Thanks Phil for your comments and also posting a link to the latest contribution to the Cackling Goose discussion.
I think often times we get too caught up in trying to affix a label on things even when it is not clear. As for the "Smew" well at least the NJ folks are keeping a stiff upper lip about the whole affair. It will be all well and good until it shows up on someone's eBird list and then it will be on :-) 風 Swift as the wind 林 Quiet as the forest 火 Conquer like the fire 山 Steady as the mountain Sun Tzu The Art of War > (\__/) > (= '.'=) > (") _ (") > Sent from somewhere in the field using my mobile device! Andrew Baksh www.birdingdude.blogspot.com > On Feb 19, 2016, at 2:31 PM, Phil Jeffrey phil.jeff...@gmail.com [ebirdsnyc] > <ebirdsnyc-nore...@yahoogroups.com> wrote: > > 1. The Smew is very likely a hoax, although some might still look for it. > See: > http://birding.aba.org/message.php?mesid=1072437&MLID=NJ01&MLNM=New%20Jersey > > 2. A post just popped up on "ID Frontiers" re: the CPK goose and the > Canada-Cackling morass in general. I've appended a snippet relevant to the > CPK goose below. Whole post is at: > http://listserv.ksu.edu/web?A2=ind1602c&L=birdwg01&T=0&P=2798 > > (The whole post might make you somewhat grateful that we really only have to > deal with separating Richardson's Cackling from various large Canada ssp). > The third sentence really should have some people revising their eBird > checklists. > > Snippet: > "10) The NY bird. I love Tweit's analysis, can't improve upon it much. That > bird is not a Cackling. > > > I don't like the back shape mark some alluded to for separating Cackling from > Canada. Cathy Sheeter did some further digging into images, and she also > does not like that mark. I am not at all certain whence it arises. The > relative wing length ... I think is proportional to size, not dependent on > taxon directly. > > > So, if the NY bird is not a Cackling Goose, then what? Hybrid is possible, > but the bill looks well within range of normal Canada. Cathy Sheeter > mentioned the possibility of a "runt" Canada. > > > Ahhh. The NY Bird is distinctly on the dark side (coloration wise, not > referring to an allegiance to messrs Voldemort or Vader). Why would a hybrid > be dark? For that matter, why would a parvipes be dark (the ones in Colorado > are no darker on average than the Richys). However, the interior that breed > on islands in s. Hudson Bay (or is it James Bay?) are known to be smaller and > darker than those that breed on the adjacent coast (btw, these differences > have been proven by Leafloor to be entirely due to diet: amount and content). > This bird is small and dark. > > > So, the answer is unknowable in my mind. I would lean toward, in order, a > small, dark Bc interior; parvipes, CANG x CACG. Those are my guesses. The one > thing that I feel confident of is that this is NOT a Cackling Goose. > " > > Phil > > > __._,_.___ > Posted by: Phil Jeffrey <phil.jeff...@gmail.com> > Reply via web post • Reply to sender • Reply to group • > Start a New Topic • Messages in this topic (1) > ebirdsnyc: bird sightings from the NYC area > VISIT YOUR GROUP > • Privacy • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use > . > > > __,_._,___ -- 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/ --