ID-FRONTIERS for July 13-19, 2003

Messages are displayed in the order they were received.  Subject  From  Date   Time   Hendersoni Short-billed Dowitcher   Jean Iron    Wed, 16 Jul 2003   7:53am   RE : Jaeger in FL   =?iso-8859-1?Q?Pierr   Wed, 16 Jul 2003   9:25am   Re: RE : Jaeger in FL   Alvaro Jaramillo    Wed, 16 Jul 2003   10:10am   Re: Hendersoni Short-billed Dowitcher   Eric L. Mills   Wed, 16 Jul 2003   1:29pm   Re: Hendersoni Short-billed Dowitcher   Richard Heil    Wed, 16 Jul 2003   2:02pm   Hendersonii Short-billeds   Julian Hough    Wed, 16 Jul 2003   4:34pm   Re: Hendersonii Short-billeds   John Idzikowski    Wed, 16 Jul 2003   5:03pm   Possible "longipennis" Common Tern at Stone Harbor, NJ   Will Russell    Wed, 16 Jul 2003   7:52pm   Intergrade Short-billed Dowitchers   Jean Iron    Thu, 17 Jul 2003   5:34am   Longipennis Common Terns   Julian Hough    Thu, 17 Jul 2003   7:00am   Western Kingbird In Baltimore   Elliot Kirschbaum    Thu, 17 Jul 2003   7:42am   Re: Western Kingbird In Baltimore   Joseph Morlan    Thu, 17 Jul 2003   8:45am   Re: Western Kingbird In Baltimore   Mark    Thu, 17 Jul 2003   10:43am   Re: Longipennis Common Terns   Angus Wilson    Thu, 17 Jul 2003   11:01am   another unusual EAKI   Mark T. Adams   Thu, 17 Jul 2003   11:28am   Re: Western Kingbird In Baltimore   Elliot Kirschbaum    Thu, 17 Jul 2003   12:57pm   Re: another unusual EAKI   Joseph Morlan    Thu, 17 Jul 2003   2:16pm   Re: Western Kingbird In Baltimore   Tony Leukering    Thu, 17 Jul 2003   2:20pm   longipennis/tibetana Common terns   Julian Hough    Thu, 17 Jul 2003   4:08pm   possible longipennis Common Tern   Michael O'Brien   Thu, 17 Jul 2003   6:03pm   one-year-old Swainson's Hawk?   David Christie    Thu, 17 Jul 2003   6:22pm   Re: Western Kingbird In Baltimore   Chris Elphick    Fri, 18 Jul 2003   4:13am   Re: Longipennis Common Terns   Norman D.van Swelm   Fri, 18 Jul 2003   4:25pm   Dowitcher Id. photo   Julian Hough    Fri, 18 Jul 2003   7:10pm   Re: Dowitcher Id. photo   Alvaro Jaramillo    Fri, 18 Jul 2003   10:18pm   Plegadis eye color   Steven Mlodinow    Sat, 19 Jul 2003   7:47pm

To use email addresses replace '(AT)' with '@'. This is done to confuse the spam 'bots.

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Subject: Hendersoni Short-billed Dowitcher
From: Jean Iron <jeaniron(AT)SYMPATICO.CA>
Date: 16 Jul 2003 7:53am

Hello ID-Frontiers,

We thought that birders would like to see a classic Short-billed Dowitcher
of the interior subspecies (Limnodromus griseus hendersoni) in worn
breeding plumage http://ca.f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/jeaniron2

It was photographed near Toronto, Ontario on the 13 July 2003. This
individual would be easy to identify if seen in Europe. This hendersoni is
best separated from a Long-billed Dowitcher by the round spots (instead of
well-formed bars) on the sides of the breast near bend of the wing. Note
that both species have bars on the sides and flanks, but there is usually
much less barring on hendersoni as seen in this individual. The subspecies
hendersoni also has wider pale feather margins above than on Long-billed,
making hendersoni brighter above than Long-billed at the same season, but
this difference is more subjective. The next three weeks are a good time to
see migrant adult hendersoni in southern Ontario.

To compare the above bird with a hendersoni in fresh breeding plumage, see
photograph taken near Point Pelee, Ontario, on 15 May 2003
http://www.ofo.ca/photos/ and scroll down to Short-billed Dowitcher.

Happy dowitcher watching,

Ron Pittaway and Jean Iron
9 Lichen place
Toronto ON  M3A 1X3
416-445-9297
jeaniron(AT)sympatico.ca
ofo(AT)ofo.ca


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Subject: RE : Jaeger in FL
From: =?iso-8859-1?Q?Pierre-Andr=E9_CROCHET?= <crochet(AT)CEFE.CNRS-MOP.FR>
Date: 16 Jul 2003 9:25am

Dear all,

Now that the species ID seems to be more consensual, what about the age?

I was first leaning toward a second summer (3rd calendar year) but was worried
by the pale fringed feathers on the nape and upper back (retained juvenile
feathers?) and the very short tail feathers.

Here is the message of Jacques Leclerc after seeing the additional shots:

"The new pictures I've seen give much more details. They clearly indicate a
first-summer (2nd cy) artic skua".

Jacques based his ageing on 1) the short tail feathers, 2) the retained juvenile
 feathers in the mantle and 3) the barred uppertail and undertail.

