rising@utzoo.uucp (Jim Rising) (11/30/88)
We made our annual treck to the Niagara Gorge on Sunday (27 Nov.), and got 6 species. A dozen in all have been seen there this year by others. We were late enough that many of the Bonaparte's have gone on south (though there were still many thousands there), as have the two Sabine's Gulls that there there for about a month. We did get Bonapartes, Ring-billed, Herring, Great Black Backed, Iceland (just a bit of black in wing tip, and slightly darker on] mantle than typical Kumlien's of Field Guides, but paler than the Thayer's Gull of such books), and two lovely Little Gulls. Others also saw Lesser Black-backed, as well as King Eider. We also got Purple Sandpiper (3-4), skads of ducks (including all of the eastern pochards: Greater & Lesser scaups, Ring-necked, Redhead and Canvasback and mergansers), and one scoter (probably a first-year Surf). Not a great day by local standards, but still a lot of fun. On a completely different matter (esp. for you parrot fans), a friend of mine has a Vasa Parrot (Coracopsis vasa) in his yard in Toronto. The poor thing is banded and obviously as escaped bird. We tried without success to net it, and the Toronto Zoo does not have any. Apparently these are only very rarely kept as cage birds (it's no wonder--they singularly ugly birds). They're feeding it, but it seems unlikely that it can take a Toronto winter. Do any of you know anything about these. Have any of you lost one? --Jim Rising -- Name: Jim Rising Mail: Dept. Zoology, Univ. Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1A1 UUCP: uunet!attcan!utzoo!rising BITNET: rising@utzoo.utoronto.bitnet