Sean & all-- Just got back into town and found the comments on the black-bellied whistling-duck at Bluffton. We all read here two other reports of this species in Ohio this fall, and there is a record from the Cincinnati area on 5/30/2004, Ohio's first and only accepted one. I don't know of any reports before 2010 that have not been accepted. I'm not on the records committee this year, but if I were I'd (as I'm sure current members are) take at least the following into consideration: --there were an unusually large number of reports of this species in the NE this year. Many there were reported farther from its normal range than Ohio. --observers from its traditional breeding range in south Texas have contributed innumerable stories of its fearless adoption of human habitats, even including adults escorting young into suburban backyard swimming pools. Ohio's accepted record came from a pond in a suburban condo community. --certain physical signs--clipped halluces, bands, certain kinds of feather/soft parts wear, etc.--can strongly suggest captive origin for waterfowl. Exotic birds are costly, and owners are generally--but not always--anxious to have them returned if they escape, so they identify them in some way. No one reported any such signs on this bird, though photos may show them. Still, such an attractive duck might be held in captivity by casual enthusiasts who don't care to mark their birds. --unusual individual waterfowl, wild or not, are especially likely to join flocks of other species during migratory periods. Wild oddballs are less likely to show up during their breeding season, or in wintering areas known to be unacceptable to their overall populations, but escaped birds can show up anywhere or anytime. --we have some new technologies to test vagrancy: a feather from a duck, analyzed by stable-isotope analysis, can reveal evidence of its location during its most recent molt. So if someone picked up a feather shed by the Bluffton duck, a fairly inexpensive test might tell us if it spent the winter a thousand miles south of here, or not. In the long run, I'd guess the records committee will make a decision based on the largest possible range of details, including not only the appearance and behavior of this individual, but also the history of its vagrancies in our region. If this individual does not vary significantly from the accumulated knowledge of wild origin it is more likely to be accepted. It is good that birders have amassed so many observations; it would be great if someone could collect a feather! 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]