Re Byron Butler's statement that out-of-range records (i.e., vagrant birds)
are ornithologically meaningless, I'll attempt to extrapolate that what he
meant is that a single such record is meaningless, and I'll agree with him
on that. It's only when such records occur in some numbers that meaning
emerges.

The single male Steller's Eider that came to Washington one winter was
gorgeous, much viewed and appreciated, but I'd have to assign it a "so
what?" when it comes to ornithological meaning.

I agree entirely with Peter that assigning explicit definitions to terms
such as "birding" and "birdwatching" may be ill-advised and unproductive.

Dennis Paulson, Director phone: (206) 756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax: (206) 756-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail: dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416