ID-FRONTIERS for June 6-12, 2004

Messages are displayed in the order they were received.  Subject  From  Date   Time   Re: Mystery duck   Floyd Hayes    Sun, 6 Jun 2004   1:00pm   44-year run of American Birds   Bill or Sue Smith    Sun, 6 Jun 2004   8:30pm   Texas wren   birdbooker(AT)zipcon.ne   Sun, 6 Jun 2004   8:30pm   Re: ID of a CommonRinged Plover from Attu   Phil Davis    Tue, 8 Jun 2004   12:34pm   Plumage variation in Little Blue Heron?   Angus Wilson    Wed, 9 Jun 2004   12:37pm   Re: Plumage variation in Little Blue Heron?   Rex Stanford    Wed, 9 Jun 2004   3:18pm   follow-up on mystery white wader (heron or egret) on Long Island   Rex Stanford    Wed, 9 Jun 2004   4:10pm   NY Egret   Julian Hough    Wed, 9 Jun 2004   7:07pm   Re: Plumage variation in Little Blue Heron?   GreatGrayOwl(AT)AOL.COM   Wed, 9 Jun 2004   7:55pm   Re: Plumage variation in Little Blue Heron?   andyguthrie@earthlin   Thu, 10 Jun 2004   7:29am   Plumage variation in Little Blue Heron?   Floyd Hayes    Thu, 10 Jun 2004   9:09am   Re: Plumage variation in Little Blue Heron?   Angus Wilson    Thu, 10 Jun 2004   1:58pm   AN Unconventional field guide   Ian Paulsen    Thu, 10 Jun 2004   2:23pm   Re: AN Unconventional field guide   Jerry Tangren    Thu, 10 Jun 2004   4:44pm   Re: AN Unconventional field guide   Matt Sharp    Thu, 10 Jun 2004   4:57pm   Leucistic grackle   Kent Nickell    Fri, 11 Jun 2004   4:59am   Re: AN Unconventional field guide   Kevin McGowan    Fri, 11 Jun 2004   7:09am   rail behavior/capabilities   Matt Kenne    Fri, 11 Jun 2004   8:04pm   BIRD artist wanted   Ian Paulsen    Fri, 11 Jun 2004   10:47pm   Unconventional bird book (part 2)   Ian Paulsen    Sat, 12 Jun 2004   2:51pm   Re: Unconventional bird book (part 2)   Joel Weintraub    Sat, 12 Jun 2004   3:08pm   spinning specimens websites   birdbooker(AT)zipcon.ne   Sat, 12 Jun 2004   5:02pm

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

[ << | >> | ^^ ]

Subject: Re: Mystery duck
From: Floyd Hayes <floyd_hayes(AT)YAHOO.COM>
Date: 6 Jun 2004 1:00pm

Thanks to all those who responded. Most haved jumped
on the Bufflehead bandwagon and I'm persuaded by the
majority. Here's my latest tally:

13 Bufflehead (no consensus on age or sex)
2 Red-crested Pochard
2 Bufflehead X Ruddy Duck (one switched to Bufflehead)
1 Bufflehead or Bufflehead X Black Scoter
1 semi-albinistic Ruddy Duck
1 Black Scoter
1 Smew
1 Hooded Merganser chick

Three commented on its resemblance to a juvenile.
Another described it as "identical" to a duck
summering in southern California about 10 years ago
that molted into a Bufflehead (Smew was similarly
pondered).

Floyd Hayes
Angwin, CA

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Friends.  Fun.  Try the all-new Yahoo! Messenger.
http://messenger.yahoo.com/


[ << | >> | ^^ ]

Subject: 44-year run of American Birds
From: Bill or Sue Smith <birdsmiths(AT)HOTMAIL.COM>
Date: 6 Jun 2004 8:30pm

Dear Records Committee Members, Regional Editors, and Keen Birders,

As a retiree from all of the above, I am slowly selling off my library of
relevant journals.  Next on the block will be a complete 44-year run of
AMERICAN BIRDS (1958-2001, various names).  Anyone possibly interested in
purchasing them is welcome to email me _privately_ at the address shown
above for further information.