Hope this helps,

Pierre

Pierre-André Crochet
CEFE-CNRS
1919, route de Mende
34293 Montpellier cedex 5
France
tel: + 33 6 07 32 60 75
fax: + 33 4 67 41 21 38
crochet(AT)cefe.cnrs-mop.fr

-----Message d'origine-----
De : Barbara Passmore [mailto:bkpass(AT)BELLSOUTH.NET] 
Envoyé : jeudi 10 juillet 2003 21:52
À : BIRDWG01(AT)LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
Objet : [BIRDWG01] Jaeger in FL

Hi, all,

I have some additions on the Jaeger scene.

Charles Buhrman has made available additional photos of the jaeger taken at
the same place and on the same date, June 29, 2003, at Huguenot Park,
Jacksonville FL.  It is believed to be the same bird previously called to
your attention and will add more light on the subject, I believe.

To see these additions, you may use the previous URL which will work, or
this one which is directly to the page:
http://bkpass.tripod.com/PARASITICJAEGER1.htm..

Thinking the two people who actually saw the bird should have their say, I
will add that Bob Richter, who took the large photo you have seen, wrote me
that he had seen the bird with its tail spread and it was not a Pomarine.

Charles Buhrman, the birder who took the last photos, also writes me as
follows:

> I can NOT shake the experience of seeing that this Jaeger was the
size of the laughing gulls that were mobbing it! The first picture show the
two birds together and my first comment was that this Jaeger was the size of
a Laughing Gull. [NOTE:  This picture was not included.]
A Pomarine Jaeger is larger than a Ringbill Gull. I'll stick with Parasitic
>for now.

>The two points I wanted to make were:
> 1) Non adult jaegers cannot be reliably told from one another at sea.
>       The discussion on this bird's correct ID has added to this point
>2) I'm a pretty good photographer with my new  Canon DSLR setup!

I am sure you will agree that these are very fine photos.  I hope you will
want to revisit the bird.  I am sorry I didn't have these additional photos
available when I first wrote you.

Thanks to all who have and who will respond.  You have always been generous
and I see you are still.

Barbara Passmore
Listowner, FLORIDABIRDS-L

--
Barbara Passmore
bkpass(AT)bellsouth.net


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Subject: Re: RE : Jaeger in FL
From: Alvaro Jaramillo <chucao(AT)COMCAST.NET>
Date: 16 Jul 2003 10:10am

At 06:25 PM 7/16/2003 +0200, you wrote:
>Dear all,
>
>Now that the species ID seems to be more consensual, what about the age?
>
>I was first leaning toward a second summer (3rd calendar year) but was
>worried by the pale fringed feathers on the nape and upper back (retained
>juvenile feathers?) and the very short tail feathers.
>
>Here is the message of Jacques Leclerc after seeing the additional shots:
>
>"The new pictures I've seen give much more details. They clearly indicate
>a first-summer (2nd cy) artic skua".
>
>Jacques based his ageing on 1) the short tail feathers, 2) the retained
>juvenile feathers in the mantle and 3) the barred uppertail and undertail.

Ignoring the pattern of the upperpart feathers but looking at the freshness
(wear state), those pale fringed feathers are not juvenile feathers. They
are of a newer generation. Think of an upperpart feather on a second
calendar year gull in June, if those feathers are juvenile they will be
extremely worn and frayed, particularly on the mantle/scapulars. There are
at least two retained upperpart feathers but these are small and look
really worn and pale buff. Similarly, the coverts are too new and crisp to
be juvenile feathers, these are of a newer generation, furthermore there
are two ages present there. So if this is a second calendar year bird not
only have nearly all of the juvenile feathers been replaced on the
upperparts, but they have been replaced twice! Does this occur in jaegers?
The hypothesis would be that there was a partial or complete first
pre-basic moult, and then a partial first pre-alternate. We now know that
this  moult strategy does not occur in larger gulls, there is only one full
moult in the first year (Based on Steve Howell and Chris Corben's work). I
had wondered if the seeming different ages of the uppearpart feathers were
due to feathers from a single moult, but that the newer ones were more
adult like than the earlier moulted ones but the pattern on the median
coverts suggested that is not the case. The median coverts show the typical
pattern observed in a gull starting to go into a complete moult. They are
being replaced sequentially from the inside and replacing an older set of
coverts, and older set that to my eye based on colour and wear state do not
appear to be juvenile coverts. It all seems to be a lot of moulting in the
first year to be done by a long distance migrant, that breeds in the
Arctic. The tendency for long-distance migrant Arctic breeders is for them
to retain juvenile plumage for a long time, often right into the first
winter. Even the small shorebirds don't moult until they have arrived on
the wintering grounds. I think that I really need to go and study some
skins at the museum and work through some of my thoughts on jaeger ages,
but it makes little sense to me that a bird in its Second Calendar year in
summer would be this fresh looking and even, and retain so few juvenile
feathers on the upperparts. The photos of the bird in flight are hard to
make sense of, due to the pixilation, but it is quite possible (as Phil
Pickering noted) that the central feathers are actually missing and growing
in.

I guess the questions are these:

Are there one or two moults in the first year of life of a jaeger?
Is the first moult partial, or complete (or nearly so).
When does the first complete moult happen and at what age. In another
words, when should we see juvenile primaries being changed to first basic
primaries?

