 |
|
|
|
|
ID-FRONTIERS for November 19-25, 2000
[ Prev Week
| Next Week
| Calendar Month
| ID-FRONTIERS Info
]
|
|
To use email addresses replace '(AT)' with '@'.
This is done to confuse the spam 'bots.
|
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: a storm-petrel
From: Eric Preston <ewpreston(AT)MINDSPRING.COM>
Date: 20 Nov 2000 7:54pm
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
----INCLUDING text/plain MIME SECTION----
Hello there,
I was editing some slides recently and came across a couple of a
storm-petrel species I believe I've never seen before. Please have a look
and let me know what you think.
http://www.mindspring.com/~ewpreston/birds/stormp.htm
Reminds me of a story I read once about a Stygian Owl...
Thanks,
Eric Preston
ewpreston(AT)mindspring.com
San Francisco, CA
----DELETED text/html MIME SECTION----
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: a skua
From: Eric Preston <ewpreston(AT)MINDSPRING.COM>
Date: 20 Nov 2000 7:54pm
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
----INCLUDING text/plain MIME SECTION----
Hello there again,
A similar thing happened with a skua on a different trip. No one noticed
this at the time, but the slides on a light box with a loupe show this skua
to have a definite cinnamon cast to the belly. The scans don't show it as
well, but I'd like any input anyone has to offer. Please have a look and let
me know what you think.
http://www.mindspring.com/~ewpreston/birds/skua.htm
Thanks,
Eric Preston
ewpreston(AT)mindspring.com
San Francisco, CA
----DELETED text/html MIME SECTION----
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Salvin's/Chatham Albatross off California
From: Ross Silcock <silcock(AT)SIDNEY.HEARTLAND.NET>
Date: 20 Nov 2000 8:12pm
Regarding the "Shy" Albatross seen off California 29 July 2000, about which
there was some agreement that it was a salvini, although eremita could not
be ruled out on plumage grounds(as noted by David James) even though it
would seem unlikely on geographic grounds, there is an interesting abstract
in the latest Notornis (Vol 47, page 174). The abstract is entitled "The
Chatham Albatross (Thalassarche eremita): at home and abroad" by Chris
Robertson, David Bell, and David Nicholls, and was presented at the
Ornithological Society of NZ Annual Meeting at Napier, NZ, on 4 June 2000.
I believe that the information therein strongly suggests that the 29 July
California bird could have indeed been either eremita or salvini.
The abstract says in part: "Satellite tracking of 13 birds, band returns,
fisheries by-catch and observations at sea have provided the first
definitive picture of distribution at sea [of eremita]in the South Pacific.
Breeding records suggest laying in Aug-Sep, incubation of 66-72 days,
hatching Oct-Dec and probable chick fledging Feb-Apr. ....... Following
breeding, birds migrate to Chile and Peru, returning via a more northerly
route in Jul-Aug. ...."
If the California bird was indeed eremita, and as it appeared to be a
juvenile, then a plausible scenario has the bird fledged in Feb-Apr 2000 and
making its way to the Humboldt current, moving north, and instead of
returning to NZ in Jul-Aug, continuing north across the equator.
Apparently salvini which reach South America are mostly from colonies at the
Snares and Bounty Is (Harrison 1983), where young fledge primarily in Apr
(HANZAB, citing Chris Robertson). Thus timing of fledging is unfortunately
of little help in providing a clue to identification of juvenile "cauta"
albatrosses in the eastern Pacific. Juveniles of both taxa apparently occur
in the Humboldt Current at the same time.
Ross
Ross Silcock
Tabor, IA
silcock(AT)sidney.heartland.net
New Zealand Land and Pelagic Trips
<http://sidney.heartland.net/silcock>
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: QRY: Undertail coverts Am/Pac GPlover
From: "James H. Barton" <redwing1986(AT)MEDIAONE.NET>
Date: 21 Nov 2000 5:25pm
Hello. Back to my currently favorite birds.
