With regards to "bird hair", it really depends on how you define hair.
Rictal bristles, hairlike feathers around the base of the bill, nostrils
and eyes, are sometimes referred to as hair. A good example of this is
found in the Australian Bristlebirds. Penguins also have a soft
insulating under layer of "hair" beneath the outer water shedding
feathers. Other birds have eye bristle, such as the Ostrich, which
function as protective eyelashes just like hair. All these are modified
contour feathers without vanes - and should not be confused with the
hair of mammals. However I reckon that when Gallus Quigley Jr used the
term "hair" and "gist" these were in fact errors in a very casual
interview for his local rag / newspaper.
Interestingly Alan Gillanders mentions that Gallus doesn't talk about
regional and state lists. In many ways these are far more interesting
than national and world lists. From a "birding" point of view they're
more proactive i.e. you're dealing with them more often, literally on a
daily basis. They can also be great fun, providing a good insight in the
state of birds in your local area. As an example of this I'm currently
trying to beat my 2006 record of seeing 330 species of bird in the state
of Victoria during calendar year (pelagic /offshore species excluded).
I'm currently sitting on 222 species, with Victorian highlights being
Hudsonian Godwit, Eastern Bristlebird, Masked Owl and Australian
Figbird, amongst others. I'm keeping a record of this, have a looks at:
http://tim-dolby.blogspot.com/
Another aspect of the article in the Orlando Sentinel is that it notes
that the family status of Gallus Quigley Jr. as being "single". This
says something about the level of article, but also something about
compulsive birding and birders (present company excluded of course).
Cheers,
Tim Dolby
==============================www.birding-aus.org
birding-aus.blogspot.com
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