Hello Everyone, The following news item was taken from the online newsletter to members of the Nashville Zoo in Nashville, TN. There was a picture of her on the nest, but I feared it would not transfer on the list. If you wish to see it, please E-mail me personally, and I will try to get it to you. Dee Thompson Nashville Croft Aviary Resident Makes History If you haven't seen the magnolia warbler zipping around the aviary lately, there's a good reason. She has been quietly making history by being the first magnolia warbler in captivity to lay eggs. Since she is the only kind of her specie in the aviary the eggs are not fertile, however her efforts don't go unnoticed. In late June keepers observed her gathering materials, including spider web, and taking it to a particular tree in the aviary. Several days later the nest was checked and the eggs were discovered. Warbler species are rare in captivity (this particular bird was injured and can not be released back into the wild) which means zoos don't know a lot about their diets, behaviors and especially breeding habits. The hope is that now we know it can be done and how to do it. What the Nashville Zoo bird staff attained can be utilized by other zoos and with other warbler species as well. Amazingly, in the wild magnolia warblers spend winter as far south as Panama, then migrate through the U.S. to nest as far north as British Columbia. To top this feat, in the fall, they retrace their 2,000 mile path back to South America. =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation. ----------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------- To post to this mailing list, simply send email to: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx ----------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send email to: tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s) endorse the views or opinions expressed by the members of this discussion group. Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ========================================================