Thanks Mark for raising this matter. It is one to
which I have also given much thought.
Like Harvey, I hope to prepare a full comment but
first want to mention this. The genealogy of the
descriptors used on the Gallery is (1) Steve Wilson's
book 'Birds of the ACT: two centuries of change' which
(2) I used to produce (a keep updated) COG's annotated
list of the birds of the ACT that (3) David Cook has
used to label the images in the Gallery.
For some time we have been awaiting the revised
annotated checklist of the birds of COG's area of
concern, being compiled by COG's Rarities Panel. I
would expect that its members have dealt
systematically with the definitional issues Mark
raises.
Best wishes - David
--- wrote:
> G'day all,
>
>
>
> This is NOT criticising anyone, it is something that
> has been annoying
> me for a long time. I nearly brought it up at the
> member's night in
> January but thankfully sanity prevailed and people
> opted for Geoffrey
> Dabb's entertaining productions over what would have
> been a very dry
> (but possibly animated) talk by me.
>
>
>
> I was looking through the bird photos in COG's photo
> gallery and
> noticed..."Black Honeyeater....Rare vagrant", then
> came across
> Yellow-tufted Honeyeater...."Rare visitor" so I then
> had a look at the
> Painted Honeyeater. It is listed as "rare, breeding
> migrant". What has
> annoyed me for a long time is the term "Rare
> vagrant". I did actually
> manage to come across a record of an "uncommon
> vagrant" in a recent COG
> Annual Bird Report. Can anyone tell me of a "Common
> vagrant"? To me the
> term should be either "Rare" or "Vagrant", the two
> words to my way of
> thinking just do not go together. By saying "rare"
> for the three species
> I have mentioned means their status is very similar
> when plainly it is
> not, with the Yellow-tufted being far more common in
> the local area that
> the other two species. Generally most of the birds
> termed as "rare
> vagrant" are not rare in the true sense, they are
> just vagrants ie birds
> that have for some reason have turned up well out of
> their normal range
> and only do so on rare occasions.
>
>
>
> We need to look at a whole lot of our terms when
> discussing our birds
> locally. Michael Lenz' note this morning about "DY"
> is another case in
> point.
>
>
>
> Now that I have opened Pandora's Box, let me
> see/hear your views.
>
>
>
> Mark
>
>
>
> PS my next pet peeve is just what constitutes
> Australia's birds, but
> more on that at a later
> date..................................!!
>
>
>
>
Find local movie times and trailers on Yahoo! Movies.
http://au.movies.yahoo.com
*******************************************************************************************************
This is the email announcement and discussion list of the Canberra
Ornithologists Group.
List-Post: <>
List-Help: <>
List-Unsubscribe: <>
List-Subscribe: <>
To contact David McDonald, list manager, phone (02) 6231 8904 or email
<>.
|
