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Rick Wright
Tucson
Interests: Birders, birding, birds. Maybe even in that order.
Recent Activity
The Snyder and Fry paper is really persuasive, isn't it? For some reason, it's got very little "play" out there, but I hope it eventually changes lots of minds.
North America's Oldest New Bird?
A review of Snyder and Fry, Validity of Bartram's Painted Vulture (Aves: Cathartidae). Zootaxa 3613(1):61-82. I bet it's been a while since you've seen a Small-headed Flycatcher, or a Townsend's Bunting, or a Carbonated Warbler. But I'm equally sure that most of us have heard of those birds, "n...
Are there any more photos? It looks like a white "sport" Wood Duck or Mandarin Duck on my screen.
Call Duck at Phairs Pond
Chris Takacs and Denise Farrell reported a white domestic duck at Phairs Pond today. I photographed it (above) and described it to Marsh Warden Emeritus Stiles Thomas, who ventured to say it was a Call Duck. I think he's right. (Thanks, Chris, Denise and Stiles!)
Nathan Pieplow (nomen, omen) gets my convinced vote for cage-rattler of the year. Not only is his blog unfailingly well written and fun to read, but he is one of the best unseaters of settled opinion out there, continually forcing us to think about the things we think we "know." I haven't r e a l l y paid attention to yellowlegs vocalizations for years (they're easy, right? I learned them as a kid, right?), but Nathan's given me something else to pay attention to and to enjoy this spring. Great work.
Blog Birding #128
Think you know how to identify yellowlegs by voice? Earbirding's Nathan Pieplow says not so fast: A recent thread on the Xeno-Canto forum started me asking questions about how to identify yellowlegs by voice. Conventional wisdom says the two species can often be separated by their calls, at le...
That's exactly what it will come down to, Nick. I can imagine members of the committee saying yes, we're convinced, but we need a skin, or at least a fossil femur. In a way, the issue was anticipated by the proposal discussed here: http://birdaz.com/blog/2012/07/05/when-is-enough-enough/ , which did not, if I remember right, pass.
Of course, there are lots of birds that were originally and authoritatively described from paintings, but I can't offhand think of one whose entire "specimen" record remained on canvas.
North America's Oldest New Bird?
A review of Snyder and Fry, Validity of Bartram's Painted Vulture (Aves: Cathartidae). Zootaxa 3613(1):61-82. I bet it's been a while since you've seen a Small-headed Flycatcher, or a Townsend's Bunting, or a Carbonated Warbler. But I'm equally sure that most of us have heard of those birds, "n...
North America's Oldest New Bird?
Posted Mar 19, 2013 at ABA Blog
Comment
13
Thanks, I'll have a listen!
Cyberthrush, you make a good point, one touched on by Hitt too: It's been a long time since field identification was among the skills required of an ornithologist.
Who You Callin' Amateur?
A review by Rick Wright Bunch of Amateurs: A Search for the American Character, by Jack Hitt Crown, 2012 280 pages, $26—Hardcover In January 1917, Harold Gifford called in the pages of The Condor for the founding of a League for the Extermination of Amateur Ornithologists. The editors res...
Dear Madeline, Just talked to Princeton UP, and there's no schedule for a Kindle edition of HiF. But we can always hope!
Dunne, Sibley, and Sutton: Hawks in Flight
Hawks in Flight, second edition by Pete Dunne, David Sibley, and Clay Sutton Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012 335 pages, $26–hardcover ABA Sales / Buteo Books 13648 Brian Sullivan reviews the new edition of a classic: As a young hawk watcher at Cape May in the early 1990s, I thought the aut...
Dear Madeline, Just talked to Princeton UP, and there's no schedule for a Kindle edition of HiF. But we can always hope!
Dunne, Sibley, and Sutton: Hawks in Flight
Hawks in Flight, second edition by Pete Dunne, David Sibley, and Clay Sutton Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012 335 pages, $26–hardcover ABA Sales / Buteo Books 13648 Brian Sullivan reviews the new edition of a classic: As a young hawk watcher at Cape May in the early 1990s, I thought the aut...
I didn't know there was one. I can't find it on the Amazon page, but I'll ask PUP and let you know. Thanks for asking, Madeline!
Dunne, Sibley, and Sutton: Hawks in Flight
Hawks in Flight, second edition by Pete Dunne, David Sibley, and Clay Sutton Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012 335 pages, $26–hardcover ABA Sales / Buteo Books 13648 Brian Sullivan reviews the new edition of a classic: As a young hawk watcher at Cape May in the early 1990s, I thought the aut...
Pacific Loon is a great bird, period, and regular in AZ, even in Pima County. This one is now in a freezer, having died a couple of days ago.
Rare Bird Alert: January 25, 2013
Greetings from the Space Coast Birding and Nature Festival, the only place in North America not completely frozen this week. Because the time is so short, I'm going to dispatch with the traditional introduction and run straight into the birds. After all, that's what you're here for. Three f...
One of the most often misidentified birds in NJ. Looks like it wishes it were in Georgia on a snowy day.
Monday Morning Mystery 012113
This sparrow was elusive at best, rummaging around near the base of my feeders on New Year's Day. I think I know what it is. How about you?
That's a good question, Ken. I'm guessing that some reader out there will have prepared an errata sheet and put it on the web, but I haven't seen it yet. Let me know if you find it first!
Dunne, Sibley, and Sutton: Hawks in Flight
Hawks in Flight, second edition by Pete Dunne, David Sibley, and Clay Sutton Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012 335 pages, $26–hardcover ABA Sales / Buteo Books 13648 Brian Sullivan reviews the new edition of a classic: As a young hawk watcher at Cape May in the early 1990s, I thought the aut...
"Origin unclear"? Tell us more. While birds in the east are usually suspected of being -- and sometimes can be proved to be -- escapes from careless captivity, Common Cranes in large flocks of Sandhill Cranes in the west and midwest are certainly Pompeian.
I spent a lot of time looking for this species in southeast Arizona; it's only a matter of time.
#ABArare - Common Crane - Nevada
On January 15, Alberta birder Norman Parrish discovered, photographed, and reported to eBird a Common Crane (ABA Code 4) at Overton Wildllife Management Area in Clark County, Nevada, near the town of Overton. The bird was associating with a small flock of Sandhill Cranes. Pending acceptance, thi...
W H O A ! What a bird!
#ABArare - Red-flanked Bluetail - British Columbia
Things are getting crazy in British Columbia. First, there was a Citrine Wagtail on Vancouver Island (which is still there as of Jan 13). Then Bramblings started showing up, with two in the interior of the province, one in Vancouver, and another in Victoria. There was a one-day one-observer sigh...
Thanks, Josh!
Blog Birding #117
The new I and the Bird is out at 10,000 Birds. The theme this month? Jays: Few birds in the world are as beloved and admired as the Jays. While the family Corvidae has no shortage of species that combine the self-realized human traits of intelligence and social aptitude, only in the jays is ...
Me too (meaning: me too, I'm going birding). But I would argue, and think that I have, that birding IS time spent talking about words.
Open Mic: Repatriation & Reintroduction Revisited
At the Mic: Stacia Novy Stacia Novy is employed by the US military and also does contractual work for The Peregrine Fund. The latter led to her co-discovering a Solitary Eagle nest in Belize’s Mountain Pine Ridge on 30 June 2011. She has traveled around the world birdwatching, fishing, and hunt...
Eloquent headlines that would make no sense at all if the revisionists had their way.
Open Mic: Repatriation & Reintroduction Revisited
At the Mic: Stacia Novy Stacia Novy is employed by the US military and also does contractual work for The Peregrine Fund. The latter led to her co-discovering a Solitary Eagle nest in Belize’s Mountain Pine Ridge on 30 June 2011. She has traveled around the world birdwatching, fishing, and hunt...
Or try this: go to http://sora.unm.edu/ and conduct a search for "re-introduction." You'll find hundreds of papers over the decades by authors like Bruce.
Open Mic: Repatriation & Reintroduction Revisited
At the Mic: Stacia Novy Stacia Novy is employed by the US military and also does contractual work for The Peregrine Fund. The latter led to her co-discovering a Solitary Eagle nest in Belize’s Mountain Pine Ridge on 30 June 2011. She has traveled around the world birdwatching, fishing, and hunt...
Really? Well, I may have to reconsider--there are now three people out there who understand the word that way.
Open Mic: Repatriation & Reintroduction Revisited
At the Mic: Stacia Novy Stacia Novy is employed by the US military and also does contractual work for The Peregrine Fund. The latter led to her co-discovering a Solitary Eagle nest in Belize’s Mountain Pine Ridge on 30 June 2011. She has traveled around the world birdwatching, fishing, and hunt...
Sometimes we dream up problems just to solve them--and then don't solve them very well.
Consider this minimal pair:
Ruffed Grouse were re-introduced to East Averna.
Ruffed Grouse were introduced again to East Averna.
Completely different, aren't they? And completely comprehensible, logically, intuitively, and pragmatically.
If some linguistically naive bee in one's bonnet still wants one to avoid saying "re-introduced," then we'll need an alternative that isn't semantically pre-occupied.
"Repatriation" already has the meaning used by zoo administrators and morticians, namely, the return of an individual to its home. "Re-establishment" is already used to describe the state achieved at the end of a successful re-introduction project. And "reinforcement" designates the adding of individuals to an extant population.
Until I can be convinced that there's a need for an alternative and that there is a clear and superior alternative to "re-introduced," I'll continue in the company of the Oxford English Dictionary, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and the hundreds of thousands of birders who use these terms sensibly and correctly every day.
http://birdaz.com/blog/2012/11/15/why-i-still-say-re-introduction/
Open Mic: Repatriation & Reintroduction Revisited
At the Mic: Stacia Novy Stacia Novy is employed by the US military and also does contractual work for The Peregrine Fund. The latter led to her co-discovering a Solitary Eagle nest in Belize’s Mountain Pine Ridge on 30 June 2011. She has traveled around the world birdwatching, fishing, and hunt...
Excellent, excellent choice for BotY! And a great video to kick things off right.
Presenting the 2013 ABA Bird of the Year!
ABA Bird of the Year website
A sweet little Sharp-shinned Hawk, seeking whom it might devour. Even at this angle, you can see the large eye, small bill, and steep forehead--and look at those sharp shins!
Monday Morning Mystery 010713
Can you ID this raptor -- sometimes tough from just one photo. Thanks to Kathy Lloyd Boehm for passing it along -- she spotted it in her yard in Midland Park...
Do you know the old joke from railroad days? Conductor calls out "TUScola!" Then he calls out "ARcola!" Passenger looks up and says "What's next? COCAcola?" Conductor says nothing, but a few minutes later calls out "Champaign!"
Which species will be the 2013 ABA Bird of the Year?!
The era of the Evening Grosbeak, a singularly worthy Bird of the Year for 2012, is drawing to a close. And though it pains us to give that noble finch a shortened reign, we're putting all future Bird of the Year announcements on the traditional calendar from here on out. Which means the annou...
Apparently the VT/NY Common Pochard is wearing a plastic band of a type used by waterfowl collectors. I don't know whether anyone has been able to rule out definitively the possibility that it is an "auxiliary marker" placed on a wild bird, but at this point I think a lot of people have decided to save the gasoline. Bummer.
Rare Bird Alert: January 4, 2013
Happy New Year! The next great irruption of the winter of 2012-13 is on. The northern owls, Great Grays, Northern Hawks, and Boreals, have moved south in numbers into southern Canada, with Quebec being particularly heavy with the birds. Gyrfalcons have been reported in several locations in so...
New Jersey's Pink-footed Goose was seen today, I understand.
Rare Bird Alert: December 14, 2012
CBC season starts this weekend, and no doubt birders around the continent, and indeed the world, are gearing up for the biggest citizen science project in the world. Good birders will almost certainly be found, so the relative paucity of vagrant reports continent-wide this week is hopefully onl...
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