Rarities

["Paul & Irene Osborn" <>]

Hello birders,

I would like to reinforce what Alan Morris has said about the need for a
good description when reporting rare birds. The NSW Bird Atlassers have
received three reports of Tree Sparrows in the last five years from the
Inverell/Bukkula/Ashford area. None were accepted, because of inadequate
descriptions in two cases and no reply to two letters asking for more
information in the third. If there are Tree Sparrows in that area, we would
like to know about them, so don't dismiss any Sparrows you see out of hand
as being House Sparrows without a second glance. And, if you do see a Tree
Sparrow (or anything else unusual) make sure you make notes so a proper
submission can be made. It is not enough to say 'looked just like the
picture in <insert name of favourite field guide here>'.
Paul Osborn