Re: you can't send a birdwatcher to do a twitcher's job

[michael norris <>]

Dear David,

Many thanks for picking me up on "hord"; I hate that sought of
homophonic error and eye apologise. 

Sorry also if you thought I was having a go at "twitchers" especially as
I was declaring that I was (four the first thyme) doing some twitching
myself. The problem - if any - is a consequence of our impoverished
taxonomy. I was drawing on the indadequate, mainly ostensive and/or
existential, definitions in Oddie (Bill Oddie's Little Black Bird Book,
Eyre Methuen, London, 1980 especially Chapter 3 "What am I? What are
you") which includes as twitchers people who rush to see a rare bird
previously identified by others. 

In England such twitchers can congregate in thousands, with consequent
problems. The point of my remark was to record the data that Birding-aus
had not, in this case, resulted in a "twitch".

 
Michael Norris

PS The Regent HE was today (10/1/98) within 50m of the spot specified by
Denise Moore from 1440 to 1555.