Hey Tweets,

*Ellen B. wrote:
*... the most amazing bird of all is a brownish Rock Dove with a
*fluorescent salmon-pink tail. When it flies, its wings and tail
*positively glow. It usually flies off toward Harborview, so you might
*be able to locate it there.

*Any ideas how this Day-Glo RODO got such color? EB

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Oh Ellen, you bring back vivid memories of my childhood.

I grew up on a large remote cattle ranch in Central California, near
Yosemite National Park, and as beautiful as the place was it was
downright boring for a 12 year old. I spent the summer of 1969 doing a
"species study" for my 4-H wildlife project. This consisted not only of
birding (that is how I developed my love of our flying friends, a hobby
which I've only recently rekindled after accumulating a state list of
445 birds in California by age 15) but also of live trapping anything
that would enter a HavAHart and collecting data about them.

That same summer there was a big news story about "flower children"
catching gulls in San Francisco and painting them all sorts of lovely
psychedelic colors. "Click" the connection was made in my 12 year old
mind. For the rest of that summer people could find bright red Brown
Towhees, lime green California Quail, Blue Ground Squirrels, and even a
pink snake or two on the ranch. I also painted orange the primaries on
some mallards that I caught in a funnel trap baited with corn, probably
causing some excitement somewhere in the birding world.

How do you get a day glow RODO? Sicko Kiddo with Canno Painto.

Rob Conway
Cougar Mtn - Bellevue WA

robin_conway at hotmail.com

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