Cheers,

Bill (P William) Smith
Ocean Shores, WA


[ << | >> | ^^ ]

Subject: Texas wren
From: birdbooker(AT)zipcon.net
Date: 6 Jun 2004 8:30pm

HI:
 This wren was seen in Texas. Is it a Bewick's Wren?
  http://www.PictureTrail.com/gid4461187&pathID=623346
--
Ian Paulsen
Bainbridge Island, WA USA
A.K.A.:Birdbooker
Rallidae all the way!


[ << | >> | ^^ ]

Subject: Re: ID of a CommonRinged Plover from Attu
From: Phil Davis <pdavis(AT)IX.NETCOM.COM>
Date: 8 Jun 2004 12:34pm

Hi Martin, et al.

Sorry for the delay but I just got back from western Alaska (Adak and
Gambell). I only saw this bird once, even though it was present on Alexi
Point for a few days. The consensus at the time was that this bird was a
bit problematic, however, I am told that it did vocalize as a Common Ringed
Plover and not a Semipalmated Plover.

Hope this helps. I look forward to other comments.

Phil

At 07:49 05/26/2004 -0500, Martin Reid wrote:
>I know  it's awkward when someone second-guesses an ID from a single photo,
>but as someone with a keen interest in separating Semip. Plover from Common
>Ringed Plover, I'd appreciate discussion on the features shown by this
>small plover from Attu in 2000:
>http://www.surfbirds.com/Features/lastattu2.html
>- scroll down a little for the single photo.  Perhaps there are more images
>of this bird that could be made available?  The bird was apparently present
>for three days, and well-studied, so perhaps someone who has notes on the
>bird could add more detail?
>Given that there seems to be a white intrusion above the gape point - in
>theory diagnostic of Semip. Plover - I feel that we all could learn from
>analysing this bird to see if other features outweigh this element in
>arriving at an ID - thanks.

==================================
Phil Davis      Davidsonville, Maryland     USA
                 mailto:PDavis(AT)ix.netcom.com
==================================


[ << | >> | ^^ ]

Subject: Plumage variation in Little Blue Heron?
From: Angus Wilson <wilsoa02(AT)MED.NYU.EDU>
Date: 9 Jun 2004 12:37pm

On 4th June 2004, Kenny Frisch observed a small white egret in a salt
marsh in Eastern Long Island, New York that he felt had
characteristics of a Little Egret. Lacking a scope, he managed to
take a couple of distant photos using his binoculars for
magnification.

Prompted by this enigmatic sighting, Patrick Santinello went to the
same area a few days later and was able to photograph a 'white' egret
with head plumes that could well be the same bird. From the bill and
head shape, this would appear to be a Little Blue Heron although
Kenny's description of the legs (not seen by Patrick) does not jive
well for this species. Unfortunately the legs were not seen on the
second sighting. I think Little Egret, Snowy Egret and Western Reef
Heron can be firmly ruled out.

The question becomes, is this an adult Little Blue Heron with white
plumage (hints of blue visible in Patricks photos on the head and
folded primaries) or could it be a hybrid?  I have almost no
information on the molts of Little Blue Heron. It seems too early for
a juvenile, especially one with 'aigrettes' and such an obviously
blue base to the bill.  Are white morph (or aberrantly plumaged)
adults known?

http://www.oceanwanderers.com/NYMysteryEgret.html

All thoughts and comments appreciated, especially if shared with the
entire group.

Cheers, Angus Wilson
New York City


[ << | >> | ^^ ]

Subject: Re: Plumage variation in Little Blue Heron?
From: Rex Stanford <calidris(AT)MINDSPRING.COM>
Date: 9 Jun 2004 3:18pm

Remarks under "Plumages" for Little Blue Heron (henceforth, LBH) in Arthur
C. Bent's classic "Life Histories of North American Marsh Birds" (1926/1963;
Smithsonian and Dover, respectively) on pp. 180-181 may help to set in
perspective this particular individual, which, in my view, might most
plausibly be interpreted as an LBH, based on the photographic evidence to
date.  According to Bent's account, in LBH the almost entirely white plumage
(excepting bluish-black-tipped primaries)--juvenal plumage--persists
throughout the first fall and winter, but most individuals start to acquire
some blue in the plumage by February (and some even earlier), and this
progression toward dark plumage continues throughout the following spring.
Bent indicates, though, that exceptional individuals continue the
essentially white plumage through the time of the first breeding season and
even exhibit, at that time, some imperfectly developed white, plume-like
feathers.  He also noted that some individuals even breed for the first time
in a substantially white, albeit somewhat mixed, plumage, suggesting to some
observers that there exist white-phase adults.  Bent made it very clear that
he did not consider the "white" birds to represent a true white-phase but
considered them to be individuals less advanced in their plumage
development.

