Crowned Heads - Part 1

 

A male Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Corthylio calendula)
displaying its red crown. 
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

The crown has been a symbol of royalty for thousands of years.   This distinctive piece of headgear denotes power and authority.  Not incidentally a crown makes the wearer appear taller, contributing to the aura of superiority.  But the crown is also an anatomical term indicating the top of an animal's head. Quite a few birds have impressive crowns and some even bear a crown in their name.  We will explore some of these crowned birds in this and the next blog. 

A female Ruby-crowned Kinglet without a red crown.
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. 

We have two species of kinglets in the southern United States, the Ruby-crowned Kinglet and the Golden-crowned Kinglet.  These tiny birds breed in coniferous woodlands from Alaska to Maine and down the Rocky Mountains.  In winter they move south and are regular visitors to our area.  Kinglets combine both royalty and a crown in their names.  The name kinglet comes from their fearless defense of nests and their mobbing of predators much larger than themselves.  Ruby-crowned Kinglets (Corthylio calendula) are olive-gray with white wing bars and a white eye ring.  The males have red feathers on top of their heads, the ruby crown, but this is only visible when the bird is upset.   

 

A Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa) with yellow crown.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

The name of Golden-crowned Kinglets (Regulus satrapa) has even more royal references.  The genus, Regulus comes from the Latin root rex, meaning king.  The species name, satrapa, is derived from ancient Persian and denotes a governor of a province.  Golden-crowned Kinglets are similar in size, shape and color to Ruby-crowned Kinglets.  The key differences are Golden-crowned Kinglets have an eye line rather than an eye ring and a golden stripe on the top of the head. 

 

A Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)
with traces of the crests.
Green Cay Wetlands, Palm Beach County, Florida.

Lots birds have crests on their crowns.  Double-crested Cormorants (Nannopterum auritum) are large dark birds found around fresh and salt water where they catch fish.  In the breeding season they sport two plumes on their heads, the double crests.  Both male and female Double-crested Cormorants have crests and these undoubtedly make them attractive to the opposite sex.  These crests are often hard to see but one morning in Florida we ran across a Double-crested Cormorant with small crests on its head.  

A Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) showing its crest.
Huntington Beach State Park, South Carolina.

Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata) are common birds throughout eastern North America.  They are known for their bright colors, raucous calls and a prominent crests.  The crest is so emblematic, the specific name for the Blue Jay, cristata, means crested.  A Blue Jay’s crown feathers are longer than other head feathers and the bird can raise and lower the crest.  When a Blue Jay is calm the crest lays down on the head.  But when agitated, as when it sees a predator, the Blue Jay raises its crest making the bird appear larger and more formidable.

 

A Yellow-crowned Nightheron (Nyctanassa violacea)
with its yellow crown and plume.
Rowan County, North Carolina.

Yellow-crowned and Black-crowned Nightherons are named for colors of their crowns.  Both these short-necked herons rest during the day but become active at night.  Nightherons have large red eyes, the better to see with while hunting in the dark. The Yellow-crowned Nightheron (Nyctanassa violacea) has a gray body and wings, a black head with a white cheek patch and a pale-yellow crown.  During the breeding season both males and females have long yellow plumes trailing from the top of the head.  

A Black-crowned Nightheron (Nycticorax nyctiocorax)  resting during the day.
Huntington Beach State Park, South Carolina.

The Black-crowned Nightheron (Nycticorax nycticorax) has a gray body, black wings and a black crown.  Nightherons are ambush predators, patiently sitting at the waters edge and striking out to capture fish and other small aquatic creatures. 

A Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor)
with a bright white plume on its crown.
Green Cay Wetlands, Palm Beach County, Florida. 

Several other species of herons and egrets, including the Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor), have a plume on the crown during the breeding season.  This elegant decoration complements the bird's gray body, white belly and sharp beak.

An Amazon Royal Flycatcher (Onychorhynchus coranatus)
showing its spectacular crown.  This bird was captured as
part of a bird banding project in the Amazon.
Tambopata National Preserve, Peru.
Photo courtesy of Strummer Edwards. 

The most spectacular crown I know is owned by the Royal Flycatchers in the genus Onychorhynchus.  Four species of Royal Flycatchers range from southern Mexico to Peru and Brazil.  My friend Strummer Edwards was in Peru last summer doing bird research and captured an Amazon Royal Flycatcher (Onychorhynchus coronatus) that showed off its royal crown. 

 

Video of  an Amazon Royal Flycatcher.

Tambopata National Preserve, Peru

Courtesy of Strummer Edwards.

Crests and crowns are widespread in the avian world.  They are used to attract mates, defend territories and intimidate predators.  We continue looking at these crowned birds in the next blog.

Boogie-woogie Aphids

 

Beech Blight Aphids (Grylloprociphilus imbricator) 
on American Beech (Fagus grandifolia)
Rowan County, North Carolina.

A friend contacted us about a white growth on a beech tree that wiggled when disturbed.  After a visit to view this phenomenon, some photos, videos and research, we figured out this was a group of small insects called Beech Blight Aphids (Grylloprociphilus imbricator).  These aphids were on a single branch of an American Beech tree (Fagus grandifolia).  Another common name for these odd insects is Boogie-woogie Aphids.  Unless you listen to the Andrews Sister you probably don't get a whole lot of boogie-woogie in your life. But we got a good dose with these aptly named Boogie-woogie Aphids. 

 

A single branch of American Beech with hundreds 
of Beech Blight Aphids.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Beech Blight Aphids.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Beech Blight Aphids have a dark body covered with long, white, waxy filaments.  If attacked, the predator gets a mouth full of wax and the aphid gets away.  The aphids cluster on twigs and leaves of American Beech where they feed on the tree sap.  When aphids feed, they insert their piercing mouthparts into the phloem cells in the vascular tissue of the tree.  Phloem transports organic molecules, particularly amino acids and sugars throughout the tree.  To accomplish this movement of molecules the phloem is under pressure.  When an aphid pierces a phloem cell the insect does not have to suck up the sap.  The pressure in the phloem forces the nutrients into the digestive system of the aphid.  Beech Blight Aphids absorb some of the phloem molecules but the pressure forces much of the material out the anus of the insect.  This rich exudate is called honeydew and is food for ants and nutrients for sooty mold.

 

Video of Beech Blight Aphids aka Boogie-woogie Aphids. 

 Rowan County, North Carolina.

When threatened, the massed aphids point their filament-covered abdomens into the air and wave them back and forth.   These are the boogie-woogie moves that gave Beech Blight Aphids the funny name.  This behavior is thought to provide protection from predators.  

Beech Blight Aphids.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Despite their large numbers, Beech Blight Aphids seem to cause little harm to the beech trees they inhabit.  So if you run across these aphids, don’t worry about beech trees and enjoy the show.