I keep getting distracted by this damn jaeger thread. I really need to get
some work done! But look forward to the learning.

cheers

Alvaro

Alvaro Jaramillo
Biologist
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
P.O. Box 247
Alviso, CA 95002
(408)-946-6548
http://www.sfbbo.org/
chucao(AT)comcast.net

***** NOTE NEW E-MAIL ADDRESS****


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Subject: Re: Hendersoni Short-billed Dowitcher
From: "Eric L. Mills" <E.Mills(AT)DAL.CA>
Date: 16 Jul 2003 1:29pm

Here, much farther east than Southern Ontario, July is also a good
time to see hendersoni dowitichers. There were two in a group of
23 Short-bills near Halifax on July 13, the same day that the
Iron/Pittaway picture was taken near Toronto. It would be
interesting to know what the proportion of hendersoni is in the 400+
reported recently from Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia.
        Hendersoni appears to be a very early migrant - or do they just
merge with the other races later as they become even more worn
and begin to molt?
        Eric Mills
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Dr Eric L. Mills
Professor of History of Science Emeritus
Dept.of Oceanography
Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S., CANADA  B3H 4J1
Inglis Professor, University of King's College
(902)494-3437; Fax(902)494-3877; e-mail:E.Mills(AT)Dal.Ca
http://www.dal.ca/~wwwocean/ocean_C907.html
http://www.dal.ca/~wwwocean/sites/mills/mills.htm
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz


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Subject: Re: Hendersoni Short-billed Dowitcher
From: Richard Heil <rsheil(AT)JUNO.COM>
Date: 16 Jul 2003 2:02pm

 In Massachusetts, hendersoni is usually not present in the first
vanguard wave of migrant griseus dowitchers.  However, it appears soon
thereafter and variably represents between one and three percent of mid
and late July dowitchers along coastal Massachusetts.  Later in the
season as birds become more worn the griseus/hendersoni ratio is anyones
guess.  There are only a couple of spring sight records.

Rick Heil
S.Peabody,MA       rsheil(AT)juno.com


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Subject: Hendersonii Short-billeds
From: Julian Hough <Jrhough1(AT)AOL.COM>
Date: 16 Jul 2003 4:34pm

To reaffirm Jean iron's comments.

During summers and autumns in Cape May, hendersonii were regular among the early
 southbound griseus Short-billeds.
Most were easily identifiable by their extensive orange underparts, liberal
spotting on the breast sides and also by their brighter, 'tiger-striped' mantles
 and tertials.

As i recall, the hendersonii were often brighter and more clean-looking than the
 typical scruffy-looking griseus, making them easier to pick out in large
flocks, even as the summer progressed. If hendersonii moult later than griseus,
then this would help explain the apparent difference in plumage wear/color.

Some hendersonii were so superficially similar to some Long-billed's, that
caution was often required.

And, as always, we saw some birds that didn't fit neatly into either subspecies
and seemed to be 'intermediate-type', though this was based on assumption rather
 than proven scientific research.

An adult summer hendersonii in Europe could easily cause confusion with
Long-billed Dowitcher.

For those that are interested, I have a photograph with hendersonii, griseus and
 Long-billed Dowitchers side-by-side which is pretty interesting and
informative. I'll scan it when I can find time.

Julian Hough,
CT, USA


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Subject: Re: Hendersonii Short-billeds
From: John Idzikowski <idzikoj(AT)UWM.EDU>
Date: 16 Jul 2003 5:03pm

Here is Wisconsin we have hendersoni SBDO exclusively; I have frequently
seen "adults" (second calendar year at least) in May and again in
July-August during their return  that are washed-out versions of typical
alternate adults; I have wondered if these are first summer birds. They are
not as heavily barred underneath as in griseus, but perhaps this could
complicate things in the East. Here's a series of August hendersoni from
Milwaukee.

2 adults, 2 juvs-
http://my.execpc.com/~idzikoj/SBDO.jpg

adult, possible first summer, juv
http://my.execpc.com/~idzikoj/SBDO2.jpg

possible first summer, adult
http://my.execpc.com/~idzikoj/SBDO3.jpg

juv., adult
http://my.execpc.com/~idzikoj/SBDO4.jpg

John Idzikowski, Milwaukee

----- Original Message -----
From: "Julian Hough" <Jrhough1(AT)AOL.COM>
To: <BIRDWG01(AT)LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU>
Sent: Wednesday, July 16, 2003 6:34 PM
Subject: [BIRDWG01] Hendersonii Short-billeds

> To reaffirm Jean iron's comments.
>
> During summers and autumns in Cape May, hendersonii were regular among the
early southbound griseus Short-billeds.
> Most were easily identifiable by their extensive orange underparts,
liberal spotting on the breast sides and also by their brighter,
'tiger-striped' mantles and tertials.
>
> As i recall, the hendersonii were often brighter and more clean-looking
than the typical scruffy-looking griseus, making them easier to pick out in
large flocks, even as the summer progressed. If hendersonii moult later than
griseus, then this would help explain the apparent difference in plumage
wear/color.
>
> Some hendersonii were so superficially similar to some Long-billed's, that
caution was often required.
>
> And, as always, we saw some birds that didn't fit neatly into either
subspecies and seemed to be 'intermediate-type', though this was based on
assumption rather than proven scientific research.
>
> An adult summer hendersonii in Europe could easily cause confusion with
Long-billed Dowitcher.
>
> For those that are interested, I have a photograph with hendersonii,
griseus and Long-billed Dowitchers side-by-side which is pretty interesting
and informative. I'll scan it when I can find time.
>
> Julian Hough,
> CT, USA


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Subject: Possible "longipennis" Common Tern at Stone
         Harbor, NJ
From: Will Russell <willrussell(AT)COMCAST.NET>
Date: 16 Jul 2003 7:52pm

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

----INCLUDING text/plain MIME SECTION----

Michael O'Brien asked if I would post four images of a dark-billed =
Common Tern found July 14, 2003 at Stone Harbor Point, N.J.

