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Everglades Wildguide / Handbook 143

Chapter 27: For Reading and Reference
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About This Book

The handbook surveys the natural history of Everglades National Park, describing its major habitats—freshwater marshes, mangrove and coastal prairies, cypress swamps, pine rocklands, and hardwood hammocks—and how water, limestone substrate, and seasonal cycles of flood, drought, and fire shape them. It explains ecological relationships among plants and animals, from marsh fish and wading birds to reptiles and invertebrates, and highlights adaptations that allow species to persist in changing conditions. Chapters include field-oriented sections with maps, checklists, a glossary, and appendices on rare and endangered species and cultural interactions with indigenous peoples. Throughout, discussion emphasizes conservation issues arising from altered drainage, habitat loss, and human impacts.

HABITAT: The place where an organism lives; the immediate surroundings, living and unliving, of an organism. The habitat of the pine warbler is the pinelands; the habitat of an internal parasite of this bird is the body of the warbler.

HAMMOCK: A dense growth of broad-leaved trees on a slightly elevated area, not wet enough to be a swamp. In the park, hammocks are surrounded either by pineland or by marshland (glades).

HARDWOOD TREES: Trees with broad leaves (as opposed to conebearing trees, which have needles or scales). Most hardwood trees are deciduous, though many in south Florida retain their leaves throughout the year.

KEY: A reef or low-lying island. In south Florida, the term “key” is often also applied to hammocks or pinelands, which occupy areas where the limestone is raised above the surrounding wetlands.

LIMESTONE: A sedimentary rock derived from the shells and skeletons of animals deposited in seas, and consisting mostly of calcium carbonate. Soluble in water having a slight degree of acidity, it is often characterized by caverns and, in the everglades, by a very pitted surface. The rock underlying most of the park is the Miami Oölite (pronounced OH-uh-lite), formed during a recent glacial period. Oölitic limestone is composed of tiny round concretions, only indirectly derived from marine shells.

MANGROVE: Any of a group of tropical or subtropical trees, growing in estuaries and other low-lying coastal areas, usually producing aerial roots or prop roots and often forming dense growths over a large area. In south Florida there are four species, belonging to three different families.

MARSH: A wetland, salt or fresh, where few if any trees and shrubs grow, characterized by grasses and sedges; in fresh-water marshes, cattails are common.

MARL: In this book, used in the sense of a deposit of mixed limestone and smaller amounts of clay; south Florida marls are sometimes called lime muds.

PEAT: Partly decayed, moisture-absorbing plant matter accumulated in bogs, swamps, etc.

PREDATOR: An animal that lives by capturing other animals for food.

SLOUGH: A channel of slow-moving water in coastal marshland. The Shark River Slough and Taylor Slough are the main channels where the glades water flows in the park. Generally remaining as reservoirs of water when the glades dry in the rainless season, they are important to survival of aquatic animals.

SWAMP: Wetland characterized by shrubs or trees such as maples, gums, baldcypresses, and, in south Florida coast areas, mangroves. Fresh-water swamps are usually not covered by water the year around.

THREATENED: A species still present in its range but that, without significant changes in conditions, is capable of becoming endangered.

TREE ISLAND: An island of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants growing on an elevation, in a depression, or at the same level as the surrounding glades. Includes hammocks, willow heads, cypress heads, and bayheads.

For Reading and Reference

Ashton, Ray Jr., and Patricia Sawyer Ashton. Handbook of Reptiles and Amphibians of Florida. Vol. 1, The Snakes; Vol. 2, Lizards, Turtles and Crocodilians; Vol. 3, The Amphibians. Miami: Windward Publishing, Inc., 1981-88.

Bell, C. Ritchie, and Bryan J. Taylor. Florida Wildflowers and Roadside Plants. Chapel Hill: Laurel Hill Press, 1982.

Cox, W. Eugene. In Pictures—Everglades: The Continuing Story. Las Vegas: K. C. Publications, 1989.

Craighead, Frank C. The Role of the Alligator in Shaping Plant Communities and Maintaining Wildlife in the Southern Everglades. Maitland: Florida Audubon Society, 1969.

de Golia, Jack. Everglades: The Story Behind the Scenery. Las Vegas: K.C. Publications, 1981.

