gamble@pygmy.rice.edu (Ben Gamble) (06/28/91)
I'm not a terribly experienced birder, as I tend to spend most of my
time on campus (where one can see: mockers, MoDos, house sparrows,
pigeons, robins, Eurostarlings, LOTS of boat-tailed grackles, and
that's about it), but my field guides and I think we got something
rather special this morning.
Rice (founder: William Marsh Rice) is something of an oasis of trees
and grassland in the middle of southwest Houston. Our elevation and
drainage properties are such that after any heavy rain, jokes about
William Rice Marsh are good for a few days at least. Anyway, near a
nice marshy spot around 6 this morning, I saw a pair of roughly
mockingbird-sized birds who had very long legs and ran very fast.
They wouldn't let me get close enough for a good hard look, but I
managed to collect these marks:
brown back, dark/black cap, white eye-stripe, white ring round neck;
in flight, showed dark coverts and white flights on upper wing, white
terminal band and black subterminal band on upper tail; call was one
long, high note, almost a squeak.
I think I saw a pair of Wilson's plovers. I'm a little skeptical, of
course, since southwest Houston would be a strange place to find them,
according to my range maps. I'd be willing to say I saw a couple of
killdeer, but 1) I didn't notice any orange rump, and 2) the call was
one note. I'd say I saw a couple of semipalmated plovers, but 1) I
think the bill was longer, and 2) the call was one note.
Other observations: the one-note call was after they noticed me, so
maybe it was an alarm call rather than the usual call. Also, I've
never seen a killdeer for comparison, so any comment on
killdeer/Wilson's size relative to mockingbirds would be appreciated.
Okay, sorry to run on so. Any ideas, anyone?
--
Ben Gamble
gamble@owlnet.rice.edu
Oh ye who go about saying unto each other: "Hello sailor":
Dost thou know the magnitude of thy sin before the gods?rdmiller@matt.ksu.ksu.edu (Ruth D Miller) (06/28/91)
I can't help on the plovers etc., but I will say I've never heard a Killdeer _say_ "killdeer": they always say "mee-EEEP!" very high- pitched. They are very strikingly coloured but nor really orange-- more burnt, tawny coloured on the rump. I don't think there's another shorebird type with similar plumage. THe babies are especially cute: miniature adults except w/o flight feathers! Ruth