[texbirds] Tropical Mockingbird - missing back toe nail on right foot
- From: Eric Carpenter <ecarpe@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 26 May 2012 16:44:44 -0500
Please start sending your posts to texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Texbirders,
The Sabine Woods Tropical Mockingbird is certainly puzzling and the
debate about origin/provenance is not an easy one to have an answer
for. It has been pointed out by many and is obvious in many photos
that there are worn (but not broken) feathers on the bird's tail.
What has not been noticed or mentioned at all is a very keen
observation that Eivind Vamraak shared with me a couple days ago. If
you look at any photos that show the bird's right foot, you should be
able to notice that the back toe nail on that foot is completely
missing. If you go back to photos from the original observations in
the last half of April, this toe nail has been missing from the
beginning.
With both the worn feathers and the missing toe nail, one can argue
for both natural and unnatural (captive) causes. If you scrutinize
enough wild birds to this same degree, it is likely you can find
similar wear & tear and abnormalities so I'm not passing a judgement
here but feel it would be wise to pass on this astute observation that
Eivind Vamraak shared with me.
--
Eric Carpenter
Austin
Edit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at
//www.freelists.org/list/texbirds
Other related posts:
