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ID-FRONTIERS for February 1-5, 2000
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Subject: Bird Songs of the Rocky Mountain States and
Provinces - a review
From: Tony Leukering <GreatGrayO(AT)AOL.COM>
Date: 1 Feb 2000 12:29am
Hi all:
I am writing to review the new CD set, Bird Songs of the Rocky Mountain
States and Provinces, by Robert Righter and Geoffrey A. Keller, and produced
by the Library of Natural Sounds, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. I want
to state up front that I have, and have had, no part in the production or
distribution of this product, nor do I at all benefit, financially or
otherwise, from this product.
This CD is a collection of recordings from numerous recordists that are,
presumably, housed at the Library of Natural Sounds. As stated in the
booklet accompanying the CD, the production crew endeavored to use recordings
made in the Rocky Mountain states and provinces, but many cuts are from
outside the region. The CD comes with a booklet of liner notes providing
some description of the sounds (in CD order), including transcriptions of
various vocalizations, and the state/province in which each cut was recorded.
There were a few annoying grammatical and/or typographical mistakes in the
text, but I am a fairly nit-picky reader/editor.
There are a lot of products that provide us birders with the main
vocalizations of most of North America's bird species. So, with this seeming
plethora of tapes and CDs of bird voices available, why should one plunk down
money for yet another set? For me, there are two possible reasons: 1) to
obtain calls and/or songs of species that other CDs don't provide and 2) to
obtain better-quality and/or longer cuts of voices of species covered by
other products. There is also the related possibility that longer cuts would
include more types of vocalizations. But, why a regional CD, as this one?
Again, there are multiple reasons, two of which are the same as above.
However, the main reason in which I'd be interested in a regionally-oriented
CD is to have a source that would provide regional dialects or voices of
local subspecies that are poorly represented in more-encompassing products,
particularly for those species that sound different in various parts of their
ranges.
So, let's cut to the chase - does this product do any of the above? And, if
so, how well and how consistently?
The booklet that came with the CD says that the product covers "259 species
of birds... of the Rocky Mountain states and provinces...." I was a bit
disappointed that it didn't mention which states and provinces those are.
The list of species makes it obvious that south-eastern Arizona was excluded,
but what about New Mexico? I would assume that Nevada is not included, but
what about Utah? British Columbia should be in, but what about Alaska? Or
the Northwest Territories? This may sound like nit-picking, but since the
area covered determines which races ought to be included on the CD (which I
discuss, below), I believe that the definition of the covered area is an
unfortunate omission.
I wanted to see what percentage of the covered species were represented by
cuts recorded in the region covered. Since the liner notes in the booklet
provided the state and/or province (or country for a couple cuts) of the
recordings used, I simply counted the number of species that fell into three
categories: recorded in the region, not recorded in the region, and some cuts
recorded in and some cuts not recorded in the region. Within the middle
category, I separated out those species that I didn't particularly care if
the cuts were recorded in the region and those that I felt that the
recordings used should have been from the region covered, due entirely to my
knowledge of vocal differences across races in those species. I assumed that
the region consisted of the following states and provinces: BC, AB, ID, MT,
UT, CO, AZ (at least northern AZ), and NM.
My quick results: all recordings for 50 species were recorded in the region,
some recordings for 69 species were recorded in the region, and all
recordings for 140 species were recorded outside the region. The latter
category was comprised mostly of non-passerines, a bunch of sub-oscine
passerines, and a large number of species that, as far as I'm aware, don't
vary vocally across fairly substantial ranges. Since non-passerines and
sub-oscines are considered to have hard-wired vocalizations, that is they are
innate, not learned, voices of these species do not vary much, if at all,
throughout their ranges. That is, a Pied-billed Grebe sounds like a
Pied-billed Grebe, whether you're hearing it in Maine or British Columbia.
Therefore, having most of these species recorded outside the region doesn't
concern me.
However, there is a list of five species for which recordings really should
have been obtained locally or for which additional races should have been
included. These are Canada Goose, Willow Flycatcher, Black-capped Chickadee,
White-breasted Nuthatch, Winter Wren, and Yellow-rumped Warbler. Had the
authors defined the area covered, I might not have had to take them to task
for omitting Southwestern Willow Flycatcher, which sounds very different from
all other races that I have heard. This form is supposed to occur into
southwestern Colorado, possibly as far north as Grand Junction.
