On Jan. 23, Dennis wrote:

"There's a Red-crested Pochard in Tacoma. Wild bird? Probably not.
..... On the other hand, this is a species that's commonly kept in captivity."

The International Species Information System (ISIS)is a computerized
database used by zoos and other live animal collections to maintain records
on live specimens worldwide and also through its ARKS program to provide an
institutional records keeping system, as well as a medical records keeping
system (SPARKS). As of June 30, 1997 the system contained records for
255,006 live specimens of over 6,932 species, held by over 490 ISIS-member
facilities in 54 countries on 6 continents. The Bird Abstract for 6/30/97
lists 116,191 live bird specimens worldwide.
This issue of the abstract shows 246 red-crested pochards in 36 North
American facilities. There are many, many more in private collections.
This is a very inexpensive, "beginners" duck. They are easy to maintain
and easy to breed and since they don't hold a high monetary value, perhaps
they are not kept as securely as some other more pricey waterfowl.


Dennis also said:

"There's a Xantus' Hummingbird in BC. Wild bird? I guess many hundreds of
people are making that assumption (or maybe not, in some cases)! It's not
kept in captivity as far as we know, yet the science/art of keeping
hummingbirds alive and healthy in captivity is quite well developed."

There are no Xanthus' hummingbirds listed in any collection in ISIS, and
they are not legally traded.

Greg







Greg Toffic
Curator of Birds
Woodland Park Zoo
5500 Phinney Avenue N.
Seattle, WA 98103
(206) 684-4836 (Ph)
(206)233-7278 (FAX)