ROFLHO!!! My thanks to Everyone for such a lovely distractation from a wet
dreary day!  Gotta love  BRID WCHRS!!

-Steve

A cheerful heart is good medicine... (Prov 17:22a)


----- Original Message -----
From: "Bruce M. Bowman" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, October 08, 2009 1:37 PM
Subject: Re: [Ohio-birds] Putative Ohio species


>A 29-character code doesn't quite capture Middendorff's Grasshopper-
> Warbler, but I agree that MIDDENDORFFSGRASSHOPPERWAR is unique and almost
> unambiguous.
>
> Bruce
>
> Date sent:              Thu, 8 Oct 2009 08:24:44 -0400
> Send reply to:          Bill Whan <[log in to unmask]>
> From:                   Bill Whan <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject:                [Ohio-birds] Putative Ohio species
> To:                     [log in to unmask]
>
>> Well, when we start to recycle the bird-name abbreviation issue (I know
>> of
>> a completely unambiguous 29-character system for North America I'm
>> willing
>> to share: it would be even shorter except for the pesky 'northern
>> rough-winged swallow'), it's time to try something new.
>>         I read something the other day that suggested a series of posts,
>> I
>>         hope
>> informative and interesting, about Ohio records that would, had they not
>> been forgotten, ignored, or disputed, have added new species to the state
>> list.
>>         #1 is fish crow. On page 67 of "Birds of West Virginia. Bulletin
>>         #3 of
>> the West Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station," by W. D. Doan,
>> published in Morgantown in 1888, appears the following entry: "FISH
>> CROW. Corvus ossifragus. Resident. Rare. I saw two Fish Crows on
>> Blennerhassett Island October 2. They were flying over the island to the
>> Ohio side."
>>         In a quick look, this work looks like a conscientious compilation
>>         of
>> its time. One slightly whacky thing I found is its inclusion of northern
>> shrike and omission of loggerhead shrike. Fish crow has a firm place on
>> today's West Virginia list, for many more reasons than this report;
>> George
>> Hall acknowledges it, accompanied by a bit of skepticism, in his "West
>> Virginia Birds' (1983).
>>         Part of the reason Ohio doesn't have this species on its list
>>         involves
>> ID problems far more difficult than those regarding shrikes. Fish crows
>> are somewhat smaller than American crows, and there are some morphometric
>> differences if you have the bird in hand. There are some behavioral clues
>> that might lead one to look more closely, but for the most part one
>> should
>> rather listen more closely. Corvid expert Kevin McGowan has some
>> excellent
>> advice at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/crows/FishCrow.htm  . Most
>> authorities seem to agree this species is slowly extending its range
>> inland via major watercourses, and Doan's report supports the idea of
>> being extra alert for this bird along the Ohio River. More on other
>> species later, Bill Whan Columbus
>>
>>
>>
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>
> ______________________________________________________________________
>
> Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
> Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
> Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at
> www.ohiobirds.org/forum/.
>
> You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
> http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
> Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]

______________________________________________________________________

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