[texbirds] Re: Tropical Mockingbird origins
- From: Scott Atkinson <scottratkinson@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 30 May 2012 14:07:08 -0700
Texbirds:
If memory serves, the TRBC accepted a Black Catbird
for the state list long ago. This species is also sedentary
in habits and occupies a similar geographic range
to that of the Tropical Mockingbird. Can anyone on the
TRBC presently shed light on the processing of this old
historic record, I think this was a specimen entry?
It is true that the Port of Galveston is a busy place; the
Port of Houston was in fact the busiest U.S. seaport for
one of our most recent years in terms of overall
turnover, believe it was for 2009. In the marine trade,
we in fact all marvelled at it, that Houston was #1, Port
of Seattle #2. The number of ships coming and going
is undoubtedly great in both cases. And Port Arthur,
a real hub of the oil and gas industry, almost adjoins
the Sabine Woods property.
I guess my thought process differs from the acceptance
formulae of some RBCs, but to me a ship-assisted bird
should be treated differently in the acceptance criteria
than a caged one subsequently released. The sole
exception would be a caged bird released from a ship
entering port. The fact that this bird is at a known
migrant "trap" is hard to ignore, as are the possibilities
for seaborne assist.
Another aspect of the Tropical Mockingbird's behavior
that might be worthy of consideration is its pairing with
a Northern Mockingbird. Is anyone out there on
Texbirds knowledgeable about reproduction rates of
caged passerines, or better, caged mockingbirds? Our
bird reminds me of certain other passerines that have
advanced north of established ranges; in the
absence of mates of their own species, these
"vanguards" may pair opportunistically with close
cogeners. In WA, the northernmost Hermit
Warblers in the Olympics come to mind for
comparison, we also have the "Olympic" Gulls,
resulting from hybridization of northernmost
Westerns and southernmost Glaucous-wingeds.
This has been a thought-provoking exchange, hope
we can all keep it going with a civil tone, what a
great one for Texbirds.
Scott Atkinson
Lake Stevens, WA
mail to: scottratkinson@xxxxxxxxxxx
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