These observations may to help to reconcile the plumage appearance of this
individual with the idea of its being an LBH.  I doubt that one need posit a
hybrid to explain what is shown in these photos, although I am not expert on
precisely how the nearly-all-white plumage would appear in the exceptional
individuals who maintain it until June (as in the case of this bird).

I do regret that there have been no photos of this bird's legs and feet, and
my remarks above about its likely being an LBH could be qualified by
subsequent
photographic evidence of that kind.  This bird would appear to lack the
typical bill
shape, coloration, and length found in Little Egret.

Probably others will be grateful, as am I, to Kenny Frisch, for bringing to
birders' attention this interesting individual and to Patrick Santinello for
a photographic follow-up of what would appear likely to be the same bird.

Rex G. Stanford
Westbury, NY

----- Original Message -----
From: "Angus Wilson" <wilsoa02(AT)MED.NYU.EDU>
To: <BIRDWG01(AT)LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU>
Sent: Wednesday, June 09, 2004 2:36 PM
Subject: [BIRDWG01] Plumage variation in Little Blue Heron?

> On 4th June 2004, Kenny Frisch observed a small white egret in a salt
> marsh in Eastern Long Island, New York that he felt had
> characteristics of a Little Egret. Lacking a scope, he managed to
> take a couple of distant photos using his binoculars for
> magnification.
>
> Prompted by this enigmatic sighting, Patrick Santinello went to the
> same area a few days later and was able to photograph a 'white' egret
> with head plumes that could well be the same bird. From the bill and
> head shape, this would appear to be a Little Blue Heron although
> Kenny's description of the legs (not seen by Patrick) does not jive
> well for this species. Unfortunately the legs were not seen on the
> second sighting. I think Little Egret, Snowy Egret and Western Reef
> Heron can be firmly ruled out.
>
> The question becomes, is this an adult Little Blue Heron with white
> plumage (hints of blue visible in Patricks photos on the head and
> folded primaries) or could it be a hybrid?  I have almost no
> information on the molts of Little Blue Heron. It seems too early for
> a juvenile, especially one with 'aigrettes' and such an obviously
> blue base to the bill.  Are white morph (or aberrantly plumaged)
> adults known?
>
> http://www.oceanwanderers.com/NYMysteryEgret.html
>
> All thoughts and comments appreciated, especially if shared with the
> entire group.
>
> Cheers, Angus Wilson
> New York City
>


[ << | >> | ^^ ]

Subject: follow-up on mystery white wader (heron or egret)
          on Long Island
From: Rex Stanford <calidris(AT)MINDSPRING.COM>
Date: 9 Jun 2004 4:10pm

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

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

Please permit me one more comment on the odd white wader (discussed by =
Angus Wilson earlier today) about which I sent a posting a few minutes =
ago.  It concerns an observation that I made after having posted my =
prior communication on this bird.  One of Patrick Santinello's photos of =
a largely white wader on the south shore of Long Island shows the bird =
from the rear.  This photo reveals dark tips to the primaries, an =
appearance fully compatible with the description of the uncommon, =
largely white-plumaged, presumably plumage-development retarded, Little =
Blue Herons as they were described by Arthur C. Bent as cited in my =
earlier posting.  These dark feathers would seem decisively to rule out =
the possibility of Little Egret, which has white primaries.

Rex G. Stanford
Westbury, NY

----DELETED text/html MIME SECTION----


[ << | >> | ^^ ]

Subject: NY Egret
From: Julian Hough <jrhough1(AT)SNET.NET>
Date: 9 Jun 2004 7:07pm

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

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

Angus,

I meant to post from work, but i got busy. Based on the photos you sent, =
I believe the identity of the bird is not Little Egret (which we both =
know) and looks, in the absence of any other serious contender,  in =
structure and bill shape to be close to LBH.
The bill shape and colour, along with the blue on the lores (too "blue"? =
) are all bad for Little Egret.
Some Snowies can show elongated, Little Egret-like head plumes, (one =
showed up in CT some years back and started an id. discussion..) so =
using that feature alone can be a pitfall (though any egret I see here =
in CT with two plumes, you know I'll be looking at closely!)

