..
P.S. On a different subject, there was an excellend article in The
Washington Post on 4/25 about the feeding habits of spoonbills.
Engineers were able to model the way they feed to determine that some
significant vortices are created as the bird sweeps its bill through
the water. These vortices are critical, explaining how the bird is
able to find food. (Page A3, I believe).

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 26 Apr 1994 07:53:05 MDT
From: "Bruce D. Neville" <FG12 at UTEP.BITNET>
Subject: La Sagra's Flycatcher

From: Bruce Neville, El Paso, Texas
e-mail: fg12 at utep.bitnet

For those chasing the La Sagra's flycatcher, I found the best
description to be in Brudenell-Bruce's "Field Guide to Birds of
the Bahamas." It was still "stolid flycatcher" when the book was
written. The description is of the Bahamian race, which is what
has turned up in Florida. I was involved in finding the 2nd
Florida record, and this reference was invaluable. By the way,
the reason that it is not illustrated in US field guides, despite
its now almost-annual occurrence, is that, at the time most of the
field guides were put together, it had only occurred once in the
US, a specimen in an old collection from central Alabama!

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 26 Apr 1994 10:37:10 -0500
From: Paul DeBenedictis <BENEDICT at SNYSYRV1.BITNET>
Subject: Re: Bermuda (and spoonbills)

The way to see a Bermuda petrel is to charter a boat out to the mouth of the
harbour where the birds nest, and wait for them the arrive at dusk. Check with
David Wingate to be sure they are still present on the nesting rocks. It is
abosultely forbidden to land on any nesting rocks without a permit (which are
NEVER issued), and morally irresponsible. You don't want to be the person who
accidentally introduced rats...

Paul DeBenedictis
SUNY Health Science Center at Syracuse

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 26 Apr 1994 10:09:01 PST
From: Derek Sutton <SUTTON at BOHR.CHEM.SFU.CA>
Subject: Re: need guide in Belize

[Eastern Belize, others concurred with the recommendation--SR]
No doubt about it. The guy to contact is Sam Tillett at Crooked Tree
Resort about 30km N of Belize City. He, and the address, are in
Moon's guide to Belize. We birded with Sam at Crooked Tree in January
this year. He is undoubtedly the best local birder in Belize, and a
very nice guy toboot. If you want to find Jabiru, that's the place.
Derek Sutton sutton at bohr.chem.sfu.ca
Simon Fraser University
Burnaby BC Canada V5A 1S6

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 26 Apr 1994 21:03:34 EDT
From: svaap3 at AOL.COM
Subject: Re: need guide in Belize

Steve Melcher
Lake Ontario
Rochester, NY

..

For western Belize I highly rec. Jeronie Tut at Crystal Paradise Resort,
Cristo Rey, Cayo Dist. Belize, C.A.
Phone 092-2823
Int. 011 501 92 2823
fax: 011 501 92 3075

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 23 Apr 1994 17:38:00 PDT
From: Joe Morlan <Joe.Morlan at F28.N125.Z1.FIDONET.ORG>
Subject: Re: band-tailed/olrog's g

..
Here's what E. R. Blake says in "Manual of Neotropical Birds"
(Univ. Chicago Press, 1977):

Band-tailed Gull (_Larus belcheri belcheri_) - "Similar to
_atlanticus_, but distinctly smaller and mantle (breeding
plumage somewhat paler, brownish black instead of slaty black;
hindneck, upper back, and breast usually pale pearl gray: under
wing coverts light gray instead of white; dusky tail band wider,
covering most of the middle rectrices except the extreme base and
tips; head of postnuptial adults and subadults (at all seasons)
with a distinct dusky hood; feet bright yellow."

Olrog's Gull (_Larus belcheri atlanticus_) - "Differs from the
nominate race of the Pacific coast in larger size, darker slaty
black mantle, and pure white coloring of the hindneck, upper
back, breast and under wing coverts; tail band narrower, covering
only the terminal half of the middle rectrices and a smaller area
on the outer rectrices; head mottled grayish brown in winter, but
this never sharply defined as a distinct dusky hood; feet yellow
or yellowish green."

--Joe Morlan, Albany, CA

------------------------------