Whatever the final verdict, it has proven to be a valuable learning experience. We want to believe and want to toss out what doesn't quite fit when so much else does. Even the best of the best birders can be tricked. I, being more inexperienced, followed the bandwagon as a believer, questioning only why I never heard the tics while others nearby said they did. I chalked it up to exuberant chatty people, loudly munching cows, and insects. The squeaks I heard came from well across the field, while the birds I saw and heard no sounds from hugged the edges. I was focused upon them. They sure looked right for size, overall color, and pattern, being all of two feet from my head; but it was indeed too dark to see bill or wing detail as they flashed past.
Thank you, Dan, for the clarification and education. For those going tonight, no pressure, but can you record some indisputable clicks and net and verify a bonafide rail for us?!!!!! ()-:
Until I hear otherwise (and I still do want to believe), I had a probable button quail buzz my head twice! Still a great evening and worth the drive up from Columbus for the experience and spectacle. Still can't believe what those cows can do to a strip of sorghum in an hour!
Leslie
Sent from my iPad
On Sep 5, 2014, at 12:16 PM, Dan Sanders <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>
> Hello All… By now many of you may have heard via
> private e-mails, texts, Facebook groups, etc. that the Yellow Rails, recently
> located in Knox County near the home of Junior Nisley, may really be Button
> Quail, a rather popular caged bird that is about the same size as YERA. These
> birds (as many as 3) have been heard and seen when they become more active, at
> about 8:20 PM. Light conditions at this time of day are not good enough for seeing
> ID field marks, but the silhouettes in flight might give you the impression that
> the size is about right, and many also noticed 'dangling legs' as well. The
> occasional vocalizations are somewhat like an 'alternate' call that can be
> found on the Sibley phone app, and a couple of birders also reported that they
> had heard the rapid 'clicking' call that is sometimes heard during the Spring
> migration of this species. And so many things seemed to 'fit' for a positive
> Yellow Rail ID. Things that didn't quite seem to fit were the number (3 of
> them?), the alternate call, and their flying about. But what else could they be?
> The call wasn't right for Black Rail, Sora, or Virginia Rail.
> Well, last night
> (the 3rd night for many observers), one of the birds flew and then landed in an
> area of the sorghum field where it was located and surrounded by birders. A
> flashlight provided good looks and some photographs of this bird were also taken and can be found on the Facebook groups. The bird didn't have the field marks of a Yellow Rail, but what was it? Later,
> a young Amish boy mentioned that it looked like the Button Quail that a
> neighbor was raising, and some quick google searches verified that it was
> indeed a Button Quail.
> Mystery solved? Well, perhaps, as it seems
> very unlikely that both Yellow Rail and Button Quail would be occupying this
> same sorghum field 'niche'. Other birders are returning again tonight for more
> possible looks and also to try for some recordings of their vocalizations. As
> for 'counting' this as a Yellow Rail for your County, State, Life, or other
> lists, this decision, as always, should be a personal one.
> Good Birding,
> Dan Sanders
>
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