Date: Wed, 24 Sep 2003 09:48:49 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Elise Kreiss Subject: Not a Hummingbird MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit I was struck that Peterson thought to include a moth (sphinx moth) as a "similar species" in the section on hummingbirds in his field guide. I also remember in her book, Dial "B" for Birder, Lola Oberman fields reports from a woman with a flock of baby hummingbirds in her garden (sphinx months) and a fellow with two albino hummingbirds in HIS garden (Also sphinx months. Probably.) Yesterday, I was more pleased than disappointed to follow hummingbird like movement to a very large moth (4.5 - 5 inches) and afterwards ID it as a Carolina Sphinx Moth. When I saw it, however, it was not among flowers, but unrolling its large proboscis and dipping it into backed up storm water in a drainage ditch. It was quite an impressive looking moth. There was the size, of course, and the heavy abdomen. Also, I'm more used to seeing butterflies/moths with colorful wings and kind of drab abdomens. This moth had a two striking sets of yellow dots down its abdomen like tiles outlined in dark; and subtle wings, patterned in shades of brown and white. Elise Kreiss Baltimore, Maryland ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================