Greetings, I realize that this is not a bona fide birding sighting, but nonetheless, I thought it could generate some discussion on a cold and snowy weekend. While walking around my neighborhood in St Paul (como park area), I found a Chukar feeding on the ground under a neighbor's bird feeder. I have never seen Chukars in this area, let alone ever in the wild (even in my visits to the west). I realize that they are released and they escape all over the US, even in areas outside of the established western populations.
But I am wondering if anyone has any expertise on whether there is ANY chance of "wild" (i.e. from the established western populations) Chukars showing up in Minnesota, or if it is assumed to be impossible due to a lack of documented vagrancy in the species. I know that all birds are assumed to be escapees or releases. To add an interesting aspect to this, the current major snowstorm we are experiencing tracked out of the interior west from an area with wild Chukars. I know that the prospect of this being a wild bird is highly unlikely, but again I thought this could be a good question for a day when few birds are being reported. Please try to keep any comments on topic, as I don't intend for this post to generate a lengthy discussion about what makes something native/non-native or invasive/not invasive. Scott Loss St Paul ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
