Dear John,
J. Diamond did a big thing on "water-crossers" back in the 70s, I think.
Water included rivers to straits. I do not know if it is a "scholarly
analysis". That sort of stuff was banned then.
I cannot remember where he published it. Someone will tell us, though.
Sorry, to waffle. I am a little disoriented. I was only informed the other
day that my paternal Great Great Grandmother and father were Tasmanians.
This kind of shock takes a bit getting over.
Glen Ingram
Brisbane, Australia.
"Maturation can lead to blindness."
> ---------
> > From: John Gibson <>
> > To:
> > Subject: Tasmanian migrants and brolgas
> > Date: Thursday, 21 August 1997 15:35
> >
> >
> Spring must be here even in Hobart - I heard my first black faced cuckoo
> shrike for many months at lunch time. This led me to ponder the question
of
> why some birds (including small ones like silvereyes) happily migrate
> across Bass Strait, whereas other eminently migratory species, eg olive
> backed orioles, stop at Wilson's Prom. Presumably many migratory species
> reached 'Tasmania' when a land bridge still existed to the mainland, and
> the ones that still reach here have retained some memory/instinct of
> southern climes. The species that don't cross Bass Strait might have
> expanded their range to the south as temperatures warmed and after the
land
> bridge disappeared, and thus now think there is nothing beyond the Prom
> (like many mainlanders!)
>
> Does anyone have any deeper thoughts on the subject, or is there perhaps
> some scholarly analysis of which species go where?
>
> <snip>
|
