Publications

SELECT PUBLICATIONS
A few publications available for download through ResearchGate.

Species accounts in the Second Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas. Book available here.
Species profiles and habitat scorecards for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Free PDFs available here.CPW species profiles 2019Popular science

  • Ortega, C. P.  2009.  Predicting species: A of game of high reason adds a suspenseful twist to the birding experience.  Birding 41(5):52-56.
  • Ortega, C. P.  2003.  Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory profile.  Birding 35:278-282.Ortega, C. P.  2002.  Seeking safety behind waterfalls: In a world of compromises, Black Swifts raise their young where predators cannot reach them.  Colorado Outdoors 51:6-9.
  • Ortega, C. P.  2000. More on cowbirds: broad-scale control of cowbirds targets the wrong birds.  Birding 32:364-366.
  • Ortega, C. P.  1997.  Social outcasts: Brown-headed Cowbirds are ingenious pests and a natural part of our ecosystem in Colorado.  Colorado Outdoors 46(4):22-25.
  • Ortega, C. P.  2000. Listening to elk: A three-year study of elk in southwest Colorado yields clues to their wintering areas and migration routes.  Colorado Outdoors 49:16-19.
  • Ortega, C. P.  1988.  A species of concern: The American Bittern.  Colorado Outdoors 37(4)24-25.

Noise pollution

  • Ortega, C. P.  2012.  Effects of noise pollution on birds: a brief review of our knowledge.   In The Influence of Anthropogenic Noise on Birds and Bird Studies, C. D. Francis and J. L. Blickley, Eds. Ornithological Monographs 74:6–22.
  • Ortega, C. P., and C. D. Francis.  2012.  Effects of gas well compressor noise on ability to detect birds during surveys in northwest New Mexico.  In The Influence of Anthropogenic Noise on Birds and Bird Studies, C. D. Francis and J. L. Blickley, Eds. Ornithological Monographs 74:78–90.
  • Francis, C. D., C. P. Ortega, R. I. Kennedy, and P. J. Nylander.  2012.  Are nest predators absent from noisy areas or unable to locate nests?  In The Influence of Anthropogenic Noise on Birds and Bird Studies, C. D. Francis and J. L. Blickley, Eds. Ornithological Monographs 74:101-110.
  • Francis, C. D., N. J. Kleist, B. J. Davidson, C. P. Ortega and A. Cruz.  2012.  Behavioral responses by two songbirds to natural-gas-well compressor noise.  In The Influence of Anthropogenic Noise on Birds and Bird Studies, C. D. Francis and J. L. Blickley, Eds. Ornithological Monographs 74:36-46.
  • Francis, C. D., N. J. Kleist, C. P. Ortega, and A. Cruz.  2012. Noise pollution alters ecological services: enhanced pollination and disrupted seed dispersal.  Proceedings of the Royal Society B 279:2727-2735.  doi:10.1098/rspb.2012.0230.
  • Francis, D. C., C. P. Ortega, and A. Cruz.  2011.  Different behavioural responses to anthropogenic noise by two closely related passerine birds.  Biology Letters 2011(7):850-852. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2011.0359.
  • Francis, C. D., C. P. Ortega, and A. Cruz.  2011.  Noise pollution filters bird communities based on vocal frequency.  PLoS ONE 6(11): e27052. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0027052.
  • Francis, D. C., J. Paritsis, C. P. Ortega, and A. Cruz.  2011.  Landscape patterns of avian habitat use and nest success are affected by chronic gas well compressor noise.  Landscape Ecology.  DOI 10.1007/s10980-011-9609-z.
  • Francis, C. D., C. P. Ortega, and J. Hansen.  2011.  Importance of juniper to birds nesting in piñon-juniper woodlands in northwest New Mexico.  Journal of Wildlife Management 75:1574–1580.
  • Francis, C. D., C. P. Ortega, and A. Cruz.  2010.  Vocal frequency change reflects different responses to anthropogenic noise in two suboscine tyrant flycatchers.  Proceedings of the Royal Society B. (2011) 278: 2025–2031. doi:10.1098/rspb.2010.1847:1-7.
  • Francis, C. D., C. P. Ortega, and A. Cruz.  2009.  Noise pollution changes avian communities and species interactions.  Current Biology 19(16):1415-1419.

