[nysbirds-l] Ash-throated flycatcher continues Montauk

[David Klauber]

The previously reported Ash-throated Flycatcher was seen this morning in the 
northwest section of Fort Pond cemetary / park. There was 1 immature Great 
Cormorant and an Iceland Gull on the Montauk Harbor jetties 
  
--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm

ARCHIVES:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L
3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

[nysbirds-l] Hempstead Lake SP this morning 12/24

[syschiff]

An adult BALD EAGLE flew north over parking field #3 heading north in the 
direction of Smith Pond.
Sy Schiff

--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm

ARCHIVES:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L
3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

[nysbirds-l] PPPABU (Prospect Park Painted Bunting)

[Rob Bate]

Believe it or not you can go looking for the Prospect Park Painted Bunting
and not come across one birder!  Still people are looking for our superstar
visitor and they can no longer rely on the usual field mark "just look for
the cameras and birders."I have created a google map to help as a guide
to his latest locations.

https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?hl=en=en=0=0=z8KGC2MO2lLc.kWF23pquz0Vk

His most reliable location for the last week and one half is a small patch
of wildflower and poke weed growth in a narrow patch between the horse
trail and the most north-easterly paved path coming down off the roof area,
a roped off area that includes a small path between these two main paths.

PABU has also ventured across the paved path from this area and has been
feeding on Poke berries next to the stone wall running due north.  He
doesn't move much so look carefully!


Rob Bate
Brooklyn

--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm

ARCHIVES:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L
3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

[nysbirds-l] Prospect Park Painted Bunting

[Rob Bate]

Merry Christmas Eve. The PPPABU continues same area on north slope of Lefrak 
Center green roof. 

Rob Bate
Brooklyn
--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm

ARCHIVES:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L
3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

Re: [nysbirds-l] Staten Island Swainsons Hawk update?

[Philip Ribolow]

Classification: External Communication

Has anyone seen this hawk since last weekend?  I can swing by today if it's 
still there, thanks.


Regards,

Phil


- Original Message -
From: John Lazzaro [mailto:ultimatespinachfi...@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, December 24, 2015 10:24 AM
To: NYSbirds-L@cornell.edu 
Subject: [nysbirds-l] Bunting update?

Any update on the Painted Bunting in Prospect Park?



--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm

ARCHIVES:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L
3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--


---
This communication may contain confidential and/or privileged information. If 
you are not the intended recipient (or have received this communication in 
error) please notify the sender immediately and destroy this communication. Any 
unauthorized copying, disclosure or distribution of the material in this 
communication is strictly forbidden.

Deutsche Bank does not render legal or tax advice, and the information 
contained in this communication should not be regarded as such.

--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm

ARCHIVES:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L
3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

Re: [nysbirds-l] Spizella sparrows

[Phil Jeffrey]

For the issue of the covert patterning figure 19E and the legend for that 
figure suggests an explanation.  As for tail length the pictures of the Queens 
bird that I saw did not show a fully grown shape and it seems very likely that 
it is still growing, making conjecture about relative or absolute tail length 
rather hazardous.

