[CT Birds] Bullock's Oriole ID process

[David.F.Provencher at dom.com]

First let me say that I haven't personally studied Mark's photos of the
bird yet and I haven't seen the bird "in the feathers" so-to-speak. I have
been too busy with work demands and "personal distractions" shall we say.
But I have every intention of scrutinizing Mark's excellent photos
published on Surfbirds.com soon. As a member of the records committee I'll
have to do so anyway at some point. I too was curious about the appearance
of the bird when I saw some of the first images. Not that I instantly
thought hybrid but I did wonder about a couple of features. So in light of
Mark's posts I thought it wouldn't hurt to throw out a little info about
what happens when a question like the one Mark has correctly raised comes
up. Here is a very brief snapshot of how these get addressed by the records
committee here and in other states (and here is you chance to delete if you
don't care!):

When a question about what species a bird is arises, there are a number of
ways it gets tackled. First and foremost the bird needs to be well
documented by observers. Historically this was done with written
descriptions and sketches (frankly a shotgun was quite often employed and
the specimen was studied in the hand) but now most people use cameras and
video recorders instead. Once the bird is documented (written descriptions
are still highly desired by the way), the evidence can be studied and
compared to a myriad of reference materials. Very often the reference
material available is incomplete or it is dated and can actually be
erroneous. Often opinions are solicited from knowledgeable birders who have
more experience with the suspected species in other parts of the country or
beyond. I will be honest here and say that very often we get conflicting
opinions in response. It's a variation on an old joke but sometimes you can
ask two birders to identify a bird and get three answers. Still you do get
some valuable input more often than not. More and more, genetic analyses
are coming into play but we still have a ways to go before it is
commonplace (if ever). So ultimately we take into account all the info we
can gather and all the research we can accomplish and decide if we can
actually identify the species to a reasonable degree of certainty. That
last bit is important. Sometimes we have to admit we just can't be sure
enough to say what is the species, or if it is a hybrid or not. It can be
quite frustrating. But sometimes we are able to make a tough call with a
reasonable amount of certainty . Do we get it right every time? Not likely.
Do we get it right most times? I believe we do. Do we always agree with one
another? No of course not. But you can be sure we will endeavor to do our
best. As for the listing question, I would say count it as a Bullock's
until you hear otherwise. At this point it hasn't been definitively called
anything else as for as I am aware.

Dave





Dave



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