Douglas, Marjory Stoneman. Everglades: River of Grass. St. Simons Island, Georgia: Mockingbird Books, 1974.

Downs, Dorothy. Miccosukee Arts and Crafts. Miami: Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, 1982.

Hoffmeister, John Edward. Land From Sea: The Geologic Story of South Florida. Coral Gables: University of Miami Press, 1968.

Lane, James A. A Birder’s Guide to Florida. Denver: L&P Press, 1989.

Peterson, Roger Tory. A Field Guide to the Birds East of the Rockies. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1980.

Robertson, William B. Everglades: The Park Story. Homestead, Florida: Florida National Parks and Monuments Association, Inc., 1989.

Romashko, Sandra. The Shell Book. Miami: Windward Publishing, Inc., 1984.

Stevenson, George B. Trees of the Everglades National Park and the Florida Keys. Miami: Banyan Books, Inc., 1984.

Tebeau, Charlton E. Man in the Everglades. Coral Gables: University of Miami Press, 1968.

Toops, Connie M. The Alligator: Monarch of the Marsh. Homestead, Florida: Florida National Parks and Monuments Association, Inc., 1988.

Toops, Connie. Everglades. Stillwater, Minnesota: Voyageur Press, 1989.

Truesdell, William G. A Guide to the Wilderness Waterway of the Everglades National Park. Coral Gables: University of Miami Press, 1985.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Rare and Endangered Fish and Wildlife of the United States. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1964.

Williams, Winston. Florida’s Fabulous Waterbirds: Their Stories. Tampa: Worldwide Printing, 1984.

Zim, Herbert S. Everglades National Park and the Nearby Florida Keys. New York: Golden Press, 1985.

Rare and Endangered Animals

Here is a partial list of the rare and endangered species and subspecies found in Everglades National Park and Fort Jefferson National Monument.

Mammals
Florida Panther (Cougar)
West Indian Manatee (Sea Cow)
Birds
Snail Kite
Southern Bald Eagle
Arctic Peregrine Falcon
Cape Sable Sparrow
Wood Stork
Red-cockaded Woodpecker
Reptiles and Amphibians
Green Turtle
Eastern Indigo Snake
Hawksbill Turtle
Loggerhead Turtle
American Crocodile

Checklist of Mammals

More than 40 species of mammals are found in Everglades National Park. Many of them are species commonly associated with drier habitats that have adapted to the semi-aquatic environment that comprises most of the park. It is not uncommon to see whitetail deer wading through the sawgrass prairie or a bobcat foraging for food in a mangrove swamp. This list is made up of species found within the boundary of the park or in the immediate area. Species considered exotic to Everglades National Park are marked with an asterisk (*).

Opossum Didelphis marsupialis
Short-tailed shrew Blarina brevicauda
Least shrew Cryptotis parva
Eastern mole Scalopus aquaticus
Seminole bat Lasiurus seminolus
Florida yellow bat Lasiurus intermedius
Evening bat Nycticeius hymeralis
Brazilian free-tailed bat Tadarida brasiliensis
Florida mastiff bat Eumops glaucinus
Nine-banded armadillo Dasypus novemcinctus*
Marsh rabbit Sylvilagus palustris
Eastern cottontail Sylvilagus floridanus
Gray squirrel Sciurus carolinensis
Fox squirrel Sciurus niger
Southern flying squirrel Glaucomys volans
Rice rat Oryzomys palustris
Cotton mouse Peromyscus gossypinus
Cotton rat Sigmodon hispisus
Roundtail muskrat Neofiber alleni
Roof rat Rattus rattus*
Norway rat Rattus norvegicus
House mouse Mus musculus*
Atlantic bottlenosed dolphin Tursiops truncatus
Short-finned, or Pilot, whale Globicephala marcorhyncha
Gray fox Urocyon cineroargenteus
Red fox Vulpes vulpes*
Domestic dog Canis familiaris*
Black bear Ursus americanus
Raccoon Procyon lotor
Coati Nasua narica*
Everglades mink Mustela vison
Long-tailed weasel Mustela frenata
Eastern spotted skunk Spirogale putorius
Striped skunk Mephitis mephitis
River otter Lutra canadensis
Florida panther Felis concolor coryi
Bobcat Lynx rufus
Domestic cat Felis domesticus*
West Indian Manatee Trichechus manatus
Domestic pig Sus scrofa*
Whitetail deer Odocoileus virginia

