> Can't th
--- On Sat, 12/4/10, James Fox <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Can't this question be settled by
> finding out if there are any aviculturists in the area and
> then checking with them to see if they have lost a BBWD
> lately?  If none of them have lost one then it would be
> safe to conclude that it is a wild bird.

Unfortunately, it's not quite that simple. Of course, if a local aviculturalist claims the bird, then rejecting it as wild is straightforward. However, we can't prove a negative: If no known local aviculturalist claims it, it is still possible that the owner was overlooked, or the bird may have flown in from a distant duck farm.

The Bird Records Committee will have to evaluate a range of factors including the behavior and physical characteristics of the particular bird, the known range of behavior of the species, the weather patterns preceding the birds arrival, and whether or not there were other vagrants appearing at the same time. 

Personally I believe these factors support concluding that the bird is wild, but that is my casual opinion. The Bird Records Committee with take a more systematic and thoughtful examination of the data, and they may well reach a different conclusion. If so, I'll remove the species from my Ohio list and look forward to adding the tick at a later time.

Thanks to the Bird Records Committee for doing this work for us.

Paul

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