Subject: [Tweeters] Sibley guide mistake
Date: Apr 17 18:02:07 2007
From: monte merrick - montemerrick at speakeasy.net


while i dont know about songbirds, the weights listed for seabirds in
sibley are mostly wrong.
usually low, about 10%, sometimes more - but often too high as well

a brandt's is definitely lighter than a double crested, however - a
brandt's will often be in the neighborhood of 1.8-2.2 kgs and a DC
Cormorant can often be closer to 2.7 kgs

at least that's what i recall - not having any of the records near at
hand, or my sibley for that matter.

additionally, birds vary by region - brown pelicans in SoCal often
weigh 500 - 1000 grams less than bay area pelicans.

regarding weights the main reason to care about a bird's weight, it
seems to me, is due to its need for someother kind of care. (as
seabirds continue to wash up on our beacches starving and dead) in such
a case, a reliable guide is less useful than simply examining the bird
and checking its body condition - the difference in weight among
western grebes is especially striking - vaqrying between 900 g and 130o
g - individuals - just like any other species -





monte merrick
lummi island washington
montemerrick at speakeasy.net
On 17 Apr 2007, , at 16:06, Gary Bletsch wrote:

> Dear Tweeters,
>
> Not knowing anything about "The Onion," I'd say the
> fellow who wrote the Sibley-junco blurb was aiming for
> satire, or perhaps just humor, but has missed his
> mark.
>
> However, there is one thing in the Sibley field guide
> that seems wrong to me, or at least extremely
> surprising. I believe that the weight of the Pelagic
> Cormorant is listed in the book as being greater than
> that of a Double-crested. For nearly a year now, I
> have been staring at cormorants--on pilings, in the
> water, and in the air. I have tried in vain to see
> where a Pelagic could possibly hide some extra flab. I
> just don't see how such a pencil-necked bird could
> outweigh a Double-crested.
>
> Have I missed something here?
>
>
> Yours truly,
>
> Gary Bletsch
>
> near Lyman (Skagit County), Washington
>
> garybletsch at yahoo.com
>
>
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