Checklist of Birds

This is a complete list of the birds known in the park—347 species as of June 1, 1985—along with a key indicating the abundance and seasonal occurrence of each species. As noted in this list many birds are known in the park from only a few sightings. A few are exotic birds that have escaped captivity. Species considered exotic to Everglades Park are marked with an asterisk (*). Users can contribute to updating future lists by carefully recording details of their observations of less common species and reporting that information to park personnel. For purposes of this listing the seasons are as follows:

Spring: March 1 to May 31
Summer: June 1 to July 31
Fall: August 1 to November 15
Winter: November 16 to February 28
Key to Checklist
C Common
U Uncommon
R Rare
F Fewer than 10 sightings
B Breeds in park
? Uncertain if species breeds in park
Name of Bird Breeds in park Spring Summer Fall Winter
Red-throated Loon F
Common Loon R R R
Pied-billed Grebe B C U C C
Horned Grebe C C C
Red-necked Grebe F
Sooty Shearwater F
Wilson’s Storm Petrel F
Brown Booby F
Northern Gannet F F F
American White Pelican C R C C
Brown Pelican B C C C C
Great Cormorant F
Double-crested Cormorant B C C C C
Anhinga B C C C C
Magnificent Frigatebird U U U U
American Bittern ? U R U C
Least Bittern B U U U U
Great Blue Heron B C C C C
Great Blue Heron (White phase) B C C C C
Great Egret B C C C C
Snowy Egret B C C C C
Little Blue Heron B C C C C
Tricolored Heron B C C C C
Reddish Egret B U U U U
Cattle Egret B C C C C
Green-backed Heron B C C C C
Black-crowned Night Heron B C C C C
Yellow-crowned Night Heron B U U U U
White Ibis B C C C C
Scarlet Ibis (probably escapes) R R R R
Glossy Ibis B U U U U
White-faced Ibis F
Roseate Spoonbill B C U C C
Wood Stork B U R U U
Great Flamingo (probably escapes) R R R R
Fulvous Whistling Duck U U U U
Snow Goose F
Snow Goose (Blue Phase) F
Brant R
Canada Goose F
Wood Duck R
Green-winged Teal U R U
American Black Duck F
Mottled Duck B C C C C
Mallard R
White-checked Pintail F F
Northern Pintail C R C
Blue-winged Teal C R C C
Cinnamon Teal F
Northern Shoveler C R C C
Gadwall R R
Eurasian Wigeon F
American Wigeon C C C
Canvasback R R
Redhead R R
Ring-necked Duck C C C
Greater Scaup F
Lesser Scaup C C C
Oldsquaw F
Black Scoter F
Surf Scoter F
Common Goldeneye F
Bufflehead R
Hooded Merganser U R U
Red-breasted Merganser C R C C
Ruddy Duck U U C
Masked Duck F
Black Vulture B C C C C
Turkey Vulture B C C C C
Osprey B C C C C
American Swallow-tailed Kite B C C R
Black-shouldered Kite F F
Snail Kite B R R R R
Mississippi Kite F F
Bald Eagle B C C C C
Northern Harrier U U C
Sharp-shinned Hawk U U U
Cooper’s Hawk R R R
Red-shouldered Hawk B U R U U
Broad-winged Hawk U U U
Short-tailed Hawk B U R U U
Swainson’s Hawk R R U
Red-tailed Hawk B U U U U
Rough-legged Hawk F
Golden Eagle F
Crested Caracara F
American Kestrel C C C
Merlin U U U
Peregrine Falcon U U U
Wild Turkey B R R R R
Northern Bobwhite B C C C C
Yellow Rail F
Black Rail R
Clapper Rail B C C C C
King Rail B C C C C
Virginia Rail R R R