<Tundra Plovers>, page Table 4, page 402, in listing field marks for
"fully developed breeding plumages (males), for American Golden
..dominica.. and Pacific Golden ..fulva.., states that "Vent & under
tail coverts" for American are "black" and for Pacific are "Black,
varying amount of white". From this it appears that a white vent and/or
undertail coverts is diagnostic for adult breeding Pacific, while black
does not distinguish between the two species. Do you agree?
And now the real question: What holds for "Vent & under tail
coverts" for transitional birds in August, September, October, and for
birds in full basic plumage? Do white undertail coverts, for example,
eliminate American?
Thanks for your help.
Jim Barton
redwing1986(AT)mediaone.net
Cambridge, MA
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Archives?
From: Ross Silcock <silcock(AT)SIDNEY.HEARTLAND.NET>
Date: 23 Nov 2000 10:52am
How does one (or can one) access BIRDWG01 archives beyond what is available
on Birding on the Web?
Any tips much appreciated.
Ross
Ross Silcock
Tabor, IA
silcock(AT)sidney.heartland.net
http://sidney.heartland.net/silcock
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Mew Gull, the odd one out
From: norman van swelm <Norman.vanswelm(AT)WXS.NL>
Date: 24 Nov 2000 6:08pm
As you may remember, last winter Peter de Knijff and I found a gull, here in
The Netherlands, showing characters of Short-billed Gull L.c.brachyrhynchus.
It stayed two months during which we took many photo's, some of which are on
show on Martin Reids gull page. We did all we could to see and photograph
the narrow white wedge separating the black tip from the grey base of
primary 8. This is important since it is considered diagnostic in
distinguishing brachyrhynchus from all other races of Larus canus. No matter
what we did we could not get a good or long enough view of the 8th primary
of this bird. It was so confident that it either sat for hours at a few
metres from us without blinking an eye and when it moved, in order to chase
a Black-headed Gull away, it did so too unexpectedly to see anything. The
pleasant thing was that it considered us as something worth fighting for! On
the
pictures however there seems to be no or hardly any white wedge, hence it
being disqualified as brachyrhynchus! During our further studies and with
the help of Pim Wolf, who incidentally saw the bird as well, we established
that our Dutch breeding bird, which because of its small size I choose to
name L.canus minor, can show a white wedge in P8 as well! Indeed we found
out that
the same also holds true in L.c.kamtchatchensis! So, if someone sees a
L.canus with a white wedge on P8 in Europe or Japan, that someone cannot be
certain it is a brachyrhynchos despite it being considered as diagnostic!
But what about the other way around? Are there any L.c.brachyrhynchus in
America or Canada without a white wedge in P8?
Ron Pittaway brought us in contact with Michel Gosselin (Collection
Services, Canadian Museum of Nature, P.O. Box 3443, Station D Ottawa,
Ontario CANADA K1P 6P4) and he has had a bit of research done for us. He
reports the following:
'I had someone go over the 60 or so adult Mew Gulls in the collection to
see if any were missing a white wedge on P8, and she found one (only) such
specimen: CMNAV 49769, a female taken at Tuya Lake, B.C.,16 July 1962. It
has only a thin (c. 1 mm) light line between the black and the gray areas of
the wing. Our one specimen of kamtschatschensis (from Japan) also has no
white wedge.'
Now, does one bird challenges the diagnosibility of brachyrhynchus versus
the other canus races when found in the US or Canada? Perhaps not (yet) but
from personal experience I can assure you that it would take magical eyes to
see a 1 mm light line on P8 in a wild bird! So is it not time to look for
easier clues? Some of my earlier findings have been mentioned before in
Martin Reid's postings (head, bill, tail, undertail coverts, short tarsi).
Perhaps the old name Short-billed Gull is not so bad after all, mewing
doesn't seem so diagnostic for a gull?
So may I invite you all to have a look at brachyrhynchus' P8 this winter and
send your results to ID Frontiers?
Norman D.van Swelm
|
|
|
|
BIRDxxxx
BIRDCHAT
ID-FRONTIERS
US:NewEngland
