Women and birdsing (was RE: [BIRDCHAT] Song Sparrow Song Diversity)

Margaret Morse Nice also had her autobiography published posthumously,
thanks to the efforts of a dear friend of mine, the late Doris Huestis
Speirs, who took the role of editor, and was also a founder of the Margaret
Morse Nice Society (I think it was called) which consisted of women
interested in birding in the GTA (the Greater Toronto Area), as something of
an antidote to the Toronto Ornithological Club (TOC), which in those days
was "male only".

Although it was before my time when I joined the TOC in the `60s, I soon
heard the story of how Doris' husband, the late J. Murray Speirs (another of
my mentors, he was a professor at U of T and a devoted early birder and
ecologist) showed slides at the TOC, and took Doris along to run the
projectors.  Apparently this was a definite no-no, much tut-tutted over.

It was Ludlow Griscom who opined that women simply lacked the mental ability
to identify fall-plumaged warblers.  

Yes.

When I joined the TOC in the `60s I was struck by two things:  the constant
fretting about the decline in its membership, and it's sexist policy.  Half
the population was excluded, and some of the members wanted it that way.

But not all.  I soon joined the executive committee and emboldened, agreed
when my own mother, the late Phyllis E. MacKay, had her name put forth for
membership, even though I knew there were members who didn't like that idea
and that she would receive a rough ride.

The rules were simple.  A non-vote was seen as a yes vote, but if there were
three or more write-in no votes, the person could not join.  

My mother had three votes against her.  

I know that one of the ones who so voted claimed that she lacked proper
field identification skills (my mom was a pioneer in wildlife rehab work,
specializing in small, avian insectivores, but was not a lister...but then
neither was or am I..as an artist I certainly hold my own on visual
identification, but I'm pretty bad when it comes to songs and call notes,
especially now that I have lost the upper register.)

The late Don Pace was president, I think, at any rate on the executive
committee, and he carefully read the bylaws and discovered that, in fact,
the only members eligible to vote were those within a thirty mile circle of
the Royal Ontario Museum (or at least I think that was the boundary...it was
the old boundary used to identify "Toronto" in terms of what birds occurred
in the city, as "proved" by a specimen of identifiable photograph---I
believe that at one time the Pileated Woodpecker was not an "official"
Toronto species even though you could easily find them within the
boundary...but there was no specimen or good photo!   Seems bizarre, now,
eh?)

Anyway, by that voting criteria my mother was elected...the blackballers
lived out side the limit that then determined who could vote.

It was so traumatic that she never actually attended a monthly meeting
(although maintaining her membership the rest of her life) but she had
broken the gender-barrier and the TOC is now a much livelier and more
interesting and active organization than I remember it to have been when I
first joined (there was a long hiatus when I didn't go to meetings either,
but mainly because of driving distances...we now meet closer to where I live
and I attend some meetings).

But back to Margaret Morse Nice; she was a true pioneer (like Alexander
Skutch) in developing FIELD ornithology and was so in spite of biases let us
hope are now long gone.

Barry

Barry Kent MacKay
Markham, Ontario, Canada

-----Original Message-----
From: National Birding Hotline Cooperative (Chat Line)
[mailto:BIRDCHAT@...] On Behalf Of Spector, David (Biology)
Sent: Monday, June 29, 2009 7:41 PM
To: BIRDCHAT@...
Subject: Re: [BIRDCHAT] Song Sparrow Song Diversity

There is a huge amount known about Song Sparrow song, much of it founded on
the pioneering work of Margaret Morse Nice (1883-1974).  Most of her Song
Sparrow work is presented in the classic two volume monograph Studies in the
Life History of the Song Sparrow.  She presented a popular version in The
Watcher at the Nest (illustrated by Roger Tory Peterson).  She also made
important contributions to the study of many other species of birds, and
important contributions to areas as diverse as territoriality and the
development of behavior.  Her autobiography, Research is a Passion with Me,
is well worth reading.

Here is a bit of information on Song Sparrow song (largely drawn from the
BNA account):

Each adult male Song Sparrow has a repertoire of about 5 to 13 song types
(and those song types are sung with some variation, resulting in a net
effect of a great deal of possible variation within the the singing of any
one individual).

Song delivery by males of this species is typically "eventual variety,"
i.e., the singer sings several to many of one song type before switching to
another song type.

Song Sparrows use songs in complex interactions among neighboring males; a
male can match a song type sung by a neighbor, sing a non-matching but
shared song, or sing an unshared song.  Song Sparrows can recognize
neighbors as individuals by song.  The degree of song sharing among
neighbors varies geographically.

There is both individual and geographic variation in songs.  The number of
introductory notes varies from 1 to about 20.

Song Sparrows are capable of learning songs both in the first two months of
life and later, after dispersal.  The degree to which they learn songs from
their hatch area and from the area where they eventually settle on a
territory probably varies among regions and among individual birds.

David Spector
Belchertown, Massachusetts

-----Original Message-----
From: National Birding Hotline Cooperative (Chat Line) on behalf of Pastor
Al Schirmacher
Sent: Mon 6/29/2009 1:47 PM
To: BIRDCHAT@...
Subject: [BIRDCHAT] Song Sparrow Song Diversity
 
How diverse are Song Sparrow songs?

Recently I heard one sing a classic song, then end in three trilling notes;
on the way back from lunch today I heard one sing two opening notes like a
Vesper, then continue as normal.  Do they learn from other sparrows near
their territory?  Do juveniles struggle with their initial songs?  Is
hybridization an issue?

(Hard to admit I know so little about a common songster - although am
comforted by Kenn Kaufman's admission a number of years back that he
couldn't adequately describe a BC Chickadee to his own satisfaction.)

Good birding to all!

Al Schirmacher
Princeton, MN
Mille Lacs & Sherburne Counties

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