>From what I understand this split is heavily rumored to be true, but of
course no official confirmation will be made until the list comes out.
When banding with friends at this time of year in the past in central
Nebraska, I can always remember having to make the distinction when the birds
flew into the net (most were spotted), and most towhees which are found in
eastern Nebraska in winter, a not-so-common occurrence, were spotted towhees
rather than the summering rufous-sideds. Besides the scrub jays (which
is confirmed given the naming derby of earlier this summer)
and possibly the orioles resplit, I haven;t heard any further rumors. RK

On Wed, 27 Sep 1995, Bill LaFramboise wrote:

> In the recent issue of Winging It, there was an article on St Maries Idaho.
> One of the birds mentioned was the Spotted Towhee which I had heard was
> going to be split from the Rufous-sided Towhee. Is this official? Have
> there been any more recent splits?
>
> Thanks for the info.
>
> Bill and Nancy LaFramboise
> Richland, WA
> wlafra at oneworld.owt.com
>
>

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Ray Korpi "The intimate revelations of young
Wk: Clark College men . . . are usually plagiaristic and
Vancouver, WA marred by obvious suppressions."
Hm: Portland, OR --F. Scott Fitzgerald
address: rkorpi at clark.edu _The_Great_Gatsby_