Sora Rail C C C
Purple Gallinule B C C C C
Common Moorhen B C C C C
American Coot B C R C C
Caribbean Coot F F F
Limpkin B C C C C
Sandhill Crane B R R R R
Black-bellied Plover C R C C
Lesser Golden Plover R R R
Snowy Plover F F
Wilson’s Plover B C C C U
Semipalmated Plover C U C C
Piping Plover U U U
Killdeer B C U C C
American Oystercatcher R
Black-necked Stilt B U R U R
American Avocet C U C C
Greater Yellowlegs C U C C
Lesser Yellowlegs C U C C
Solitary Sandpiper U U R
Willet ? C U C C
Spotted Sandpiper C C C
Upland Sandpiper F F
Whimbrel U R U U
Long-billed Curlew R R R
Hudsonian Godwit F F
Marbled Godwit C R C C
Ruddy Turnstone C U C C
Red Knot U R U U
Sanderling U U U
Semipalmated Sandpiper U U R
Western Sandpiper C R C C
Least Sandpiper C U C C
White-rumped Sandpiper R R
Baird’s Sandpiper R
Pectoral Sandpiper C C R
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper F
Dunlin C C C
Curlew Sandpiper F
Stilt Sandpiper U U R
Buff-breasted Sandpiper F
Ruff F
Short-billed Dowitcher C U C C
Long-billed Dowitcher U U U R
Common Snipe U U U
American Woodcock R R
Wilson’s Phalarope F
Red-necked Phalarope F
Parasitic Jaeger F
Laughing Gull B C C C C
Franklin’s Gull F
Bonaparte’s Gull U U
Ring-billed Gull C U C C
Herring Gull C U C C
Lesser Black-backed Gull F
Great Black-backed Gull F
Gull-billed Tern U U U U
Caspian Tern C R C C
Royal Tern C U C C
Sandwich Tern U U U U
Roseate Tern R
Common Tern U U U
Forster’s Tern C U C C
Least Tern B C C U
Bridled Tern F
Sooty Tern F F
Black Tern U U U R
Brown Noddy F F
Black Skimmer C C C C
Rock Dove* F F F F
White-crowned Pigeon B C C C U
White-winged Dove F F F F
Zenaida Dove F
Mourning Dove B C C C C
Common Ground Dove B U U U U
Key West Quail Dove F F
Budgerigar (escapes) F F
Rose-ringed Parakeet (escapes) F
Monk Parakeet (escapes) F
Canary-winged Parakeet (escapes) F
Yellow-billed Cuckoo B C C C R
Mangrove Cuckoo B U U U U
Smooth-billed Ani B U U U U
Groove-billed Ani F F F
Common Barn Owl B U U U U
Eastern Screech Owl B C C C C
Great Horned Owl B R R R R
Burrowing Owl R
Barred Owl B C C C C
Long-eared Owl F
Short-eared Owl R R R
Lesser Nighthawk F F
Common Nighthawk B C C C R
Chuck-will’s-widow B C C C R
Whip-poor-will U U C
Chimney Swift R
Ruby-throated Hummingbird C R C C
Belted Kingfisher C R C C
Red-headed Woodpecker F
Red-bellied Woodpecker B C C C C
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker U U C
Downy Woodpecker B U U U U
Hairy Woodpecker B R R R R
Red-cockaded Woodpecker Extirpated
Northern Flicker B C C C C
Pileated Woodpecker B C C C C
Ivory-billed Woodpecker Extirpated
Olive-sided Flycatcher F
Eastern Wood Pewee U U R
Acadian Flycatcher R
Willow Flycatcher R
Least Flycatcher U U U R
Eastern Phoebe C C C
Say’s Phoebe F
Vermilion Flycatcher F F
Great Crested Flycatcher B C C C C
Brown-crested Flycatcher R R
Tropical Kingbird F F
Western Kingbird U U U
Eastern Kingbird B C C C R
Gray Kingbird B C C C
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher R R R
Purple Martin C C C
Tree Swallow C C C
Northern Rough-winged Swallow U U R
Bank Swallow U U