Considered opinions to birdwg01 or to Michael at obrienm(AT)algorithms.com

The images can be seen at:

www.wingsbirds.com/tern1.htm
www.wingsbirds.com/tern2.htm
www.wingsbirds.com/tern3.htm
www.wingsbirds.com/tern4.htm

WCR

Will Russell
willrussell(AT)comcast.net
----DELETED text/html MIME SECTION----


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Subject: Intergrade Short-billed Dowitchers
From: Jean Iron <jeaniron(AT)SYMPATICO.CA>
Date: 17 Jul 2003 5:34am

Dear ID-Frontiers,

After yesterday's hendersoni post, we had a few private e-mails about
intergrades/intermediates.

Northern Ontario lies between the main breeding areas of nominate griseus
in northern Quebec and hendersoni west of Hudson Bay. At one time, it was
thought that these were separate populations (see map in first edition of
The Birds of Canada, Godfrey 1966). We now know that there is a thin
population in northern Ontario, which is the area of intergradation between
griseus and hendersoni having a mixture of both types and intermediates
(James 1991, Royal Ontario Museum). Griseus-types and intermediates occur
as far west as Churchill, Manitoba (Jaramillo et al 1991). Ross Harris (one
of the authors of the BNA account) of Toronto saw a hendersoni-like bird
among the griseus one late May on the breeding grounds at Schefferville,
Quebec near the border with Labrador.

In southern Ontario, we see mostly migrant hendersoni. We also see a few
nominate griseus and some intergrades. We get three waves of rapidly
migrating southbound Short-billed Dowitchers: females, males and juveniles.
The upcoming wave will comprise mostly adult male hendersoni. In our
experience, most of these hendersoni males are brighter and more colourful
than the earlier females. In fact, many are as bright as same season
Long-billed Dowitchers. That is when the critical difference of round spots
on the sides of the breast of hendersoni versus remnant well-formed bars on
heavily worn Long-billed is the best plumage distinction. The
turnstone-like tu-tu-tu of the Short-billed and the thin keek of the
Long-billed are always nice to hear too!

Happy dowitcher watching,

Ron Pittaway and Jean Iron

9 Lichen Place
Toronto ON  M3A 1X3
416-445-9297
jeaniron(AT)sympatico.ca


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Subject: Longipennis Common Terns
From: Julian Hough <Jrhough1(AT)AOL.COM>
Date: 17 Jul 2003 7:00am

Dear all,
The several longipennis that I saw in China in May 1995 superficially recalled
the bird in Mike's photo's, though some had a varying amount of reddish, or pale
 at the bill base (similar to the pattern seen in some Roseate's) and the lower
border of the dark cap was not a smooth line, but slightly 's' shaped.
One feature which seemed to be apparent in flight, and not shown by nomintae
Common Terns was a diffuse grey trailing edge to the underside of the inner
secondaries, not unlike Aleutian Tern, but not so extensive or prominent.
The NJ bird seems to show rather uniformly grey primaries and unworn tail
streamers. Many Common Terns at this time, due to their moult have worn inner
primaries, showing a contrast in the folded wing. If longipennis have a
different moult to Common Terns, then there may be some clues in the moult to
its racial id.
The bird is moulting some forehead feathers, and the dark bill and legs may
reflect a nominate Common Tern which has advanced it's moult to winter plumage
earlier than most.
I recalled during a trip to Turkey in May 1989 ago, seeing 2-3 birds in a large
flock of Common Terns similar to 'longipennis' at Kizilirmak Delta on the Black
Sea coast. At a distance, I initially thought Roseate, since all I could see was
 the black bill, though on closer inspection, they were obviously Common Terns.
A lack of experience and adequate literature on separating longipennis from
nominate Common Terns left me floundering as to the racial identity of birds,
especially since I was in Turkey and there was no information as to the
occurrence or movements of longipennis in eastern Europe!.

Julian Hough,
CT, USA


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Subject: Western Kingbird In Baltimore
From: Elliot Kirschbaum <ekirschb(AT)BCPL.NET>
Date: 17 Jul 2003 7:42am

Maryland is now in the second year of its second Breeding Bird Atlas. I am
the Atlas Coordinator for Baltimore and Baltimore County. For the past two
breeding seasons, an adult Western Kingbird has paired with an Eastern
Kingbird at the Fort McHenry National Monument in Baltimore.

Last year a first nest was destroyed by a Fish Crow during incubation, and a
second, which was being built jointly by the mixed species pair, was
destroyed by a storm before completion.