Additionally, having more birders aware of the vocal differences between
Southwestern Willow and other Willow Flycatchers can only help define what is
a somewhat-poorly-defined breeding range of this Endangered subspecies.
In much of the eastern part of the Rocky Mountains, at least three races of
Canada Goose are of regular, often abundant, occurrence: Giant/Western,
Lesser, and Richardson's. All three sound at least somewhat different, with
Richardson's sounding demonstrably different from that of the widespread and
oft-times nuisance Giant/Western race (or races?). Thus, including
recordings of the species only from North Carolina is disappointing. Winter
Wrens of the western races breed in the north-western part of the Rockies,
thus inclusion of recordings from Oregon and British Columbia are fine.
However, individuals of one of the eastern races are rare to uncommon
migrants and winter visitors to at least the Front Range of Colorado. Since
those birds have very different call notes from those of the western races, I
feel that a cut of eastern Winter Wren should have been included. And,
recordings from Oregon were the only ones included for Yellow-rumped Warbler
and only one call-note type was described in the liner notes. This is very
unfortunate, as both Audubon's and Myrtle warblers breed in the Rockies and
both are uncommon to common migrants throughout. And, as most of us know,
call notes of the two are very different and are often the easiest method of
separation.
Despite these omissions, I believe that the species for which non-inclusion
of local recordings is the most egregious mistake on this CD is
White-breasted Nuthatch. One simply could not correctly identify
White-breasted Nuthatches in the Rocky Mountains using the examples provided
(from New York and California). There are three vocal forms of this species:
eastern (which is the one found on most bird-voice tapes and CDs), Rocky
Mountain and Great Basin, and Pacific-slope. Of the three, the Rocky
Mountain birds have the most distinctive voices with no calls that could even
remotely be rendered as "yank." Since these vocal differences may suggest
separate species status (a la the Solitary Vireo complex), it would certainly
behoove birders to know, and pay attention to, the vocalizations of
White-breasted Nuthatches. Since at least one of the authors lives only a
stone's throw away from resident nuthatches on the Colorado Front Range, I'm
not sure why this mistake was made.
Okay, now that I've gotten the negatives off my chest, I would like to say
that this CD is mostly very good to great! The species covered are typical
of the Rocky Mountains, though why Lesser Nighthawk was included is somewhat
mystifying, particularly since (Lillian's) Eastern Meadowlark was not. Both
are species with sizable breeding ranges in New Mexico and Arizona, but not
further north. The cuts are mostly lengthy and provide a wide variety of
calls and songs for most species. I was very happy to hear the call note of
the Rocky Mountain race of Fox Sparrow, a call that I have tried very hard to
hear at numerous locations in Colorado, but have not - they just don't like
to call, apparently :-). Since the taxonomy of this species as currently
delineated by the AOU (1997) is somewhat in doubt, and since the call notes
vary across races, knowing what our breeding birds sound like is quite
important. I also liked hearing the rolling call of Gray Vireo included,
particularly since this is the main call used on the winter grounds, where
the species is territorial. Also, having Plumbeous Vireo right next door on
the CD provides for a great comparison of these oft-mistaken species.
Speaking of order, I appreciate having the CD in current taxonomic order (AOU
1997), as when I invariably lose the booklet, I will still be able to find
every individual species on the CD. Birders that are not as familiar with
taxonomic order, particularly those with older field guides may have trouble
with the order. I suggest to those, don't be like me - keep the booklet with
the CDs! The obvious drawback to the order presented is that it is
mechanically difficult to compare some similar-sounding, but unrelated
species, such as American Robin and Black-headed Grosbeak. Fortunately, both
members of that pair are at least on the same CD. However, for me, I greatly
prefer taxonomic order.
Some people seem to dislike all the background noises, which consist mostly
of vocalizations of other bird species. I like having the background vocals
as it provides some grounding in the habitat in which the bird occurs. And
it's fun and challenging to try to identify all the background birds. Though
it obviously would have been a lot of work, having a short list of background
species in the liner notes for each cut would have been wonderful.
