Yesterday I found a dead crow on the front porch of the building where my private practice is located on the south side of Franklin. When I called the Williamson County health department, the woman answering the phone advised me to call back the following morning and hung up. When I called back, I was placed on hold for an extended period & finally gave up. I figured Davidson County could at least tell me whether I should take the bird in for testing, so that was my next call. The man asked me if the bird was 16" to 18" long. I replied no, probably 8"-10" long and that it appeared to be a juvenile crow. He asked what color the beak was. After I told him, he advised me that there was no such thing as a juvenile crow, and most likely it was a sparrow. Sigh.... (I refrained from any smart replies, such as the image of a bird springing fully formed like Athena from head of Zeus....) At any rate, he did advise me that I should take the double-bagged bird in, which I did. I have my fingers crossed that it does not test positive. I didn't get to ask the receptionist any questions when I dropped it off since the clinic was overflowing with moms and small kids. Would I be correct in guessing that I have no way of finding out if it does test positive? (I'm just curious.) At my home in Thompsons Station, I still have two male indigo buntings. (The other male and female which I spotted often have left us.) The hummer population has increased dramatically in the past ten days. I'm beginning to consider wearing safety gear when sitting on the side porch to avoid being inadvertently involved in their feeder altercations! Thais Carr Thais Carr carrtk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx EarthLink Revolves Around You. =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to SIGN YOUR MESSAGE with first and last name, CITY (TOWN) and state abbreviation. You are also required to list the COUNTY in which the birds you report were seen. The actual DATE OF OBSERVATION should appear in the first paragraph. _____________________________________________________________ To post to this mailing list, simply send email to: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx _____________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, send email to: tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. ______________________________________________________________ TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s) endorse the views or opinions expressed by the members of this discussion group. Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ------------------------------ Assistant Moderator Andy Jones Cleveland, OH ------------------------------- Assistant Moderator Dave Worley Rosedale, VA __________________________________________________________ Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ARCHIVES TN-Bird Net Archives at //www.freelists.org/archives/tn-bird/ EXCELLENT MAP RESOURCES Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp Tenn.Counties Map at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/states/tennessee3.gif Aerial photos to complement google maps http://local.live.com _____________________________________________________________