With new resources now available, I am thinking about compiling a checklist of all wild bird species observed in Franklin County, Ohio. The basis of the checklist will be the 214+ native species documented by specimens at the OSU Museum, certainly a good start, even if very few have been collected over the past 50 years. The list includes species like passenger pigeon but also Eurasian collared-dove, greater prairie-chicken and gray partridge, red-cockaded woodpecker, golden eagle, yellow rail, Bewick's wren, Bachman's sparrow, purple gallinule, ruff, king eider, western grebe--I could go on and on--and obviously there must be many more not verified by specimens but worthy of inclusion. For example, among gulls there are Museum specimens from the county of only Bonaparte's and great black-backed: obviously we can add herring and ring-billed and kittiwake, and I believe little, and perhaps Franklin's and laughing. I am going to put together a first draft list, based on the specimens and what I know of sight records. I imagine it'll be between 250 and 300 spp. I'll make it available soon and ask those inclined to help by looking it over. In the meantime, please make notes of unusual sightings for the list, but wait until after seeing the draft before taking the trouble to send them. I am going to prefer published or vetted records, but am willing to consider others on a case-by-case basis. Notes on Franklin County specimens in other museum collections would be helpful as well. Thanks in advance, and More later, Bill Whan Columbus ______________________________________________________________________ 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]