Date: Mon, 4 Nov 2002 10:11:52 -0800 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Clive Harris Subject: Re: Jizz? In-Reply-To: <003001c2842a$0eaa7460$b8a1c7cf@mdatlasxz1p6g> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Walter The point about jizz is well made but I would've thought that a good description of the shape and structure of a bird would be a vital part of most good reports of rare birds, and critical for some species. It is also useful to be cautious in interpreting plumage characteristics: its not obvious this is always more reliable than shape/structure. But yes people sending in something saying it had the "jizz" of a Pomarine Jaeger and hoping that would suffice would indeed be infuriating. Regards Clive Harris Cabin John Walter Ellison wrote:Hi All, I had a couple of further comments on this topic. Some believe "Jizz" comes orignally from "Gestalt" not "GISS" - Bill Oddie in his "Little Black Bird Book" equivocates on the linguistic origin of the word. If you have ever identified a robin flying high overhead with no sign of its red breast you used jizz. Most high-speed highway IDs can pretty much be attributed to using jizz as well. A lot of distant hawk watch IDs relate to jizz. As a matter of fact there *is* a US published guide that relies heavily on jizz - Pete Dunne's, Clay Sutton's and David Sibley's "Hawks in Flight". Jizz identification is based on seeing the whole bird and knowing it so well that just the way it flies, its shape (wing structure, body form, tail length, etc), its habitat, and the subtle sounds it makes add up to an identification lacking true "field marks" in the conventional Peterson sense of the word. Jizz is useful for counting and identifying common birds, or identifying birds with which an observer has lots of comparative field experience. It is not a good technique to use on rarities needing solid documentation. In a rare bird report jizz should always be secondary to well seen plumage characters and well described vocalizations. A good example of a group of birds that is often identified with jizz characters and give Records Committees fits is seabirds, especially jaegers. The jizz of a bird is part of its ineffable beauty. The slender, arrow-like form of a pintail is breathtaking. By all means use and enjoy the jizz of birds to know them, but be cautious using it to document good birds to others. Good Birding, Walter Ellison MD-DC Atlas Coordinator - MOS 23460 Clarissa Road Chestertown, MD 21620 phone: 410-778-9568 e-mail: rossgull@crosslink.net "A person who is looking for something doesn't travel very fast" - E. B. White (in "Stuart Little") ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= HotJobs - Search new jobs daily now =========================================================================