and Argentina gathered to present findings and participate in birding events. The Lower Rio Grande Valley (Starr, Hidalgo, Cameron and Willacy counties) provides habitat supporting about 520 resident, migratory and rare bird species, almost half of the 1114 recorded occurring in the USA as a whole. The presence of many tropical bird species encourages birders to visit in large numbers. Regional ecotourism that includes birding generated (as of ca. 2010) more than $300 million in local yearly revenue (Woosnam et al. 2011; Leslie 2016). We review the articles resulting from this first meeting in the USA and place them in contexts of taphonomy, hunting and domestication, and prehistoric and historic bird use.
During 2002–2003, we studied the breeding ecology of the Altamira Oriole (Icterus gularis), a permanent resident that builds pendulous nests in remnant tracts of Tamaulipan brushland in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas. We found 76 active oriole nests, seven of which were reused for second broods, for a total of 83 nesting attempts. Nearly 20% of the breeding individuals in our sample were subadults (second-year orioles). Using a microvideo camera, we were able to estimate incubation and nestling periods of 12.5 and 15.5 days, respectively. Fifty-nine percent of nests fledged at least one young, with successful nests averaging 2.3 fledglings. Failed nests were all intact, indicating that predators entered through the small opening in the top of the nest. Six nests fledged Bronzed Cowbirds (Molothrus aeneus), although two of these nests produced orioles as well. Vegetation analysis suggested that orioles preferred the tallest trees in the study sites in which to place their nests. A greater number of fallen logs was also a predictor of nest sites, which agrees with previous studies suggesting that orioles prefer open woodlands and edges. Formerly vast, dense forests in the Lower Rio Grande Valley have degraded into open woodlands, perhaps benefiting Altamira Orioles during the last 50 years. However, because of the oriole's preference for tall trees, continued degradation of forested tracts may not be beneficial to this species.
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