Hello tweets,

>From further comments sent to me by Joseph Higbee and Doug Schonewald, it's
obvious the bird that Joseph photographed and called a grackle at the
Auburn Supermall is no Brewer's Blackbird. They've convinced me it really
was *much* larger than nearby Brewer's, so its identity is a puzzle,
perhaps a hybrid Brewer's x Common Grackle. Birds are usually pretty
dependable in their size, and you don't expect to see a giant or runt
individual of a bird species, so size is indeed an important factor in
identification. I apologize to Joseph for not taking his "1.4 x Brewer's
Blackbird size" more seriously.

Joseph changed the ID of the bird on his Yahoo photo site to "Whatever,"
and without having the bird in hand for detailed examination and
measurement and a DNA sample, "Whatever" might have to remain its name!
Still, it would be great to get more photos, especially in comparison with
Brewer's and out in the sun to show the iridescent colors, and perhaps we
could make a case for it being a hybrid. All the larger tropical
blackbirds that I can think of that might wander up here (however unlikely)
have dark eyes.

Dennis

Dennis Paulson, Director phone 253-879-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax 253-879-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail dpaulson at ups.edu
1500 N. Warner, #1088
Tacoma, WA 98416-1088
http://www.ups.edu/biology/museum/museum.html