Cheers 
Phil Jeffrey
Princeton

> On Dec 24, 2015, at 9:10 AM, Shaibal Mitra  wrote:
> 
> Thanks, Peter, for sharing this.
> 
> Although the original hard copy of the article is right here on my shelf, I 
> remembered it only dimly until you posted the link.
> 
> Among the many characters discussed by the authors are two that I'd like to 
> follow up on now, while everything is fresh in our minds. The first involves 
> the pattern of the secondary coverts, which in Brewer's Sparrow are described 
> as showing pointed black extensions along the shafts, described as absent in 
> Clay-colored Sparrow. I had noticed that the Queens bird showed such points, 
> and worried about this a little bit until I confirmed that multiple of my 
> images of Long Island Clay-colored Sparrows also clearly show this pattern:
> 
> https://picasaweb.google.com/109808209543611018404/Spizella#
> 
> I don't have an explanation for this discrepancy, but it underscores the need 
> to look at multiple characters when trying to distinguish very similar 
> species.
> 
> The second involves the relative tail length character mentioned in a number 
> of posts. Whereas the article does not mention this as a useful field 
> character for distinguishing Brewer's and Clay-colored, it is well known that 
> these two species collectively differ from Chipping in being longer-tailed, 
> relative to body size. This may not be immediately obvious from the table of 
> measurements, because the tail length values for Chipping Sparrow are 
> basically identical to those for Brewer's and Clay-colored. But the key point 
> is that Chipping Sparrow is larger than the other two, as seen most obviously 
> in its much greater wing length values. Thus, what might appear to be an 
> obscure bander's formula, "wing minus tail" is in fact an elegant way of 
> expressing relative tail length, and it is evident from the table that 
> Brewer's and Clay-colored are similarly long-tailed compared to Chipping.
> 
> Using wing length as a proxy for body size is appealing because these data 
> are relatively accessible, but the validity of this approach is restricted to 
> closely related species that have similar wing shapes. In the case of the 
> Spizella sparrows, I think this is generally true. If anything, I think 
> Chipping might be a little be longer-winged (relative to body size) than the 
> other two, with a slightly longer primary projection, but I still think 
> Clay-colored looks consistently longer-tailed than Chipping in the field and 
> suspect that Brewer's does also.
> 
> Shai Mitra
> Bay Shore
> 
> From: bounce-120008119-11143...@list.cornell.edu 
> [bounce-120008119-11143...@list.cornell.edu] on behalf of Peter Reisfeld 
> [drpi...@yahoo.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, December 23, 2015 12:59 AM
> To: NYSbirds-L@cornell.edu
> Subject: [nysbirds-l] Spizella sparrows
> 
> For those wishing to delve a bit more into this topic, here is an old review 
> discussing the range of variation of features within species, and clues to 
> help separate them.
> 
> http://www.birdpop.org/docs/pubs/Pyle_and_Howell_1996_Spizella_Sparrows_Intraspecific_Variation_and_ID.pdf
> 
> Happy winter birding,
> 
> Peter
> --
> NYSbirds-L List Info:
> Welcome and Basics
> Rules and Information
> Subscribe, Configuration and 
> Leave
> Archives:
> The Mail 
> Archive
> Surfbirds
> BirdingOnThe.Net
> Please submit your observations to eBird!
> --
> 
> 
> Support CSI students this holiday season each time you shop with Amazon 
> Smile
> 
> --
> 
> NYSbirds-L List Info:
> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES
> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm
> 
> ARCHIVES:
> 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
> 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L
> 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html
> 
> Please submit your observations to eBird:
> http://ebird.org/content/ebird/
> 
> --
> 

--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES

[nysbirds-l] Bunting update?

[John Lazzaro]

Any update on the Painted Bunting in Prospect Park?



--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm

ARCHIVES:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L
3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

RE: [nysbirds-l] Spizella sparrows

[Shaibal Mitra]

Thanks, Peter, for sharing this.

Although the original hard copy of the article is right here on my shelf, I 
remembered it only dimly until you posted the link.

Among the many characters discussed by the authors are two that I'd like to 
follow up on now, while everything is fresh in our minds. The first involves 
the pattern of the secondary coverts, which in Brewer's Sparrow are described 
as showing pointed black extensions along the shafts, described as absent in 
Clay-colored Sparrow. I had noticed that the Queens bird showed such points, 
and worried about this a little bit until I confirmed that multiple of my 
images of Long Island Clay-colored Sparrows also clearly show this pattern:

https://picasaweb.google.com/109808209543611018404/Spizella#

I don't have an explanation for this discrepancy, but it underscores the need 
to look at multiple characters when trying to distinguish very similar species.

The second involves the relative tail length character mentioned in a number of 
posts. Whereas the article does not mention this as a useful field character 
for distinguishing Brewer's and Clay-colored, it is well known that these two 
species collectively differ from Chipping in being longer-tailed, relative to 
body size. This may not be immediately obvious from the table of measurements, 
because the tail length values for Chipping Sparrow are basically identical to 
those for Brewer's and Clay-colored. But the key point is that Chipping Sparrow 
is larger than the other two, as seen most obviously in its much greater wing 
length values. Thus, what might appear to be an obscure bander's formula, "wing 
minus tail" is in fact an elegant way of expressing relative tail length, and 
it is evident from the table that Brewer's and Clay-colored are similarly 
long-tailed compared to Chipping.

