Subject: Re: more on Swainson's Thrushes
Date: Jun 20 10:48:30 1995
From: Dennis Paulson - dpaulson at ups.edu


>gxDennis, I'm confused now. Tonight, at 2030, I was at the base of Edgar Rock
>38
>miles west of Yakima on the Chinook Pass Hwy. The evening chorus of thrushes
>included Hermits in the surrounding coniferous forests and Swainson's along
>the
>Naches River. I'm quite sure the call of the Swainson's was the exagerated
>"wip" or "pip" call you associate with the olive-back. Until my visit to the
>NE
>corner a week ago, I never had paid much attention to the difference in call
>notes between these Swainson's. Is it possible theres more going on here than
>we know about?
>
>Andy Stepniewski
>Wapato, WA

I think there might be, and I'm pretty excited about trying to find out
what. Whether my limited field time will allow me to do so is another
question, but I do hope to visit more mountain sites to see what I can
discover. Any input will be appreciated. First thing is to try to learn
how to tell the two types apart in the field, for those who have no way to
get birds in the hand. The russet-backed has distinctly reddish edges on
the wing feathers, the olive-backed doesn't. It's subtle, and probably
anyone who is interested should look at specimens first.

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