Hi all:
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch is represented in Colorado by two subspecies groups.  
eBird's nomenclature for the two groups is:
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch (Gray-crowned)
and
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch (Hepburn's).
The second of these two subspecies groups is of birds with nearly entirely gray 
heads, while the first is of birds with brown "cheeks."  I am currently trying 
to analyze the ratios of these two subspecies groups in the state, but I am 
hampered by the inconsistency of eBird reporting of the two groups.  So, I 
write this note to request that if you report any birds using the 
subspecies-level entry for Hepburn's, please don't report any other 
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches using the species-level entry, unless you understand 
what you're reporting.
As example, if you see 48 Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches and determine that 12 of 
them are Hepburn's subspecies group and 36 are referable to the "Gray-crowned" 
subspecies group, please report these birds as follows:
12 Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch (Hepburn's)36 Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch (Gray-crowned)
Do not report as follows:
36 Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch12 Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch (Hepburn's).
That is because in the second option, you are saying that you are positive that 
the 36 birds belong to the SPECIES Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch, but that you are 
unsure as to which SUBSPECIES GROUP they belong.  I cannot determine 
subspecies-group ratios from data reported as such, because I have to assume 
that the subspecies group was undetermined in the second example, even though 
the observer (in this hypothetical case) knew that they belong to the 
"Gray-crowned" subspecies group.  I am having to throw away an awful lot of 
data due to this inconsistency.
Thanks,
Tony
Tony LeukeringWiley, CO

-- 
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups 
"Colorado Birds" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email 
to [email protected].
To post to this group, send email to [email protected].
To view this discussion on the web visit 
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/2014098643.17251470.1547240804807%40mail.yahoo.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

Reply via email to