Using wing length as a proxy for body size is appealing because these data are 
relatively accessible, but the validity of this approach is restricted to 
closely related species that have similar wing shapes. In the case of the 
Spizella sparrows, I think this is generally true. If anything, I think 
Chipping might be a little be longer-winged (relative to body size) than the 
other two, with a slightly longer primary projection, but I still think 
Clay-colored looks consistently longer-tailed than Chipping in the field and 
suspect that Brewer's does also.

Shai Mitra
Bay Shore

From: bounce-120008119-11143...@list.cornell.edu 
[bounce-120008119-11143...@list.cornell.edu] on behalf of Peter Reisfeld 
[drpi...@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, December 23, 2015 12:59 AM
To: NYSbirds-L@cornell.edu
Subject: [nysbirds-l] Spizella sparrows

For those wishing to delve a bit more into this topic, here is an old review 
discussing the range of variation of features within species, and clues to help 
separate them.

http://www.birdpop.org/docs/pubs/Pyle_and_Howell_1996_Spizella_Sparrows_Intraspecific_Variation_and_ID.pdf

Happy winter birding,

Peter
--
NYSbirds-L List Info:
Welcome and Basics
Rules and Information
Subscribe, Configuration and 
Leave
Archives:
The Mail 
Archive
Surfbirds
BirdingOnThe.Net
Please submit your observations to eBird!
--


Support CSI students this holiday season each time you shop with Amazon 
Smile

--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm

ARCHIVES:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L
3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

[nysbirds-l] West Islip Tufted Duck - Yes

[Tim Healy]

The Tufted Duck continues at Lake Capri in West Islip this morning. Seen along 
the western shoreline. Plenty of other waterfowl about. 

(Holiday) Cheers!
-Tim H
--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm

ARCHIVES:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L
3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

[nysbirds-l] Ross goose Eastport pond Suffolk county yes

[davehawkowl]

Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Smartphone
--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm

ARCHIVES:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L
3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

[nysbirds-l] Hempstead Lake SP this morning 12/24

[syschiff]

An adult BALD EAGLE flew north over parking field #3 heading north in the 
direction of Smith Pond.
Sy Schiff

--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm

ARCHIVES:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L
3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

[nysbirds-l] Ash-throated flycatcher continues Montauk

[David Klauber]

The previously reported Ash-throated Flycatcher was seen this morning in the 
northwest section of Fort Pond cemetary / park. There was 1 immature Great 
Cormorant and an Iceland Gull on the Montauk Harbor jetties 
  
--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm

ARCHIVES:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L
3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

[nysbirds-l] PPPABU (Prospect Park Painted Bunting)

[Rob Bate]

Believe it or not you can go looking for the Prospect Park Painted Bunting
and not come across one birder!  Still people are looking for our superstar
visitor and they can no longer rely on the usual field mark "just look for
the cameras and birders."I have created a google map to help as a guide
to his latest locations.

https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?hl=en=en=0=0=z8KGC2MO2lLc.kWF23pquz0Vk

His most reliable location for the last week and one half is a small patch
of wildflower and poke weed growth in a narrow patch between the horse
trail and the most north-easterly paved path coming down off the roof area,
a roped off area that includes a small path between these two main paths.

PABU has also ventured across the paved path from this area and has been
feeding on Poke berries next to the stone wall running due north.  He
doesn't move much so look carefully!


Rob Bate
Brooklyn

--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm

ARCHIVES:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L
3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

Re: [nysbirds-l] Staten Island Swainsons Hawk update?

[Philip Ribolow]

Classification: External Communication

Has anyone seen this hawk since last weekend?  I can swing by today if it's 
still there, thanks.


Regards,

Phil


- Original Message -
From: John Lazzaro [mailto:ultimatespinachfi...@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, December 24, 2015 10:24 AM
To: NYSbirds-L@cornell.edu 
Subject: [nysbirds-l] Bunting update?

Any update on the Painted Bunting in Prospect Park?