All in all, I congratulate the authors and publishers on a job well done!
Hopefully, some or all of the omissions can be corrected in future editions.
Literature cited:
American Ornithologists' Union [AOU]. 1997. A Check-list of North
American Birds, 7th ed. Allen Press, Lawrence, KS.
Sincerely,
Tony Leukering
Brighton, CO
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Bicknell's Thrush
From: Giff Beaton <giffbeaton(AT)MINDSPRING.COM>
Date: 1 Feb 2000 8:18am
Like many other states in eastern North America, we here in Georgia are
trying to figure out what the actual occurrence of this species is in our
state. Given their breeding and wintering ranges, most sources suggest a
coastal (or offshore in fall) migration route in both seasons.
Unfortunately, there are very few credible records for Bicknell's in GA,
all of which are either banded birds or specimens that were measured. Of
this small number of records, all of the fall records are away from the
coast. While this is almost certainly the result of having few banders on
the coast historically, I am not concerned about the lack of records from
the coast as much as I am the presence of about 7 or 8 records inland (all
of the fall records are from inland locations). These all come from typical
locations for trans-gulf migrants. FL has records from Panama City of BITH
in both spring and fall (Birdlife of Florida, Steveson and Anderson). I
guess the question is this: Are records away from the coast just the
occasional off-course bird, numbers exaggerated by the overall scarcity of
records, or something else? If anyone has any information to add, please
either send it to me directly or to Frontiers if you feel the list would be
interested. Thank you, Giff Beaton <giffbeaton(AT)mindspring.com> Marietta GA
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Gull photos from Spain online
From: Ricard Gutierrez <GUTARB(AT)santandersupernet.com>
Date: 3 Feb 2000 1:00pm
Hello:
At the web site of the Llobregat Delta Nature Reserves
(http://www.gencat.es/darp/rndelta.htm ) we've added today 12 new photos of
a 1st w Oldsquaw/Long-Tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis), a vagrant in the
Mediterranean sea, and of some gulls, including Mediterranean gull (Larus
melanocephalus), Yellow-legged gull (L.cachinnans michahellis) and Lesser
Black Backed gull (L.fuscus). All of them have been taken these days here
and sum a total of 76 bird photos of species of our area. Browse from main
page to photo page.I think they might be interesting as further reference to
these species knowledge.
Besides, you'll find information on rare birds in Spain plus info on the
reserves.
Yours
Ricard Gutiérrez
Llobregat Delta Nature Reserves
CR/SEO.
3.2.2000
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Field Assistants wanted
From: Richard Veit <VEIT(AT)POSTBOX.CSI.CUNY.EDU>
Date: 4 Feb 2000 7:13am
Wanted: Two field assistants to spend 1 month on Muskeget Island,
Massachusetts, 15 April-15 May 2000, as part of project to encourage
colonization by Roseate Terns. Work will include disruption of gull
nesting. Excellent opportunity for monitoring migrant and vagrant
birds. Salary about $250/week/person plus benefits. Send resume to
Richard R. Veit
Biology Department
THe College of Staten Island
2800 Victory Boulevard
Staten Island,, NY 10314
Fax 718-982-3852
Phone
718-982-3862
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Tufted Duck female vs. sub-adult male plumage
From: "Terence P. Brashear" <terence.p.brashear(AT)SYNTEGRA.COM>
Date: 5 Feb 2000 1:54pm
Hi
I would like to have someone familiar with identification/separation of
sub-adult male and female Tufted Ducks to get in touch with me regarding a
bird that is currently in Minnesota. There are a couple of people
speculating that the bird is a sub-adult male, but I have not found much in
the way of discussion relating to separating a sub-adult male from an adult
female. Please feel free to contact me or post your response to the list
if you have experience with this species.
There is an image available at:
http://biosci.cbs.umn.edu/~mou/recent.html
Note there is a white frontal patch which cannot be seen in this image and
the bird is brown not black as the picture shows.
Thank you in advance.
Terry Brashear
Minneapolis, MN
terence.p.brashear(AT)syntegra.com
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