This year, the pair have been sharing parental duties feeding three chicks
and defending the nest against possible predators. The Western kingbird has
also been observed chasing another Eastern Kingbird.

We, in Maryland, have no experience with WEKIxEAKI hybrids, if there is such
a thing, and would appreciate comments from anyone who may. A digital image,
taken through a scope, of two of the young, taken by me on 7/16/03 just
minutes before they fledged can be seen at
<http://www.bcpl.net/~tanager/EWfly.htm>.

As I said, we have no experience at identifying possible WEKIxEAKI hybrids,
but these birds look like Eastern Kingbirds to me.

Elliot Kirschbaum
Baltimore, MD USA
mailto:ekirschb(AT)bcpl.net


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Subject: Re: Western Kingbird In Baltimore
From: Joseph Morlan <jmorlan(AT)CCSF.ORG>
Date: 17 Jul 2003 8:45am

On Thu, 17 Jul 2003 09:57:54 -0400, Elliot Kirschbaum <ekirschb(AT)BCPL.NET>
wrote:

>We, in Maryland, have no experience with WEKIxEAKI hybrids, if there is such
>a thing, and would appreciate comments from anyone who may.

You may want to take a look at the kingbird posted at:

http://fog.ccsf.edu/~jmorlan/jul03.htm

Its identity is unknown, but some people have suggested it may be such a
hybrid.  Do Eastern Kingbirds ever have yellow bellies?

--
Joseph Morlan, Pacifica, CA 94044 jmorlan(AT)ccsf.org
Fall Birding Classes start Sept 3 http://fog.ccsf.org/~jmorlan/
California Bird Records Committee http://www.wfo-cbrc.org/cbrc/


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Subject: Re: Western Kingbird In Baltimore
From: Mark <birddog(AT)SNET.NET>
Date: 17 Jul 2003 10:43am

About 4 years ago, a bird initially reported as a Cassin's Kingbird was
marginally photographed in Connecticut.  The images revealed a kingbird with
very yellow underparts but showing a white terminal band to the tail
identical to that of Eastern Kingbird.  While never relocated, this
individual strongly sugeested what an EaKi X WeKi might look like.  I will
look up the details and try to get images available if anyone is interested.

Mark Szantyr
Secretary, Avian Records Committee of Connecticut
----- Original Message -----
From: "Joseph Morlan" <jmorlan(AT)CCSF.ORG>
To: <BIRDWG01(AT)LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU>
Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2003 11:44 AM
Subject: Re: [BIRDWG01] Western Kingbird In Baltimore

> On Thu, 17 Jul 2003 09:57:54 -0400, Elliot Kirschbaum <ekirschb(AT)BCPL.NET>
> wrote:
>
> >We, in Maryland, have no experience with WEKIxEAKI hybrids, if there is
such
> >a thing, and would appreciate comments from anyone who may.
>
> You may want to take a look at the kingbird posted at:
>
> http://fog.ccsf.edu/~jmorlan/jul03.htm
>
> Its identity is unknown, but some people have suggested it may be such a
> hybrid.  Do Eastern Kingbirds ever have yellow bellies?
>
> --
> Joseph Morlan, Pacifica, CA 94044 jmorlan(AT)ccsf.org
> Fall Birding Classes start Sept 3 http://fog.ccsf.org/~jmorlan/
> California Bird Records Committee http://www.wfo-cbrc.org/cbrc/
>


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Subject: Re: Longipennis Common Terns
From: Angus Wilson <wilsoa02(AT)med.nyu.edu>
Date: 17 Jul 2003 11:01am

Hi everyone,

I agree with Mike and Julian that this is a very intriguing bird and due to the
solidly dark bill, is a plausible candidate for _longipennis_. Presumably the
mantle shade and relative length of the tail streamers were used to eliminate
Roseate Tern? It would be very useful to hear from Mike (and/or others) on how
the bird appeared in life. How did the mantle shade compare to neighboring adult
 Common Terns? How did it look in flight? After the key mid-stream revelations
of the Parastic/Pomarine jaeger debate (e.g. size of the jaeger relative to
Laughing Gulls), we should try to be armed with all
available information before getting to far into the nitty-gritty.

If we settle on Common Tern, then we have to be pretty careful to exclude a
nominate Common Tern (_hirundo_) that has failed to develop the normal red bill
pigmentation or has developed with dark winter bill ahead of schedule. One
feature I've noticed on _longipennis_ seen in Japan and Russia, refreshed by a
quick glance through Japanese photo guides this morning, is that the bills of
the asiatic birds seem to be more slender looking (more 'needle-like') than
regular Common Terns. I get this same impression with the New Jersey bird. Has
anyone else noticed this? Is this borne out by measurement data?
Might this be an optical illusion due to the color difference?

Is the tern still around? The sighting was from Monday but I've seen no mention
of it at all on the New Jersey lists.

Cheers, Angus Wilson
New York City


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Subject: another unusual EAKI
From: "Mark T. Adams" <mta(AT)ASTRO.AS.UTEXAS.EDU>
Date: 17 Jul 2003 11:28am

Joe Morlan et al,
On the afternoon of Saturday 26 April 2003, Laura Long and I observed
an unusual kingbird  on the upper coast of Texas, at an Anahuac NWR
migrant trap known as "The Willows." This odd-looking kingbird was
broadly similar to the kingbird in your photo at

http://fog.ccsf.edu/~jmorlan/jul03.htm

The Anahuac bird had the field marks of an Eastern Kingbird, but it
also had moderately strong yellow from the mid-breast through the
belly and into the undertail coverts. The line between the yellow on
the breast and the whitishthroat was sharp.

