>It was a joke, an old "Rich Stallcup story" from California, that he
>claimed they always came in flocks of 17.

>Gene.

Yes, it was Tim Manolis one of Rich's friends. Tim had spent all day hiking
a trail through the chapparral on the Oroville CBC. All day it was one
bushtit flock after another. To expediate things--ever try to count each
bushtit in an actively feeding flock while also looking for followers such
as kinglets, warblers, and vireos--Tim estimated instead the number of
"bushtit flock units" in each group.

Jerry_Tangren at tfrec.ncw.net
Wenatchee WA