--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm

ARCHIVES:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L
3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--


---
This communication may contain confidential and/or privileged information. If 
you are not the intended recipient (or have received this communication in 
error) please notify the sender immediately and destroy this communication. Any 
unauthorized copying, disclosure or distribution of the material in this 
communication is strictly forbidden.

Deutsche Bank does not render legal or tax advice, and the information 
contained in this communication should not be regarded as such.

--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm

ARCHIVES:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L
3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

[nysbirds-l] Prospect Park Painted Bunting

[Rob Bate]

Merry Christmas Eve. The PPPABU continues same area on north slope of Lefrak 
Center green roof. 

Rob Bate
Brooklyn
--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm

ARCHIVES:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L
3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

[nysbirds-l] Ross goose Eastport pond Suffolk county yes

[davehawkowl]

Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Smartphone
--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm

ARCHIVES:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L
3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

[nysbirds-l] West Islip Tufted Duck - Yes

[Tim Healy]

The Tufted Duck continues at Lake Capri in West Islip this morning. Seen along 
the western shoreline. Plenty of other waterfowl about. 

(Holiday) Cheers!
-Tim H
--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm

ARCHIVES:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L
3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

RE: [nysbirds-l] Spizella sparrows

[Shaibal Mitra]

Thanks, Peter, for sharing this.

Although the original hard copy of the article is right here on my shelf, I 
remembered it only dimly until you posted the link.

Among the many characters discussed by the authors are two that I'd like to 
follow up on now, while everything is fresh in our minds. The first involves 
the pattern of the secondary coverts, which in Brewer's Sparrow are described 
as showing pointed black extensions along the shafts, described as absent in 
Clay-colored Sparrow. I had noticed that the Queens bird showed such points, 
and worried about this a little bit until I confirmed that multiple of my 
images of Long Island Clay-colored Sparrows also clearly show this pattern:

https://picasaweb.google.com/109808209543611018404/Spizella#

I don't have an explanation for this discrepancy, but it underscores the need 
to look at multiple characters when trying to distinguish very similar species.

The second involves the relative tail length character mentioned in a number of 
posts. Whereas the article does not mention this as a useful field character 
for distinguishing Brewer's and Clay-colored, it is well known that these two 
species collectively differ from Chipping in being longer-tailed, relative to 
body size. This may not be immediately obvious from the table of measurements, 
because the tail length values for Chipping Sparrow are basically identical to 
those for Brewer's and Clay-colored. But the key point is that Chipping Sparrow 
is larger than the other two, as seen most obviously in its much greater wing 
length values. Thus, what might appear to be an obscure bander's formula, "wing 
minus tail" is in fact an elegant way of expressing relative tail length, and 
it is evident from the table that Brewer's and Clay-colored are similarly 
long-tailed compared to Chipping.

Using wing length as a proxy for body size is appealing because these data are 
relatively accessible, but the validity of this approach is restricted to 
closely related species that have similar wing shapes. In the case of the 
Spizella sparrows, I think this is generally true. If anything, I think 
Chipping might be a little be longer-winged (relative to body size) than the 
other two, with a slightly longer primary projection, but I still think 
Clay-colored looks consistently longer-tailed than Chipping in the field and 
suspect that Brewer's does also.

Shai Mitra
Bay Shore

From: bounce-120008119-11143...@list.cornell.edu 
[bounce-120008119-11143...@list.cornell.edu] on behalf of Peter Reisfeld 
[drpi...@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, December 23, 2015 12:59 AM
To: NYSbirds-L@cornell.edu
Subject: [nysbirds-l] Spizella sparrows

For those wishing to delve a bit more into this topic, here is an old review 
discussing the range of variation of features within species, and clues to help 
separate them.

http://www.birdpop.org/docs/pubs/Pyle_and_Howell_1996_Spizella_Sparrows_Intraspecific_Variation_and_ID.pdf

Happy winter birding,

Peter
--
NYSbirds-L List Info:
Welcome and Basics
Rules and Information
Subscribe, Configuration and 
Leave
Archives:
The Mail 
Archive
Surfbirds
BirdingOnThe.Net
Please submit your observations to eBird!
--


Support CSI students this holiday season each time you shop with Amazon 
Smile

--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm

ARCHIVES:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L
3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

[nysbirds-l] Bunting update?