Mark Adams
Fort Davis, TX
mta(AT)astro.as.utexas.edu


[ << | >> | ^^ ]

Subject: Re: Western Kingbird In Baltimore
From: Elliot Kirschbaum <ekirschb(AT)BCPL.NET>
Date: 17 Jul 2003 12:57pm

on 7/17/03 1:43 PM, Mark at birddog(AT)SNET.NET wrote:

> About 4 years ago, a bird initially reported as a Cassin's Kingbird was
> marginally photographed in Connecticut.  The images revealed a kingbird with
> very yellow underparts but showing a white terminal band to the tail
> identical to that of Eastern Kingbird.  While never relocated, this
> individual strongly sugeested what an EaKi X WeKi might look like.  I will
> look up the details and try to get images available if anyone is interested.

I would be interested in seeing the images.

Elliot Kirschbaum
Baltimore, MD USA
mailto:ekirschb(AT)bcpl.net


[ << | >> | ^^ ]

Subject: Re: another unusual EAKI
From: Joseph Morlan <jmorlan(AT)CCSF.ORG>
Date: 17 Jul 2003 2:16pm

On Thu, 17 Jul 2003 13:18:41 -0500, "Mark T. Adams"
<mta(AT)ASTRO.AS.UTEXAS.EDU> wrote:

>Joe Morlan et al,
>On the afternoon of Saturday 26 April 2003, Laura Long and I observed
>an unusual kingbird  on the upper coast of Texas, at an Anahuac NWR
>migrant trap known as "The Willows." This odd-looking kingbird was
>broadly similar to the kingbird in your photo at
>
>http://fog.ccsf.edu/~jmorlan/jul03.htm
>
>The Anahuac bird had the field marks of an Eastern Kingbird, but it
>also had moderately strong yellow from the mid-breast through the
>belly and into the undertail coverts. The line between the yellow on
>the breast and the whitishthroat was sharp.

Mark,

Tom & Jo Heindel sent me a digital photo a kingbird thought to possibly be
an Eastern x Western Kingbird at Anahuac taken 21 April 2003.  The photo
closely resembles your description from 5 days later and I suspect it may
be the same bird.

I have posted the image at:

http://fog.ccsf.edu/~jmorlan/hy.kngbrd.tx-a.jpg

Does this look like your bird? It may also be the same bird mentioned by
Guy McCaskie as being present at the Anahuac willows on 23 April 2003.

See:

http://fog.ccsf.edu/~jmorlan/messages/384.html

The question remains whether these are hybrids or aberrant Eastern
Kingbirds with yellow on the underparts.  Apparently the Anahuac bird was
seen by quite a few people and generated some controversy at the time.  I
don't know if there ever was a consensus on it though.

--
Joseph Morlan, Pacifica, CA 94044 jmorlan(AT)ccsf.org
Fall Birding Classes start Sept 3 http://fog.ccsf.org/~jmorlan/
California Bird Records Committee http://www.wfo-cbrc.org/cbrc/


[ << | >> | ^^ ]

Subject: Re: Western Kingbird In Baltimore
From: Tony Leukering <GreatGrayOwl(AT)AOL.COM>
Date: 17 Jul 2003 2:20pm

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Hi all:

I have had two brushes with definite or probable WEKI x EAKI.  The first, was
a bird that I found from the Cape May hawkwatch platform in fall 1987 (a bird
that Jeff Bouton and I studied for quite a while but about which we could not
get anyone else interested).  The bird was superficially very much like a
WEKI, but the bird had a much stronger mask, initially causing my heart to beat
considerably more quickly.  Unfortunately, the bird also had an obviously small
bill.  Upon closer examination, both Jeff and I noticed that the bird's tail
was black but had neither a white tail tip nor white outer webs to the R6s.
Unfortunately, this was before "digiscoping" was even considered and, as I said
above, we could not interest anyone else in this bird.  We let it go as an
interesting, but unidentifiable, anomaly.

However, it was only a few seasons later that I figured that the Cape May
bird was probably such a hybrid, due to my second brush with the hybrid.  I was
working on the MI Breeding Bird Atlas in summer 1988, when someone found a WEKI
apparently paired with an EAKI in central MI.  They produced 3 or 4
nestlings, but the nest was knocked down in a storm.  Two young survived and
were taken
into rehab in Kalamazoo.  Coincidentally, I worked at the Kalamazoo Nature
Center in fall 1988 and, while there, got a chance to visit the rehabber and
see
the two birds, just about ready to be released.  They were much like WEKIs in
appearance, though the yellow underparts were very pale and they had stronger
masks than typical of WEKI.  Most interestingly, both these birds had white
tail tips AND white outer webs to the R6s!

So, my experience suggests that WEKI x EAKI hybrids are more WEKI-like than
EAKI-like and the tail pattern can be a mix of parental types -- either no
white, or both sets of white.  I presume that the dark-tailed form (no white)
ought to have white tips to the R6s, but I could not see these feathers clearly
enough to discern that on the Cape May bird.  Of course, n=2 (or n=3, if one
considers the two MI young as independent samples) is not the strongest of
sample
sizes, so....

