I noticed a few posts about ivorybills and would like
to suggest a simple experiment. First, watch the
Luneau video at full speed and take note of the rapid
wing beats. Then go out and watch pileateds. You will
see that they have a much lower flap rate. I have had
several sightings in the Pearl. One of the most
striking differences between these species is the flap
rate. I have obtained a video of an ivorybill in level
flight. It's the third video here...
http://www.fishcrow.com/winter06.html
There are 30 frames per second. The flap rate is about
7.5 per second. The flap rate is about the same in the
second video in which there is only one flap. I have
recently been obtaining data for pileateds in level
flight and haven't observed anything much over 4.0 per
second. After doing this experiment, you might find it
interesting that Sibley ignored the flap rate in his
recent article. The Cornell folks sure thought it was
interesting.
The raw data of my video is available on DVD. I'm
still in the Pearl, but a friend is distributing it
for the cost of media, postage, and handling. There
are many searches taking place this year, but some of
them are being done behind the scenes. There have been
solid sightings (some by professionals) in at least
three states other than AR, MS, and LA. Besides the
Pearl, which is the border between MS and LA, there
have also been reports from the interior of LA, which
may have a larger population than any other state.
Mike Collins
Annandale
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