Cliff Swallow R U
Barn Swallow B U R C R
Blue Jay B C C C C
American Crow B C C C C
Fish Crow F
Tufted Titmouse R R
White-breasted Nuthatch F
Brown-headed Nuthatch Extirpated
Brown Creeper F
Carolina Wren B C C C C
House Wren C C C
Winter Wren F
Sedge Wren U U U
Marsh Wren U U U
Ruby-crowned Kinglet U U U
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher C C C
Eastern Bluebird Extirpated
Veery U U
Gray-cheeked Thrush U U
Swainson’s Thrush U U F
Hermit Thrush U U R
Wood Thrush R R F
American Robin R-C
Gray Catbird C C C
Northern Mockingbird B C C C C
Brown Thrasher U U U
Water Pipit R R
Cedar Waxwing R-C R-C R-C
Loggerhead Shrike B U U U U
European Starling* B U U U U
Hill Myna (probably escapes) F
Thick-billed Vireo F
White-eyed Vireo B C C C C
Bell’s Vireo F F
Solitary Vireo U U U
Yellow-throated Vireo U U U
Warbling Vireo F F
Philadelphia Vireo R R
Red-eyed Vireo C C F
Black-whispered Vireo B C C C
Blue-winged Warbler R R F
Golden-winged Warbler R R
Tennessee Warbler U U R
Orange-crowned Warbler U U U
Nashville Warbler F R F
Northern Parula C R C C
Yellow Warbler B C C C U
Chestnut-sided Warbler R R
Magnolia Warbler U U R
Cape May Warbler U-C U-C R
Black-throated Blue Warbler C C U-R
Yellow-rumped Warbler R-C R-C C
Black-throated Gray Warbler F
Black-throated Green Warbler U U U
Blackburnian Warbler U U F
Yellow-throated Warbler C U C C
Pine Warbler B C C C C
Kirtland’s Warbler F
Prairie Warbler B C C C C
Palm Warbler C C C
Bay-breasted Warbler F F
Blackpoll Warbler C R
Cerulean Warbler R
Black-and-white Warbler C C C
American Redstart C U C U
Prothonotary Warbler U U F
Worm-eating Warbler U U R
Swainson’s Warbler R R
Ovenbird C C C
Northern Waterthrush C C C
Louisiana Waterthrush C U C R
Kentucky Warbler R R F
Connecticut Warbler R
Mourning Warbler F
Common Yellowthroat B C C C C
Hooded Warbler U U F
Wilson’s Warbler R R F
Yellow-breasted Chat U U U
Bananaquit F
Stripe-headed Tanager F
Summer Tanager R R F
Scarlet Tanager F F F
Western Tanager F F F
Northern Cardinal B C C C C
Rose-breasted Grosbeak U U R
Blue Grosbeak U U F
Indigo Bunting C C R
Painted Bunting C C U-R
Dickcissel F F F
Rufous-sided Towhee B C C C C
Black-faced Grassquit F F
Bachman’s Sparrow F F F
Chipping Sparrow R R R
Clay-colored Sparrow R R R
Field Sparrow U U U
Vesper Sparrow F F F
Lark Sparrow F F
Lark Bunting F F
Savannah Sparrow C C C
Grasshopper Sparrow U U U
Le Conte’s Sparrow F
Sharp-tailed Sparrow R R U
Seaside Sparrow R
Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow B C C C C
Song Sparrow F
Lincoln’s Sparrow R-U
Swamp Sparrow C C C
White-throated Sparrow F F
White-crowned Sparrow R F
Dark-eyed Junco F F
Bobolink C C F
Red-winged Blackbird B C C C C
Eastern Meadowlark B C C C C
Yellow-headed Blackbird R R R
Rusty Blackbird F
Brewer’s Blackbird R
Boat-tailed Grackle B C C C C
Common Grackle B C C C C
Bronzed Cowbird F
Brown-headed Cowbird U U R
Orchard Oriole U U
Spot-breasted Oriole F
Northern Oriole (Baltimore race) C C R
Northern Oriole (Bullock’s race) R R R
Pine Siskin F
American Goldfinch C C C
House Sparrow* B U U U U