One final comment on the MD "hybrid" young:  Last summer, a CO birder (Nick
Komar) found a Yellow-throated Vireo west of Ft. Collins in June.  Rich Hoyer
visited the site and found a nest that the bird was attending and noted that
the bird appeared to be paired with a singing Plumbeous Vireo.  I visited the
site a couple times and confirmed that both these birds were attending the same
nest.  On my second visit, one of the original three eggs (one had disappeared
in the interim) had hatched and the youngster was a couple days from
fledging.  I banded and photographed it.  Very disturbingly, the youngster
looked
EXACTLY like a young Plumbeous Vireo.  So, I would caution about assuming that
just because individual birds are paired, that the young are the progeny of
that
pair -- extra-pair fertilization is widespread in passerines and might explain
my vireo nestling and the MD kingbird nestlings.

There is a number of other potential explanations as to the reason that the
young vireo looked like a Plumbeous and not at all intermediate between the two
parental plumage types, but without the specimen or, at least, a blood or
tissue sample, we will never really know the answer.   That also applies to the
MD kingbirds.

Sincerely,

Tony Leukering
Brighton, CO

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Subject: longipennis/tibetana Common terns
From: Julian Hough <Jrhough1(AT)AOL.COM>
Date: 17 Jul 2003 4:08pm

In my earlier posting, I referred to longipennis that I had seen in China.
When I got home and checked my labelled slide, it was the similar race tibetana,
 not longipennis, that I had apparently seen.
My previous comments therefore refer to that race rather than longipennis.
Sorry for any confusion...

Julian Hough


[ << | >> | ^^ ]

Subject: possible longipennis Common Tern
From: "Michael O'Brien" <obrienm(AT)ALGORITHMS.COM>
Date: 17 Jul 2003 6:03pm

Hi all,

Sorry that the photos of this unusual tern were posted before my field
observations. In the field, this bird appeared to be similar to a typical
breeding adult Common Tern with the striking exception of having a fully
black bill and dark reddish-brown legs. Other intriguing differences from
typical breeding adult Common Tern included apparently slightly larger size,
slightly darker gray overall plumage yet slightly paler primaries (almost
recalling Forster¹s Tern - well represented in photo #3 but exaggerated in
#2), and slightly longer tail streamers extending just past the tail tip. It
appeared to be in nearly full breeding plumage aside from some white
flecking on the forehead. It seems unlikely that this bird is in second
summer plumage given the long tail streamers and lack of a carpal bar. P7&8
were slightly darker gray than the other primaries giving a darker wedge as
on Common Tern though less conspicuous than on most July birds.

Thanks to those who have already posted comments on this bird. In a private
email, the possibility of a Common x Roseate hybrid was suggested. This
seems like a real possibility though the dark overall coloration and
especially the dark legs may not fit that pairing. I continue to welcome
comments.

Michael O¹Brien
West Cape May, NJ


[ << | >> | ^^ ]

Subject: one-year-old Swainson's Hawk?
From: David Christie <MarysPt(AT)NBNET.NB.CA>
Date: 17 Jul 2003 6:22pm

On 19 June 2003, Mary Majka and I saw a hawk on the telephone lines
at Mary's Point, Albert Co., New Brunswick. The buteo we usually see
perched on wires here is Broad-winged Hawk, but this bird's head was
largely white and its wings seemed as long as or a bit longer than
its tail. The mixture of faded and fresh plumage suggested a year-old
bird. These characters  seem to indicate a year-old Swainson's Hawk,
an unlikely species in this province.

My experience with Swainson's Hawk is very limited, mostly rather
distant views of a few adults and autumn juveniles in flight. I would
be very pleased if people familiar with year-old, light morph
Swainson's could provide some feedback on the pictures I got. You'll
find them at <http://www3.nbnet.nb.ca/maryspt/observ/Buteo.html>

The only New Brunswick record of Swainson's Hawk is of a dark
juvenile discovered by Stuart Tingley and others in October 2002.

--

David Christie  mailto:MarysPt(AT)nbnet.nb.ca
Mary's Point, New Brunswick, CANADA
Nature NB: http://www3.nbnet.nb.ca/maryspt/NatureNB.html


[ << | >> | ^^ ]

Subject: Re: Western Kingbird In Baltimore
From: Chris Elphick <elphick(AT)UCONNVM.UCONN.EDU>
Date: 18 Jul 2003 4:13am

Tony Leukering wrote:

>  So, I would caution about assuming that just because individual birds
> are paired, that the young are the progeny of that pair -- extra-pair
> fertilization is widespread in passerines and might explain my vireo
> nestling and the MD kingbird nestlings.

With this in mind, you might want to look at:

Rowe, D. L., M. T. Murphy, R. C. Fleishcer, and P. G. Wolf.  2001.  High
frequency of extra-pair paternity in Eastern Kingbirds.  Condor  103:845-851.