Cowbirds

Cowbirds and Other Brood Parasites. Available at Amazon.

  • Ortega, J. C., and C. P. Ortega. In press (2017). Age structure of adult Brown-headed Cowbirds in Southwest Colorado. Western Birds.
  • Ortega, J. C., and C. P. Ortega. 2017. Contributing variables to nest survival, and the breeding biology, of the Western Wood-Pewee (Contopus sordidulus), in Southwestern Colorado. Southwest Naturalist 61:312-320.
  • Ortega, J. C., and C. P. Ortega.  2009.  Sex ratios and survival probabilities of Brown-headed Cowbirds in southwest Colorado.  Auk 126:268-277.
  • Ortega, C. P., J. Chace, and B. D. Peer.  2005.  Research directions and cowbird management.  In Management of cowbirds and their hosts: balancing science, ethics, and mandates. Catherine P. Ortega, Jameson Chace, and Brian D. Peer, Eds.  Ornithological Monographs No. 57. pp. 1-5.
  • Ortega, C. P., A. Cruz, and M. E. Mermoz.  2005.  Issues and controversies of cowbird management.  In Management of cowbirds and their hosts: balancing science, ethics, and mandates. Catherine P. Ortega, Jameson Chace, and Brian D. Peer, Eds.  Ornithological Monographs No. 57. pp. 6-15.
  • Ortega, C. P.  2004.  Brood parasitism among birds.  In Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior.  M. Bekoff, Ed.  Greenwood Press, Portsmouth, NH.  ISBN 0-313-32745-9.
  • Ortega, C. P., and J. C. Ortega.  2003.  Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) parasitism on Warbling Vireos (Vireo gilvus) in southwest Colorado.  Auk 120:759-764.
  • Ortega, C. P., and J. C. Ortega.  2001.  Effects of Brown-headed Cowbirds on the nesting success of Chipping Sparrows in southwest Colorado.  Condor 103:127-133.
  • Ortega, J. C., and C. P. Ortega.  2000.  Effects of Brown-headed Cowbirds and predators on the nesting success of Yellow Warblers in southwest Colorado.  Journal of Field Ornithology 71:516-524.
  • Prather, J. W., C. P. Ortega, and A. Cruz.  2000.  Aggressive responses of Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) toward Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater) in areas of recent and long-term sympatry.  Bird Behavior 13:1-7.
  • Ortega, C. P., J. C. Ortega, C. A. Rapp, and S. A. Backensto.  1998.  Validating the use of artificial nests in predation experiments.  Journal of Wildlife Management 62:925-932.
  • Cruz, A., W. Post, J. W. Wiley, C. P. Ortega, T. K. Nakamura, and J. W. Prather.  1998.  Potential impacts of cowbird range expansion in Florida.  In Parasitic birds and their hosts: Studies in coevolution (S. I. Rothstein and S. K. Robinson, eds.).  pp. 313-336.  Oxford University Press, New York, NY.
  • Ortega, C. P., J. C. Ortega, S. A. Backensto, and C. A. Rapp.  1996.  Improved methods for aging second-year and after-second-year male Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater).  Journal of Field Ornithology 67:542-548.
  • Ortega, C. P., J. C. Ortega, and A. Cruz.  1994.  Potential use of artificial cowbird eggs as a management tool in deterring parasitism.  Journal of Wildlife Management 58:488-492.
  • Ortega, J. C., C. P. Ortega, and A Cruz.  1993.  Does Brown-headed Cowbird egg coloration influence Red-winged Blackbird responses toward nest contents?  Condor 95:271-219.
  • Ortega, C. P., and A. Cruz.  1992.  Differential growth patterns of nestling Brown-headed Cowbirds and Yellow-headed Blackbirds.  Auk 109:368-376.
  • Ortega, C. P., and A. Cruz.  1992.  Gene flow of the obscurus race into the Brown-headed Cowbird population of north central Colorado.  Journal of Field Ornithology 63:311-317.