Secundum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, cum Characteribus, Differentiis, Synonymis, Locis, Tomus I, Editio Decima, Reformata: 106. Holmiae [Stockholm, Sweden]: Laurentii Salvii [Laurentius Salvius].
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/727011
Peterson, Alan P., M.D. "Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus) 1758." Zoonomen: Zoological Nomenclature Resource > Birds of the World -- Current Valid Scientific Avian Names > Passeriformes > Corvidae > Cyanocitta.
Available @ http://www.zoonomen.net/avtax/pass.html
Oberholser, Harry C. (Church). January 1921. "The Geographic Races of Cyanocitta Cristata: Cyanocitta cristata bromia nom. nov." The Auk, vol. XXXVIII (old series vol. XLVI), no. 1 (January-March): 86-89. Lancaster PA: The American Ornithologists' Union.
Available via SORA (Searchable Ornithological Research Archive) @ https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v038n01/p0083-p0089.pdf
Sutton, George Miksch. April 1935. "A New Blue Jay From the Western Border of the Great Basin: Cyanocitta cristata cyanotephra subspecies nova." The Auk, vol. LII (old series vol. LX), no. 2 (April-June): 176-177. Lancaster PA: The American Ornithologists' Union.
Available via SORA (Searchable Ornithological Research Archive) @ https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v052n02/p0176-p0177.pdf
Todd, W.E. (Walter Edmond) Clyde. July 1928. "A New Blue Jay From Southern Florida: Cyanocitta cristata semplei, subsp. nov." The Auk, vol. XLV (old series vol. LIII), no. 3 (July-September): 364-365. Lancaster PA: The American Ornithologists' Union.
Available via SORA (Searchable Ornithological Research Archive) @ https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v045n03/p0364-p0365.pdf