As I recall, they found one of the highest EPF rates yet recorded.

chris

************************************
Chris Elphick
Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
University of Connecticut
75 North Eagleville Road, U-43
Storrs
CT  06269

elphick(AT)uconnvm.uconn.edu
(860) 486-4547 (Tel)
(860) 486-6364 (Fax)
http://www.eeb.uconn.edu/
http://www.eeb.uconn.edu/faculty/Elphick/
************************************


[ << | >> | ^^ ]

Subject: Re: Longipennis Common Terns
From: "Norman D.van Swelm" <Norman.vanswelm(AT)wxs.nl>
Date: 18 Jul 2003 4:25pm

Julian Hough wrote:>> The NJ bird seems to show rather uniformly grey
primaries and unworn tail streamers. Many Common Terns at this time, due to
their moult have worn inner primaries, showing a contrast in the folded
wing. If longipennis have a different moult to Common Terns, then there may
be some clues in the moult to its racial id.
The bird is moulting some forehead feathers, and the dark bill and legs may
reflect a nominate Common Tern which has advanced it's moult to winter
plumage earlier than most.<

The bulk of adult  Common Terns (and experienced breeders) in W.Europe ,
begin laying in the middle of May. Especially when Herring is abundant,
another, much smaller group arrives in the middle of June and lay from then
on until the first week of July. Most of these birds are first time breeders
in their third calendar year (2nd summer). They mostly lay two not three
eggs. Quite a few of these birds still have some white forehead feathers and
in some individuals the forehead is all white. Their primaries may look
quite fresh, powdered white. Some, not all, may still show some dark carpal
coverts.
I am quite convinced that the New Jersey bird belongs to the race
longipennis and that it has yet to breed for the first time. The fact that
it's plumage looks so exceptionally fresh may indicate that it has spend
most of it's time in more northerly waters since it last renewed it's
plumage and not in hot climes where feathers wear quickly.  What a bird,
wish I was there!
Norman


[ << | >> | ^^ ]

Subject: Dowitcher Id. photo
From: Julian Hough <Jrhough1(AT)AOL.COM>
Date: 18 Jul 2003 7:10pm

In response to the recent thread on hendersonii Short-billed Dowitchers and
their separartion from griseus Short-billeds/Long-billeds, I have uploaded a
nice pic of all three side by side for comparison which may be of interest.
Go to:

http://members.aol.com/jrhough1/3Dowrs.html

Enjoy....

Julian Hough
CT, USA

Naturescape Images website:
http://members.aol.com/jrhough1/index.html


[ << | >> | ^^ ]

Subject: Re: Dowitcher Id. photo
From: Alvaro Jaramillo <chucao(AT)COMCAST.NET>
Date: 18 Jul 2003 10:18pm

At 10:10 PM 7/18/2003 -0400, Julian Hough wrote:
>In response to the recent thread on hendersonii Short-billed Dowitchers and
>their separartion from griseus Short-billeds/Long-billeds, I have uploaded a
>nice pic of all three side by side for comparison which may be of interest.
>Go to:
>
>http://members.aol.com/jrhough1/3Dowrs.html

Super photo!

     The tail pattern bit caught my eye, as Julian mentions this feature is
most useful for separating hendersoni. For that paper that Ron Pittaway
mentioned we studied a bunch of specimens of dowitchers housed at the Royal
Ontario Museum and the National Museum of Canada. I forget which museum had
a number of griseus from the breeding grounds in northern Quebec, and this
is what we wrote about their tails "The tail of L.g.griseus is more dark
than light, much like typical Long-billed Dowitchers. Of the skins studied
(approx 30), none showed a pattern where the pale bands were wider than the
dark..." We wrote the following about hendersoni: "... the tail pattern in
this subspecies is also variable. On most, the tail shows an equal
distribution of pale and dark and on some there is more pale than dark. In
our experience, this is the only form (in Ontario) that is likely to show
the pale tail mentioned in the literature as being typical of Short-billed
Dowitcher."

The paper is: Jaramillo, A., Pittaway, R. and Burke, P. 1991. The
identification and migration of breeding plumaged dowitchers in southern
Ontario. Birders Journal 1(1): 8 - 25.

I guess its a bit of a collectors item as it was the first issue of Birders
Journal, and as far as I know its nearly impossible to find unless you know
someone who was a subscriber from the start. I have created a rather large
(nearly 4 megs) PDF of the article which you can download if you want. The
article details a bunch of stuff, including ID partly based on specimen
studies, a bit about timing of migration, a bit about timing of moult, and
a bit on intermediate griseus - hendersoni as Ron mentioned.

You can find the article at:

http://chucao.home.comcast.net/dowitchers-birdersjournal.pdf

cheers

Al

Alvaro Jaramillo
Biologist
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
P.O. Box 247
Alviso, CA 95002
(408)-946-6548
http://www.sfbbo.org/
chucao(AT)comcast.net

***** NOTE NEW E-MAIL ADDRESS****


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Subject: Plegadis eye color
From: Steven Mlodinow <SGMlod(AT)AOL.COM>
Date: 19 Jul 2003 7:47pm

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Greetings All

I was happily reading through my latest Western Birds (vol 34, no 1) and
noted that the Glossy Ibis (photographed in May 2001 in cen. CA and accepted by
the CBRC) on page 22 had a distinctly red eye.

Having just read the article on hybrid Plegadis in North American Birds (vol
57, no. 1), I was wondering --- can pure Glossy Ibis have a red eye (actually
almost a pale pink-red)?

The face otherwise looks like a Glossy to me, but it's been a while since
I've studied them.

Cheers
SteveMlodinow

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