Len and tweetsters, From what I've read and observed in the field the only
way a redtail can hover is into the wind as opposed to rough-legs that can
truly hover in still wind. As far as the reference to the king fisher size I
wondered at the time if Attenborough was referring to the local birds or what?

W.D. Thompson
Everett
<birds at cmc.net>




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>Date: Wed, 25 Aug 1999 18:49:40 -0700
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>From: Len Jellicoe <ljellico at netcom.ca>
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>Subject: hovering birds
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>Hi,
> David Attenborough stated last night on the birds program on PBS
>that the PIEBALD KINGFISHER of Africa was the largest bird to hover in a
>still wind. I don't know how big a Piebald Kingfisher is but I bet the
>Osprey has it beat. I have also seen Red Tailed Hawks hover but I'm not
>sure if the wind was still. ( was there a thread on that?) And how
>about terns? I bet the Caspian tern is bigger than an African
>kingfisher (but then there is always a breeze on the ocean). Does
>anyone know of a bigger bird that hovers? And what ever happened to
>Michael Price? :-)
> I haven't posted to Tweeters for a while and this is the only thing
>I could come up with.
>
>See you in the field
>Len Jellicoe
>Surrey, BC
>
W.Darryl Thompson