[John Lazzaro]

Any update on the Painted Bunting in Prospect Park?



--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm

ARCHIVES:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L
3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

Re: [nysbirds-l] Spizella sparrows

[Phil Jeffrey]

For the issue of the covert patterning figure 19E and the legend for that 
figure suggests an explanation.  As for tail length the pictures of the Queens 
bird that I saw did not show a fully grown shape and it seems very likely that 
it is still growing, making conjecture about relative or absolute tail length 
rather hazardous.

Cheers 
Phil Jeffrey
Princeton

> On Dec 24, 2015, at 9:10 AM, Shaibal Mitra  wrote:
> 
> Thanks, Peter, for sharing this.
> 
> Although the original hard copy of the article is right here on my shelf, I 
> remembered it only dimly until you posted the link.
> 
> Among the many characters discussed by the authors are two that I'd like to 
> follow up on now, while everything is fresh in our minds. The first involves 
> the pattern of the secondary coverts, which in Brewer's Sparrow are described 
> as showing pointed black extensions along the shafts, described as absent in 
> Clay-colored Sparrow. I had noticed that the Queens bird showed such points, 
> and worried about this a little bit until I confirmed that multiple of my 
> images of Long Island Clay-colored Sparrows also clearly show this pattern:
> 
> https://picasaweb.google.com/109808209543611018404/Spizella#
> 
> I don't have an explanation for this discrepancy, but it underscores the need 
> to look at multiple characters when trying to distinguish very similar 
> species.
> 
> The second involves the relative tail length character mentioned in a number 
> of posts. Whereas the article does not mention this as a useful field 
> character for distinguishing Brewer's and Clay-colored, it is well known that 
> these two species collectively differ from Chipping in being longer-tailed, 
> relative to body size. This may not be immediately obvious from the table of 
> measurements, because the tail length values for Chipping Sparrow are 
> basically identical to those for Brewer's and Clay-colored. But the key point 
> is that Chipping Sparrow is larger than the other two, as seen most obviously 
> in its much greater wing length values. Thus, what might appear to be an 
> obscure bander's formula, "wing minus tail" is in fact an elegant way of 
> expressing relative tail length, and it is evident from the table that 
> Brewer's and Clay-colored are similarly long-tailed compared to Chipping.
> 
> Using wing length as a proxy for body size is appealing because these data 
> are relatively accessible, but the validity of this approach is restricted to 
> closely related species that have similar wing shapes. In the case of the 
> Spizella sparrows, I think this is generally true. If anything, I think 
> Chipping might be a little be longer-winged (relative to body size) than the 
> other two, with a slightly longer primary projection, but I still think 
> Clay-colored looks consistently longer-tailed than Chipping in the field and 
> suspect that Brewer's does also.
> 
> Shai Mitra
> Bay Shore
> 
> From: bounce-120008119-11143...@list.cornell.edu 
> [bounce-120008119-11143...@list.cornell.edu] on behalf of Peter Reisfeld 
> [drpi...@yahoo.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, December 23, 2015 12:59 AM
> To: NYSbirds-L@cornell.edu
> Subject: [nysbirds-l] Spizella sparrows
> 
> For those wishing to delve a bit more into this topic, here is an old review 
> discussing the range of variation of features within species, and clues to 
> help separate them.
> 
> http://www.birdpop.org/docs/pubs/Pyle_and_Howell_1996_Spizella_Sparrows_Intraspecific_Variation_and_ID.pdf
> 
> Happy winter birding,
> 
> Peter
> --
> NYSbirds-L List Info:
> Welcome and Basics
> Rules and Information
> Subscribe, Configuration and 
> Leave
> Archives:
> The Mail 
> Archive
> Surfbirds
> BirdingOnThe.Net
> Please submit your observations to eBird!
> --
> 
> 
> Support CSI students this holiday season each time you shop with Amazon 
> Smile
> 
> --
> 
> NYSbirds-L List Info:
> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES
> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm
> 
> ARCHIVES:
> 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
> 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L
> 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html
> 
> Please submit your observations to eBird:
> http://ebird.org/content/ebird/
> 
> --
> 

--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES