Ontbirders, I wanted to let you know about a very unusual bird about a 75-minute drive from the Peace Bridge (Buffalo-Fort Erie crossing). The bird was discovered on November 9th by Gary Chapin and identified as a Western Kingbird (WK). It was not reported for the next week until Gary again found the bird. The next day, I and others saw and photographed the bird. I questioned the bird's identity because I felt the bill was too large for a WK. I sent these photos out and sought opinions from others. I was leaning toward the bird being a Couch's Kingbird because of the call. (Note that Couch's and Tropical Kingbirds are very similar and best separated by call.) Matt Victoria took photographs and posted them to his web site. Jay McGowan looked at Matt's photos and also questioned the identification, this time publicly on the NY birding list service.
Since then there has been an avalanche of discussion about this bird and what it might be. Kevin McGowan of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology studied specimens as did David Sibley. There now appears to be somewhat of a concensus. The bird is believed to be a Couch's X Scissor-tailed Flycatcher!!! This hybrid combination has NEVER been reported before. In support of this identification as opposed to Tropical X Scissor-tailed, Jim Kimball played tapes of different Kingbirds and Scissor-tailed Flycatcher in the bird's presence. The bird responded strongly to the song of the Couch's KB, but did not respond at all to the calls of the others. The bird has been seen and extensively photographed, videotaped, and audiotaped by numerous observers. When present, it is usually very cooperative, providing good views. IT IS STILL PRESENT and was seen today. Here are some links that have photos and discussion about the bird. 1) Kevin & Jay McGowan's photos http://birds.cornell.edu/crows/KingGen.htm 2) Kevin McGowan's specimen study http://birds.cornell.edu/crows/kingbirdsX.htm 3) Angus Wilson's web site http://www.oceanwanderers.com/NYTyrannus.html 4) Kurt Fox's photos of the bird in flight http://home.eznet.net/~kfox/wny/weki/tyrannus.htm 5) ID-Frontiers (be sure to check out Kevin McGowan's and David Sibley's posts) - the thread is "Western Kingbird or something else?": http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/FRID.html 6) ID-Frontiers Archives http://listserv.arizona.edu/archives/birdwg01.html I think the discussion on ID-Frontiers started Nov 17 or 18. DIRECTIONS: Take I-90 (NY Thruway) Eastbound to the Batavia Exit (Rt 98). Go south on Rt 98 a mile or so and turn left onto Rt 63. Go southeast on Rt 63 several miles through East Bethany, Pavilion, Greigsville. A couple miles after Greigsville, turn right onto River Road (just before the hamlet of Piffard). [Note - this is the second River Road off of Rt 63. The first one dead ends fairly quickly - if you take it by mistake, turn around and go back to Rt 63.] Chandler Road is first or second intersection. Go 1.3 miles (2.2 km) further south on River Road past Chandler. If you reach the buildings and machinery on your left you are slightly too far (though the bird has been seen here also). The bird is usually in the pasture on the left, often close to the road. He seems to like this spot and though he may leave for a while, always returns. You may have to wait for a couple of hours. No guarantees! Very early morning is usually the most reliable. Good birding! Willie -------------- Willie D'Anna Betsy Potter Niagara Falls, N.Y. [EMAIL PROTECTED] "Willie D'Anna & Betsy Potter" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Visit http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdsguide.htm for information on leaving and joining the list. As well as general information and content guidelines.
