36 TH Ee ALU DU BsOmNG Bier ted ele 
of this was an oriole’s nest she 
found that had a _ window-like 
opening in it. The opening came 
just at the right height for the 
mother bird sitting on her eggs 
and too high up. Mrs. Porter was 
convinced that the bird who made 
this nest must have remembered 
the confinement and inconvenience 
of the previous nests she had built 
and had then figured out a way to 
avoid them in this nest. 
to get air, see out, and if attacked 
from above to escape. The nest 
showed an earlier attempt to make 
an opening, which was too small 
—Diss Elaine Burstatte 
ft ra ral a 
NSF Grants Funds for Research in 
Propagation of Birds of Prey 
A Cornell University ornithologist will try to learn how to propagate Pere- 
grine Falcons and other birds of prey in captivity with the ultimate goal 
of seeking to assure the continued existence of endangered species of birds. 
The principal investigator in the program is Tom J. Cade, research director 
of Cornell’s Laboratory or Ornithology, Ithaca, N.Y., and professor of orni- 
thology in the University’s Division of Biological Sciences. His research 
will be conducted with a $45,300 grant just received from the National 
Science Foundation. 
Cornell finished construction of a $120,000 special behavioral ecology 
building last winter to house the birds during research. The facility, about 
as long as a football field, can house 40 pairs of large birds in semi-enclosed 
experimental breeding chambers. 
Eleven Peregrine Falcons are housed in the new facility to start the 
first phase of the project which is expected to serve as a source for the 
eventual reintroduction of the birds into natural areas from which they 
are fast vanishing. 
The existence of the Peregrine Falcon has been endangered by the 
use of DDT and other chemicals in the environment. A high concentration 
of these chemicals in a bird’s body causes it to lay thin-shelled eggs, many 
of which are destroyed before they hatch. 
“We need to know how environmental factors influence behavioral 
and physiological functions to bring about the successful production of 
young by parent falcons and to determine the limiting conditions for re- 
production in captivity,” Cade said. “The Peregrine does not breed easily 
in confinement, and the male is more difficult to bring into condition than 
the female. To find out why, we propose to make comparisons 
between Peregrines and Kestrels, which are common and which breed 
easily in cages.” 
For the short term, Cade said, the project hopes to develop a self- 
perpetuating captive Peregrine population on a scale large enough to 
provide a continuing source of falcons for scientific, educational and cul- 
tural uses. This phase of the program, he added, will require a minimum 
of five years, since existing information shows that captive falcons are not 
likely to lay their first eggs until they are several years old. 
The practical goal, he said, is to restore pairs of Peregrines to natural 
areas from which the species disappeared as a breeding bird. The studies 
will also contribute to an understanding of the behavioral, physiological 
and biochemical mechanisms underlying the reproduction of birds and how 
these mechanisms are influenced by environment. 
