[texbirds] Re: Tropical Mockingbird - missing back toe nail on right foot
- From: Joseph Kennedy <josephkennedy36@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: jay@xxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 30 May 2012 15:09:02 -0500
To toss out a few more comments.
The non-migratory tropical mockingbird did not take his boat ride to Sabine
woods but to Galveston and then migrated way up the coast to a migrant trap
for tropical migrants.
The Gibraltar record is much more likely a cage bird as there is a very
large cage bird trade in Spain and other parts of southern europe that
specializes in tropical american birds. Some bird markets cater to those
that flocked to Spain for jobs until the economy went a little bad. And
Gibraltar has been a transhipment for for such traffic at least until some
of the stricter CITES regulations and inspections.
It is interesting that so many that argue that no strays come to Texas from
south of the border without riding boats when they make no such argument
about the arrival of birds on the same coast that do ride on boats
extensively and do so for long distances.
Specifically seagulls.
Seagulls ride boats all the time and often cross oceans on a boat. But when
seagulls arrive in Texas from southern south america, Greenland, east asia,
europe and the west coast etc. no one suggests that they came by boat. At
least they do not do so on texbirds. But almost the first comment
concerning the tropical mockingbird was about how it got here in an
assisted manner that would not allow counting.
A small landbird spent a couple of weeks on a boat and found lots of food
there even though it had no source of natural food but a gull has a
constant source of food on the same boat that is churned up by the
propeller. The gull can follow other gulls to the local dump but who would
a mockingbird follow from galveston to sabine. and why since it is a
resident.
Much of the same discussion concerned the first crimson-collared grosbeaks
in the valley as they did not migrate. But we then learned that they do
migrate extensively altitudinally and in response to food shortages.
northern mockingbirds are "resident" but also migrate and can have great
eruptions like blue jays due to unknown stimuli (blue jays due to acorn
shortages).
Port Barrow Alaska has no ships and no bird markets but gets lots of birds
each year that either do not migrate or do not migrate anywhere near there.
Non-migratory tropical kingbirds are in Braithwaite LA, Galveston, Rockport
and Corpus Christi. Non-migratory kiskadees wander almost everywhere and
some stay and try to nest. So many birds wander out of texas but do not
wander into texas.
Alexander Skutch showed that many of his tropical subjects "migrated" or at
least were not where he normally saw them on a regular or irregular basis.
Pygmy nuthatches go to Iowa which is at least a similar trek for a
mockingbird to go to Texas.
Since arriving strays are not radio-tracked, it is not possible to say how
or when they arrived. But for a small flycatcher to spend weeks or more on
a ship or in a cage without proper food is less likely that they strayed.
Especially as flycatchers do stray north of Mexico and many others stray
here from even southern south america.
--
Joseph C. Kennedy
on Buffalo Bayou in West Houston
Josephkennedy36@xxxxxxxxx
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