rising@utzoo.uucp (Jim Rising) (12/29/87)
I do not know Scotland well, but I was there for a fortnight several years
ago and saw Tawny Owl on several occasions. They must be easy to see there.
Downy & Hairy Woodpeckers. If you don't have them side by side, look for
the relative lenght of the bill. Hairy's bill is as long as the depth
of its head in profile. Downy's bill is shorter than that, relative to
its head. Sometimes, also, you can see the black in the outer tail feathers
of the Downy, or the absence thereof in the Hairy. The rapid notes of the
Downy often descend in pitch--though not always? Hairy never does, in my
experience. Hairy's notes are also sharper? If you've been seeing a lot,
your general impression of size is usually correct. Note, however, that
both species show considerable geographic variation in size, being larger
in the north than in the south. So, coming from Ontario, the little southern
Downy's seem tiny to us. Returning to Ontario, the Ontario Downy's seem
like southern Hairy's--but the bill proportions tell all.
Had a mild day for the Toronto Christmas Bird Count Sunday. The party that
I was with got 38 species--nothing unusual. Don't know what the total
Toronto count will be--but it will be much larger than that.
Happy Holiday to all.
--Jim Rising
--
Name: Jim Rising
Mail: Dept. Zoology, Univ. Toronto
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1A1
UUCP: {allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!rising