And a question I will add is how do they know to do Western Wood Pewee calls in March? Tom From: obol-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:obol-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Darrel Faxon Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2015 6:18 AM To: obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [obol] Re: Western Wood-Starling I think they must be. I've heard them singing a "tee-ho" song of some bird I don't recognize. Darrel On 2/2/2015 9:12 PM, Joel Geier wrote: Wood-Soras are out and about too. Usually identifiable by their habit of giving their diagnostic whinny calls from high in the cottonwoods wher,e when you look, you'll only see Starlings. But you need to remember to tilt your head from side to side, or else you might get the idea that they're carrying on from that wetland lower down in front of you. Another reason why I always maintain a bit of skepticism about heard-only reports, no matter how skilled the birder. Starlings are amazing and under-appreciated birds on this side of the pond. I wouldn't draw any boundaries on the range of birds that they can mimic well enough to fool even the best of us. The big question is, how do they learn some of these obscure songs and phrases? Are starlings moving around the continent more than we realize? Happy birding, Joel -- Joel Geier Camp Adair area north of Corvallis _____ <http://www.avast.com/> This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus <http://www.avast.com/> protection is active.