Hello Ontbirders, Many of you will be interested in our findings (don't shoot the messenger). My lab sequenced a mitchondrial gene called COI for two droppings and DNA from the a breast feather from the oriole. All 3 sequences obtained were identical - and are a perfect match for Baltimore Oriole. Bullock's Oriole COI is quite different from Baltimore (they are not even sister taxa according to this gene).
What does this mean about the parents though? It tells us nothing about the father. It means that the mother, or the mother's mother, or mother's mother's mother (you get the picture) was a Baltimore Oriole. Mitochondrial DNA is passed down maternally and in theory can come from a very old hybrid event. In reality, it is usually from a recent hybrid event. We need to sequence a nuclear gene to absolutely identify both parents. Unfortunately, nuclear gene data is much more sporadically available online than COI data. To match our bird, we require that the gene chosen be present in online databases (i.e. that it has been sequenced for both Bullock's and Baltimore Oriole before so that we have data to match our bird to). We are looking into this and will report back in a few weeks when I have had time to deal with it. What does this mean for the record? I suggest that we wait until more data become available before changing your ebird records but we are certainly dealing with either a hybrid (likely - but it could be from a recent or old hybridization event) or a pure Baltimore that really threw everyone off (doubtful). Thanks to Bruce di Labio for providing the samples to be sequenced! You have to love these challenging bird identifications. It would be great to get samples from other orioles that have been identified in Ontario this winter and I recommend routine sequencing for all of these difficult field ID's. It has become routine in Britain but is just catching on here. If you are following a rare bird where identification is not trivial, please don't hesitate to collect a sample and send it to me (or to any lab that does molecular taxonomic research). Samples should be picked up and placed onto a tissue and into a baggie using a q-tip or branch. Human DNA contaminating the sample is a pain to deal with so don't pick it up by hand please. They should be sent to me immediately before they degrade. Samples out of soil are problematic. Best to follow the bird and watch for it to defecate onto a branch or leaf. A shed feather works well too and can be easy to come by if you watch the bird for more than a few minutes. And don't forget, the oriole can be viewed at the Wild Bird Centre if you want to make detailed notes on morphology. They would undoubtedly appreciate a donation when you visit! Good birding, Jeff -- Jeff Skevington, Research Scientist Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada 960 Carling Avenue, K.W. Neatby Building Ottawa, ON, K1A 0C6, Canada Mobile: 613-720-2862 E-mail: [email protected] _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
