U iliza ion o ca e swallow nes s by he ca e Myo is,
Myo is eli e , in cen al Texas.
P in
Ti le Anno a ion: GENERAL NOTES
Au ho : Ri zi, Ch is ophe M.; Walke , Ch is ophe W.; Honeycu , Rodney L.
Geog aphic Code:1U7TX
Da e: May 1, 1998
Wo ds: 591
Publica ion: The Texas Jou nal o Science
ISSN: 0040-4403
I is known ha Myo is eli e u ilize he nes s o cli swallows, Pe ochelidon py hono a (c . Buchanan
1958) and occasionally ba n swallows, Hi undo us ica (c . Jackson e al. 1982). Howe e , he e has
been no eco d o his ba species using ca e swallow, Pe ochelidon ul a, nes s as oos ing si es.
Buchanan (1958) a ibu ed he use o cli swallow nes s by M. eli e o be p omp ed by a dec ease in
ai empe a u e, especially when ai mass di ec ion was om he no hwes . Recen s udies o M. eli e
oos ing habi s (Pi s & Scha ninghausen 1986) sugges u iliza ion o swallow nes s by his species all
yea , excep when empe a u es a e below eezing. This obse a ion by Pi s & Scha ninghausen is
con a y o he p e ious explana ion p o ided by Buchanan (1958).
In Decembe 1995, se e al specimens o Myo is eli e we e ound occupying wo ypes o swallow
nes s (cli and ca e) loca ed 5.1 miles N o Geo ge own in Williamson Coun y, Texas. These nes -
dwelling ba s we e disco e ed inside se e al boxed cul e s along In e s a e 35. This is he i s eco d
o M. eli e using ca e swallow nes s. Nes s o ca e swallows a e simila o hose o ba n swallows,
being cup-shaped bu ha ing a hea y p o uding lip wi h highe sides. The highe sides and hea ie lip
associa ed wi h he ca e swallow nes may p o ide p o ec ion agains he wind cu en s ha a e se
he unde g ound cul e s, hus s abilizing he mic o-en i onmen a ound he ba . No all obse ed nes s
we e s uc u ally iden ical and conside able a ia ion in e ms o ba occupancy was obse ed e en
when mul iple nes s we e only a ew ee apa . In many cases, wo o h ee ba s we e ound in a single
nes . Obse a ions also e ealed ha all nes s we e occupied by male ba s. This sex bias may be
seasonal in ha mo e males we e ound in he cul e s a his ime.
Ex ensi e su eys o ba s occupying simila box cul e s along In e s a e 45 in Leon and Madison
coun ies, Texas, e ealed se e al nes s o ba n, ca e, and cli swallows. Al hough M. eli e was no
obse ed in hese cul e s, wo o he espe ilionid ba s (Pipis ellus sub la us and Myo is
aus o ipa ius) we e common (Walke e al. 1996). Du ing he en i e ime ha hese wo species we e
being s udied, he e was no eco d o ei he species u ilizing swallow nes s. F om hese obse a ions, i
appea s ha unlike hese wo species, M. eli e demons a es a p e e ence o swallow nes s when
oos ing in cul e s. The e o e, he use o swallow nes s by M. eli e may p o ide a means o
con olling mic o-en i onmen equi emen s no impo an o he o he wo species.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We would like o hank D . Kei h A nold o iden i ying he swallow nes s. Thanks also go o Jody K.
Sandel o helping he senio au ho become amilia wi h ba cul e s udies in he ield.
LITERATURE CITED
Buchanan, O. M. 1958. Tada ida and Myo is occupying cli swallow nes s. J. Mammal., 39:434-435.
Jackson, J. A., B. J. Scha dien, D. Cooly & B. E. Rowe. 1982. Ca e Myo is Roos ing in Ba n Swallow
Nes s. Sou hwes . Na ., 27(4): 463-464.
Pi s, R. M. & J. J. Scha ninghausen. 1986. Use o Cli Swallow and Ba n Swallow Nes s by he Ca e
Ba , Myo is eli e , and he F ee- ailed Ba , Tada ida b asiliensis. Texas J. Sci., 38(3): 265-266.
Walke , C. W., J. K. Sandel, R. L. Honeycu & C. Adams. 1996. Win e U iliza ion o Box Cul e s by
Vespe ilionid Ba s in Sou heas Texas. Texas J. Sci., 48(2):166-168.
Ch is ophe M. Ri zi*, Ch is ophe W. Walke and Rodney L. Honeycu
Depa men o Wildli e and Fishe y Sciences
Texas A & M Uni e si y, College S a ion, Texas 77840
*P esen add ess:
Depa men o Biology, Sul Ross S a e Uni e si y
Alpine, Texas 79832
CMR a : [email p o ec ed]
COPYRIGHT 1998 Texas Academy o Science
Copy igh 1998 Gale, Cengage Lea ning. All igh s ese ed.