A few points:

It's an adult or "near-adult" (it's got aigrettes) so any discussion as =
to a retarded 2nd-calendar year LBH is not logical.
If it has plumes, I'm not sure this is good for LBH (especially that =
long and wispy: eg. Little's plumes look as though they have more =
substance to them).=20
Do adult LBH ever show such "fluffy" aigrettes and 2 elongated plumes =
like this?? Can LBH in their "first-summer" show aigrettes?

Bill structure (curved culmen) is good for LBH, as are the apparent =
"dark?" areas of the primaries (I'm not sure from the photos if these =
are real or an artifact)

Structure is tough to decipher from the photos, but looks compact, with =
short neck, compact body, and on my monitor, the crown looked tinted =
with dirty-buff, and seemed to be a hint of buff on the center of the =
neck (??)

Overall, an adult/near adult bird at this time of year, showing these =
features only seem to fit some sort of weird Little Blue Heron rather =
than a hybrid. I've never seen a plumage like this in spring and have to =
guess it's some sort of retarded/rare phase..

Can anyone enlighten us on info about "first-summer"/2nd cal-yr" birds

Best,

Julian Hough

----DELETED text/html MIME SECTION----


[ << | >> | ^^ ]

Subject: Re: Plumage variation in Little Blue Heron?
From: GreatGrayOwl(AT)AOL.COM
Date: 9 Jun 2004 7:55pm

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

Hi all:

I would have to agree with Julian and others:  the beast certainly looks like
a white adult Little Blue Heron.  My thought - why isn't this a leucistic
LBHE?  It doesn't look at all worn (as if it were a bird with a very delayed
molt) and, as Julian wrote, it looks like an adult.  The foot-color description
from the first sighting (same bird?) is fairly damning for an adult LBHE,
so....

Tony Leukering
Brighton, CO

----DELETED text/html MIME SECTION----


[ << | >> | ^^ ]

Subject: Re: Plumage variation in Little Blue Heron?
From: "andyguthrie(AT)earthlink.net" <andyguthrie@earthlink.net>
Date: 10 Jun 2004 7:29am

I don't have access to reference materials at the moment, but the following
images gleaned from the internet may be useful in terms of showing a
combination of white feathering and head plumes in Little Blue and in
supporting the comments cited from Bent posted by Rex Stanford.  None of
these approach the overall whiteness of the NY bird, but make it seem
perhaps a less remote possibility.

http://www.ctbirding.org/images/littleblueimmcrabAJH.jpg
http://www.zeledonia.org/galeria/fotos/Egretta_caerulea.jpg
http://www.bowersphoto.com/images/3266.jpg

The last bird also shows largely greenish legs, which makes me think that
"yellowish" feet might not be too unusual in a subadult bird as the legs &
feet change from juvenile greenish to adult black.

This last photo shows an adult LBHE with shorter, fluffy plumes in addition
to the longer plumes.  The NY bird's feathers don't seem out of line with
this general pattern.

http://www.ofo.ca/photos/libhji.jpg

Overall I agree with Julian's assessment that the bird is an oddly plumaged
Little Blue, although I'm not sure whether it's an extreme of "normal"
variation, a molt irregularity, or a pigmentation issue.

Andy Guthrie
Greenwich, CT
andyguthrie(AT)earthlink.net

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------
mail2web - Check your email from the web at
http://mail2web.com/ .


[ << | >> | ^^ ]

Subject: Plumage variation in Little Blue Heron?
From: Floyd Hayes <floyd_hayes(AT)YAHOO.COM>
Date: 10 Jun 2004 9:09am

I think it's a first summer Little Blue Heron. ID
Frontiers went through a similar discussion about head
plumes in adults a few years ago, when Peter Pyle
pointed out that even immatures can have head plumes.
Subsequently I saw several in Trinidad, Tobago and the
Virgin Islands. I just posted a photo of one, which
looks just like the New York bird, in the Virgin
Islands on 5 April 2003 at:

http://www.geocities.com/secaribbirds/vilittleblueheron

I've got a number of other interesting photos of
variation in plumage and soft part coloration of
Little Blue Heron but don't have time now to post them
(traveling tomorrow). Would be nice if Peter could
chime in. He's recently completed a study on heron
molts and plumages, and told me last week they molt
only once a year!

