In a message dated 8/19/02 1:05:25 PM Central Daylight Time, cmmbirds@xxxxxxxxx writes: > sound! Great-tailed makes sounds that one wouldn't normally > associate with any living being. such as white noise ala tv on wrong > station. Unfortunately the bird made not a sound while I was watching it but it was an adult male bird in only very slightly worn plumage. It had lost one tail feather on the right side. The head shape on a full adult bird when seen well is pretty close to being fool proof, with flat head, no forehead to speak of coming straight back from the bill on the same plane and a squared off back to the head which I find very different from the abrupt forehead and round head on a BT adult. The length of the tail as compared to body size is very different between the two species. The tail on a GT is as long as the body but falls way short on a BT. I had both Fish and Common Crows within yards of this bird during the sighting for comparison of length. Although the GT averages 2" longer than BT, it averages over 10% less in weight and this accentuates the length of the bird. The central tail feathers on the bird were the longest feathers in the tail and the glossy mantle and body color extended down over all the coverts giving a very uniform look other than the very shiny purple color of the head and cape. The Great-tailed is fast expanding its range whereas the BT is only a rare off the coast vagrant. I would also expect the BT if found here to have a dark or darker eye like the Gulf coast birds rather than the clear straw color that this bird had. I'm open to any other ID suggestions but feel more than comfortable with this bird being a Great-tailed. Since we found the last birds up that way I keep a constant eye out for odd black birds. The best thing one can do is study the common birds every time you are in the field!! Good Birding!!! Jeff R. Wilson OL' COOT / TLBA Bartlett Tenn. =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation. ----------------------------------------------------- To post to this mailing list, simply send email to: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx ----------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send email to: tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * TN-Bird Net Owner: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx (423) 764-3958 =========================================================