[TN-Bird] FW: RE: Hooded Crane in TN
- From: "Richard Knight" <rknight8@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "tn-bird" <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 18 Dec 2011 19:34:53 -0500
The following was posted to the Carolinabirds listserv concerning the
Hooded Crane at Hiwassee. I think the position is well stated.
Rick Knight
Johnson City, TN
----- Original Message -----
Subject: RE: Hooded Crane in TN
Regrettably, the idea of "presumed wild until proven otherwise" is backwards.
When rare birds show up and there is legitimate reason to expect a non-native
origin, the burden of proof is on those promoting a wild origin status; not on
records committees to disprove it.
Clearly this is troublesome to anyone who goes to great lengths to see such a
bird but the reality is that this is a species that breeds in southern
Siberian/Mongolia and winters in southern Japan (80% of the population at
Izumi). For this species to reach North America on its own, it would have to
migrate northeast, (rather than southeast) to the Kuriles or Kamchatka, then
about cross 2000 miles of open Pacific to reach the Aleutians, then track
thousands of miles east and south to Nebraska, then Tennessee. I'm afraid, this
seems a really tall order. Cranes, by virtue of their size and grandeur, are
commonly kept in captivity. Logic alone should fill in the rest. And yes, we do
get Siberian species on our side of the "pond" (I've been to Attu and Gambel -
twice) but they're generally species that breed farther north than Hooded Crane
and/or are species that normally make long flights across open water. The
theory that this bird came over with Siberian Sandhills would presume
that this individual bird reverse migrated to where this tiny population of
Siberian Sandhills was before they migrated - and subsequently sought out
different Sandhill populations (rather than staying with the original group) as
it winged its way thousands of miles across North America. I think the greater
probability is that it escaped from somewhere in this country.
Mike Tove
Cary, NC
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