Re: Maryland getting Icelandic birds
rick (rblom@blazie.com)
Fri, 26 Jun 1998 05:17:21 -0400
>Phil Davis writes:
>
>In keeping with our "next Maryland birds" theme ... here is a posting from
>Iceland. It's just a short hop (as the Jackdaw flies) from Iceland to
>Maryland.
But there is no evidence that the Jackdaw does fly that route. I
can find no records of Jackdaw from North America that do not pertain to
ship-assisted birds or escapes. Almost all records come from a large flock
that rode a French ore carrier and disembarked near St. Pierre and
Miquelon. The birds were fed by the seamen during the ride over. They
accounted for a spate of records, including the nesting in Pennsylvania,
but as the birds have died out, so have the reports. I do not think there
is any evidence that they have become established.
Jackdaw is no more a legitimate vagrant to North America than
Budgerigar or Black Swan at this point.
Rick
"Lack of education is an extraordinary handicap when one is being
offensive." Josephine Tey
Rick Blom
rblom@blazie.com
Bel Air, Maryland