With the Wild Things

Spring brings more than blooming flowers and a rise in temperature; it also means that cane toad breeding season begins.

The Northern Mockingbird is one of the most conspicuous and well-known resident birds in Florida. It is well-adapted, for urban and suburban life where landscaping includes an open mix of mowed grass, trees, and shrubs. As a result of its status as a year-round resident, its habitat preferences, conspicuous behavior, and its presence through much of North America, it is no wonder that the school children of Florida selected this species to be our State Bird.

The Rosary Pea (also known as Precatory Bean, Crab’s Eye Vine, Jumbie Bead, and many other names) was native to tropical Asia. As humans became more mobile, they took the shiny red-and-black seeds with them. Sometimes deliberately, often accidentally, they have been planted in tropical and subtropical areas around the world. Missionaries and artisans found that the seeds made beautifully shiny bright-red rosary beads, necklaces, and bracelets. However, piercing one of these seeds for such things creates a serious threat. Rosary Pea seeds are very hard and less likely to cause harm if swallowed intact. But, if crushed by chewing, the toxins inside can be lethal. Birds will eat them, but can’t digest them and they are defecated intact with a bit of fertilizer, thus aiding their spread. Rosary pea is now very common in peninsular Florida.

Common Gallinules are resident birds found in ponds and marshes across Florida – especially where tall reeds, rushes, or cattails line the edges in shallow water. More northern populations are migratory. Adult Common Gallinules are somewhat chicken-like in appearance, but have blue-gray feathers, a bit of brown on the back, and white feathers that form a horizontal line along each side. Adults have a yellow-tipped bright red bill that extends to form a shield over its forehead. Young chicks are covered with black down – except for the top of the head which is nearly bald. Their tiny wings are bare, looking like pink toothpicks sticking out from their side. Downy chicks also have a red bill with a yellow tip – but no shield over the forehead. As the chicks grow and change plumage, they become dull gray birds with a dull, somewhat mottled yellow-brown bill. Older chicks stay with the pair and help feed the younger chick – a behavior known as “aunting”. As the bill of an older chick takes on the bright red color of an adult, the male chases it away.

In the mid-1800s there was a massive emigration of humans from the Old World to the New World – brought on by tough economic times. It was the unemployed, the farmers, and others seeking a new life in the “promised land” of the United States. They knew little about that land except that they could start a new life. They brought with them what they could – including birds that they relied on for pest control – English Sparrows – now known as House Sparrows. Wagon trains headed west and ships doing trade around the world took cages of these sparrows.

Anhingas are birds found in warm areas of North and South America. These fish-eaters have a unique way of capturing their meals – they swim in rather shallow water and spear swimming fish. Then they emerge at the surface and flip the fish into the air in order to catch it head first. If successful, they then swallow the fish. If unsuccessful, they try again. Natives in South America saw them do this and believed that the Anhinga was “playing” with the fish and in their language the Anhinga was known as the “Devil Bird”. The name “Anhinga” apparently comes from the Tupi Indian language. Other natives saw the Anhinga swimming with only its head and long neck out of the water and thought it was a snake – hence their name for it was the equivalent of “Snake Bird”.

The Muscovy Duck is an American bird – mostly South American in the wild, but an introduced exotic bird in Florida and elsewhere around the world. These large ducks were domesticated by humans in South America at least by the 1500s. Once discovered by humans from elsewhere, they were taken to humans around the world as a source of meat and eggs. Muscovy Ducks are large, were used to living with humans, and they quickly became popular.

The Loggerhead Shrike is a songbird – but also a predator not only on insects, but also on lizards, small snakes, tree frogs, mice, and small birds. It is resident in Florida and across southern states, but northern populations must migrate and many augment our resident population each winter, gradually disappearing beginning in late January as they slowly move north to their breeding areas.

What’s in a name? If it’s the name of the Florida Red-bellied Cooter, there’s a lot! This freshwater (and occasionally brackish water) turtle is found in calm water through most of Florida and into southern Georgia. “Red-bellied” describes most young adults, but as they age, their belly changes color and can be brown or yellow. And that name “cooter” – where did it come from and what does it mean? The name “cooter” is centuries old and it seems likely that it was the name used by slaves from west Africa. In their language, the name for turtle – is today spelled “kuta” and pronounced like “cooter.

Winter is when many Florida plants become dormant and lose their leaves until spring. In contrast, most of our ferns remain a vibrant green through the winter. This is in part because ferns are plants that live in moist environments and the water buffers them from the cold. A winter visit to a marsh, swamp, or other wetland can be refreshing on a cold winter day in south Florida. While other plants lose their leaves, ferns generally have a more intimate contact with their wet environment. Fern diversity in wet areas can be spectacular – each species occupying a somewhat unique niche, thus minimizing competition with other species.