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Re: No Field Note on Calliope Hummer





Interesting comments.  One thing that concerns me however.  The author indicated
a concern that persons who did not see the bird in question may not be qualified
to state identity of the bird, in this case a presumed female Calliope HB.  This
would eliminate from consideration the opinions of those with greater experience
with the species in question than those who actually observe an out-of-range
bird.  Accurately submitted field notes should be able to describe to a distant
party the details of the sighting.  A person with great experience with a
particular species should be able to provide valuable insight to the identity of
the bird in question.  Heck, we have an entire list serve dedicated to just such
deliberations (ID-Frontiers).  A well-known hummingbird expert identified the
Hampstead Black-chinned as such from description and photographs.  This
identification was later verified by in-hand observations of the bird.  Fact of
the matter is that no one knows with absolute certainty what that bird was in
Hampstead; the debate will probably continue for some time, but after all that's
what makes what we do interesting!

Respectfully,
Steve Shultz
Cary, NC


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