One more thing: I've seen (but didn't get photos of)
two dark Little Blues with whitish bellies and
pondered whether they might be Little Blue X
Tricolored Heron, but in all other features they were
clearly Little Blues. I assume the belly feathers were
the last to molt in these individuals.

Floyd Hayes
Angwin, CA

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Friends.  Fun.  Try the all-new Yahoo! Messenger.
http://messenger.yahoo.com/


[ << | >> | ^^ ]

Subject: Re: Plumage variation in Little Blue Heron?
From: Angus Wilson <wilsoa02(AT)MED.NYU.EDU>
Date: 10 Jun 2004 1:58pm

Some insightful comments from Peter Pyle:

Hi Angus - I'm away from my computer and can't respond directly to the List so
perhaps you could forward this for me. Thanks. Peter

We have a paper being reviewed for Wilson Bulletin at the moment discussing the
molts and plumages of Ardeids. The primary purpose is to point out that they
lack alternate plumages but in the process I measured plume lengths of first-
year and older Little Blue Herons and other species.

Herons and egrets have a protracted, partial to incomplete "preformative"
(formerly "first prebasic") molt in Oct-Apr that can include most to all of the
body feathers and sometimes tertials and other flight feathers. In all species
ornamental plumes are developed during this molt but they are typically shorter
than those of adults and continue to grow into spring whereas those of adults
usually attain maximum length by February. In the Little Blue the formative
body feathers and plumes are whitish, often but not always washed with blue.
The 2nd prebasic molt in LBHE appears to be complete in the great majority of
birds, resulting in 100% dark blue plumage. I found one (of about 40 adult
specimens examined) with retained white (juvenal or formative) underwing covs
and a single white primary covert. The 2nd prebasic molt usually begins in Apr-
May and completes in Sep, resulting in the striking "calico" SY birds during
May-Aug.

The New York heron does not fit the normal pattern in that 1) if it is an SY it
should have started the 2nd prebasic molt by June; 2) the scapular and pectoral
plumes seem long for an SY and are not washed blue, and 3) the occipital plumes
are lanceolate rather than the more typical filamentous type in structure. I
have seen at least one adult LBHE specimen with two lanceolate plumes (similar
to those of the NY bird) and believe that this subject has come up before in
this forum (along with an image of a bird in Florida). Also, the 2nd prebasic
molt begins early in herons (and other large birds) due to the fact that they
usually are not breeding as one-year-olds; when SY birds do breed they have
later molts that begin with recession of the breeding hormones in Jul-Aug, as
in adults. One possibility for the NY bird is that it is a precocious SY that
developed longer plumes than other SYs, bred as a one-year-old, and therefore
has not started the prebasic molt yet. The other possibility is that it is an
adult that either is leucistic (although the dusky-tipped primaries are normal
for juvenal feathers) or is of a rare white morph. At any rate, the plumage
features can at least be explained in a pure Little Blue Heron.

Peter Pyle


[ << | >> | ^^ ]

Subject: AN Unconventional field guide
From: Ian Paulsen <birdbooker(AT)ZIPCON.NET>
Date: 10 Jun 2004 2:23pm

HI ALL:
 One idea came to my question about bird books and how they mostly
reinvent the birding wheel. The idea was to have a field guide that
actually shows the birds as birder seem them in the field. Not the nice
portraits in standard guide but in situations like parts hidden from view
by vegetation, bad weather, sleeping birds, etc. I like the idea. How many
field guide out there show you how to tell sleeping western and clark's
grebe apart, can you? Any comments?

--
Ian Paulsen
Bainbridge Island, WA, USA
A.K.A.: "Birdbooker"
"Rallidae all the way!"


[ << | >> | ^^ ]

Subject: Re: AN Unconventional field guide
From: Jerry Tangren <tangren(AT)WSU.EDU>
Date: 10 Jun 2004 4:44pm

The Field Guide to Birds Not Really Seen Well from the Experts System
Series of Field Guides.

To explain the joke, if you didn't get it, expert systems were the rage
in the 80's. The concept was capturing the knowledge and experience of
an expert and making it available to others to use under real-world
conditions sans the expert in the flesh. That's where many of these
field marks are learned, at the heels of an expert birder in the field.
Field id's by these book-trained experts certainly would be
interesting.

--Jerry <tangren(AT)wsu.edu>

On Jun 10, 2004, at 2:28 PM, Ian Paulsen wrote:

> HI ALL:
>  One idea came to my question about bird books and how they mostly
> reinvent the birding wheel. The idea was to have a field guide that
> actually shows the birds as birder seem them in the field. Not the nice
> portraits in standard guide but in situations like parts hidden from
> view
> by vegetation, bad weather, sleeping birds, etc. I like the idea. How
> many
> field guide out there show you how to tell sleeping western and clark's
> grebe apart, can you? Any comments?
>
> --
> Ian Paulsen
> Bainbridge Island, WA, USA
> A.K.A.: "Birdbooker"
> "Rallidae all the way!"
>


[ << | >> | ^^ ]

Subject: Re: AN Unconventional field guide
From: Matt Sharp <sharp(AT)ACNATSCI.ORG>
Date: 10 Jun 2004 4:57pm

I think the Seabird series in the latest issue
of Birding is a step in this direction. This was 
also sort of the idea behind the hawk watching 
guide by Sibley, Sutton, and Dunne no? For these 
2 groups is guess distance is the thing that makes
it tough. It would be interesting to apply it to 
passerines etc.

Matt


[ << | >> | ^^ ]

Subject: Leucistic grackle
From: Kent Nickell <mountainpath(AT)MCHSI.COM>
Date: 11 Jun 2004 4:59am

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

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

Hi all, yesterday I took some photos of what appears to be a young =
leucistic Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula).  Would a pure 'albino' be =
expected to be even more white and to have pink/red eyes?  Have some =
photos at http://www.greenbackedheron.com/id.cfm?setid=3D1096.     =
Cheers,

Kent Nickell
Waterloo, Iowa
----DELETED text/html MIME SECTION----


[ << | >> | ^^ ]

Subject: Re: AN Unconventional field guide
From: Kevin McGowan <kjm2(AT)CORNELL.EDU>
Date: 11 Jun 2004 7:09am

At 02:28 PM 6/10/2004 -0700, Ian Paulsen wrote:
>... The idea was to have a field guide that
>actually shows the birds as birder seem them in the field. Not the nice
>portraits in standard guide but in situations like parts hidden from view
>by vegetation, bad weather, sleeping birds, etc. I like the idea. How many
>field guide out there show you how to tell sleeping western and clark's
>grebe apart, can you? Any comments?

When I started teaching beginning birding classes to the general public I
found that my rotten bird slides, of which I was mostly pretty
disappointed, were much more useful than the portrait shots taken by
professionals.  Once the students had a basic grasp of what the birds were
supposed to look like, I could walk them through the small, fuzzy images
and demonstrate that they could see plenty of information about the
birds.  They could quickly make a correct identification without having a
stellar look.  Such experience actually helped them learn birds better than
seeing only killer images.

Incidentally, this is exactly what the first Peterson guides did:  simplify
the illustration to what people actually see in the field.  Guides have
been slowly creeping back towards more and more detail since his first version.

Kevin

*****************************************************
Kevin J. McGowan
Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology
159 Sapsucker Woods Road
Ithaca, NY 14850
607/254-2432
fax 607/254-2111
kjm2(AT)cornell.edu
http://birds.cornell.edu/crows/


[ << | >> | ^^ ]

Subject: rail behavior/capabilities
From: Matt Kenne <mkenne(AT)NETAMUMAIL.COM>
Date: 11 Jun 2004 8:04pm

Hi,

I'm trying to evaluate a reported sighting of a Black Rail. Focusing on the
bird's actions, I'd like input from those with intimate rail experience, or
easy access to Birds of North America rail accounts. The bird in question
"flew from edge of pond about 10 feet and dropped onto a weed stem teetered
put out its wings and ran into taller weeds." Shortly thereafter, it was
seen to "run up weed stalks and fly about a foot into a small dogwood clump
when it landed it tipped forward and exposed white markings on the flank
bird then dropped into the weeds and disappeared." In my experience with
Soras and Virginia Rails, birds in flight have always dropped down through
vegetation to land, or presumably land, on the ground. I've never seen one
land from flight on plants by grasping with their feet. Not belonging to the
perching bird family, I'm thinking that they're not capable of such actions.
Any comments?

Matthew Kenne
Algona, Iowa
mkenne(AT)netamumail.com


[ << | >> | ^^ ]

Subject: BIRD artist wanted
From: Ian Paulsen <birdbooker(AT)ZIPCON.NET>
Date: 11 Jun 2004 10:47pm

HI:
 Does anyone know a bird artist willing to illustrate an unconventional
bird guide?

--
Ian Paulsen
Bainbridge Island, WA, USA
A.K.A.: "Birdbooker"
"Rallidae all the way!"


[ << | >> | ^^ ]

Subject: Unconventional bird book (part 2)
From: Ian Paulsen <birdbooker(AT)ZIPCON.NET>
Date: 12 Jun 2004 2:51pm

HI:
 Someone pointed out a flaw in my idea: There are so many ways that birds
can be seen in the field, how could you show them all in a guide?
 This person went on to point out Zimmer's Birding in the American West: a
handbook and how it pointed out some of things I was thinking about. As I
was looking through this book I saw photos of museum specimens lined up
with similar looking species. That got me thinking how come no one has
done that for the birds of North America? My question to you is would a
guide book made up of photos of museum specimens showing different views
(dorsal, side, ventral) and with similar species lined up be useful? I see
these kind of photos in id articles but not in book form.

 --
Ian Paulsen
Bainbridge Island, WA, USA
A.K.A.: "Birdbooker"
"Rallidae all the way!"


[ << | >> | ^^ ]

Subject: Re: Unconventional bird book (part 2)
From: Joel Weintraub <jweintraub(AT)fullerton.edu>
Date: 12 Jun 2004 3:08pm

There are books out there that show birds of similar species in various
poses.  Those books are not for birders, however, but for wood carvers.  I
have one wood carving book that includes pages and pages of photos of feet,
for example.  It also has plates that show where the waterline would be for
a duck that has its head over its back, and when it's head is forward.  If I
remember correctly, it shows where to place as many as 8 colors on the head
of a carved Bufflehead.  There are also excellent books for wood carvers
that show in extreme detail comparison pictures of birds of prey.

Joel Weintraub, Dana Point, CA


[ << | >> | ^^ ]

Subject: spinning specimens websites
From: birdbooker(AT)zipcon.net
Date: 12 Jun 2004 5:02pm

HI:
 See what can be done with museum specimens! I wish US museums would do this!

The concept of picturing specimens in a book may have been superceded by the
Zoological Museum of Amsterdam.

On their website they give 360 degree views of the 151 type specimens stored
at the museum. This requires a fast internet connection but shows how
museums are becoming more accessible to the general public through the
internet and how computer technology can now do things that conventional
book publishing can only dream of.

The link is  http://ip30.eti.uva.nl/zma3d/home.html

How about doing that for every study skin on the planet?

All the best,

Rob Tizard
Austin, TX

-----Original Message-----
From: Ian Paulsen [mailto:birdbooker(AT)zipcon.net]
Sent: Saturday, June 12, 2004 3:57 PM
To: birdbooklist(AT)yahoogroups.com
Cc: birdchat(AT)listserv.arizona.edu; birdwg01(AT)listserv.arizona.edu;
tweeters(AT)u.washington.edu
Subject: [birdbooklist] Unconventional bird book (part 2)

HI:
 Someone pointed out a flaw in my idea: There are so many ways that birds
can be seen in the field, how could you show them all in a guide?
 This person went on to point out Zimmer's Birding in the American West: a
handbook and how it pointed out some of things I was thinking about. As I
was looking through this book I saw photos of museum specimens lined up
with similar looking species. That got me thinking how come no one has
done that for the birds of North America? My question to you is would a
guide book made up of photos of museum specimens showing different views
(dorsal, side, ventral) and with similar species lined up be useful? I see
these kind of photos in id articles but not in book form.

 --
Ian Paulsen
Bainbridge Island, WA, USA
A.K.A.: "Birdbooker"
"Rallidae all the way!"

Web site: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/birdbooklist

Yahoo! Groups Links

------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~-->
Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar.
Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free!
http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/70TolB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~->

Web site: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/birdbooklist

Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
     http://groups.yahoo.com/group/birdbooklist/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
     birdbooklist-unsubscribe(AT)yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
     http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

-- END OF FORWARDED MESSAGE --

--
Ian Paulsen
Bainbridge Island, WA USA
A.K.A.:Birdbooker
Rallidae all the way!