Oh heck (or something) (1 Viewer)

:h?:
Well, I digested the thread on the Parus major superspecies and then ploughed (or is that 'plowed') my way through (or is that 'thru'....aagghh, stop it) the discussions on Anglo-U.S names (and as someone who's done three trips to eastern North America, I'm still only just recovering from the fact that 'Least Tern' and 'Little Tern' are treated as separate species; and as for Great Blue Heron and Grey Heron....well.....), I then picked up on the news item regarding changes to the British (BOU) list. As a nipper, I eagerly 'ticked off' the Little Owl that my dad took me to see, but as a 'sophisticated' fifty-something, I have to admit I wouldn't 'cross the road' for an Egyptian Goose or ringed necked parakeet in this country (so why the excitement of Monk Parakeet in Barcelona?...must've been the sun)......but I see that the Egyptian Goose is afforded the same (partial) status of C1 as the Little Owl. Well, bizarrely, I didn't have to cross a road today as two E.Gs flew over it on my way to work. Now, I'm not an avid ticker/lister (after 40 odd years birding/birdwatching, I expect my list, if I had one, would be in the low hundreds) ...I just like birdwatching. However, if the BOU are going to the trouble of composing lists and designations, the least I can do is pay due attention to it.....so please, did I see two C1 birds today or two E* birds, 'cos the BOU has accorded the Egyptian Goose both? Or do we do a quick scamper around some of the local wildfowl collections, just in case? Oh well.
Confused? You bet I am, now....

Actually, I'm not sure whether I should have posted this in the taxonomy forum, the 'my list' forum or just the 'Say Hello' one...
Goodbye!

LOL - you're confused! I'm completely and utterly baffled by it all.

D

Hi Sneil,
This is as good a place as any I guess for letting off steam. The designated "Rant n' Rave" forum on BirdForum is called Ruffled Feathers (but be warned it is kind of milquetoast - extremely politically correct and all that). But here you are asking a question about the BOU classifications, and I am sure someone will come along and tell you.

Why are you confused about Great Blue Heron and Grey Heron? I can possibly understand the Least nad Little Terns. The largest Grey Herons are the size of the smallest Great Blues.

Gentoo said:

Why are you confused about Great Blue Heron and Grey Heron? I can possibly understand the Least nad Little Terns. The largest Grey Herons are the size of the smallest Great Blues.

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One over here just for a direct size comparison would cheer up a few people.

Hi,

In your part of the world the Egypian Geese will have been cat C. Their breeding centre is the broads with smaller populations around the country. The cat E covers escapes from collections that arent part of a local breeding population.

Thanks, people, for the replies....actually, I wasn't expecting any: as you say, Cuckooroller, it was a bit of a rant and rave: I did actually look up 'Ruffled Feathers', but as you imply, it's a bit benign.
Gentoo....I'll ignore the 'open goal' you've given me regarding everything being bigger in the U.S....actually, I've had some great birding experiences in the States....Central Park; Florida (including a dash down to Everglades)...mostly on my own in the early daylight hours(as the rest of the family is not into birding) and everyone most accommodating. Incidentally, and before the moderators pull me up for going completely off thread, a trip to California looms (2 weeks in Oct), so looking for some 'hotspots' that don't disrupt the wife's vinyard visits!! BTW, talk is of a split between 'Great White' and Great Blue....any news on that one?
Thanks for the gen, Hotspur. Ultimately, I know it's down to me but I just feel uncomfortable about listing EGs....I'd rather see them in, errr, Egypt(?), if ever I were to go (so why don't I apply the same logic to Little Owl and [also,errr] Asia Minor??). So full of little imponderables, life, isn't it?
Cheers

Gentoo....I'll ignore the 'open goal' you've given me regarding everything being bigger in the U.S..

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Excuse me??? I never said any such thing. I gave an example of two Herons and was not trying to make this a US vs. Everyone else thread. If you only knew me you'd know how clueless you sound right now. Our Least Bittern is a bit smaller than the Little Bittern, likewise the Eurasian Woodcock is bigger than the American Woodcock. Sorry I didn't use one of these examples to avoid hurting your fragile ego.

I hate to go off like this but please get your facts straight before you accuse me of something. Thank you, have a nice day.

Gentoo said:

Excuse me??? I never said any such thing. I gave an example of two Herons and was not trying to make this a US vs. Everyone else thread. If you only knew me you'd know how clueless you sound right now. Our Least Bittern is a bit smaller than the Little Bittern, likewise the Eurasian Woodcock is bigger than the American Woodcock. Sorry I didn't use one of these examples to avoid hurting your fragile ego.

I hate to go off like this but please get your facts straight before you accuse me of something. Thank you, have a nice day.

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Hey bud,

I really hope (and initially thought) that he was kidding and making a joke on American obesity - which while may be a sore spot for some Americans, really shouldn't be (considering other issues (yes, political) that we should be worrying about).

But if you aren't kidding, sneil, you should first of all know that Gentoo's one of the nicest people on this forum (and I mean that as a compliment to both him and the forum, not an insult to the rest of the members). I also have to question why I seem to continuously be finding myself in situations where certain users from certain sides of certain oceans are certainly taking out some certain hostility on good-hearted birders from a certain opposite side of said ocean. (was that too specific?).

Disclaimer: I LOVE BRITISH BIRDERS.

overworkedirish said:

Hey bud,

I really hope (and initially thought) that he was kidding and making a joke on American obesity - which while may be a sore spot for some Americans, really shouldn't be (considering other issues (yes, political) that we should be worrying about).

But if you aren't kidding, sneil, you should first of all know that Gentoo's one of the nicest people on this forum (and I mean that as a compliment to both him and the forum, not an insult to the rest of the members). I also have to question why I seem to continuously be finding myself in situations where certain users from certain sides of certain oceans are certainly taking out some certain hostility on good-hearted birders from a certain opposite side of said ocean. (was that too specific?).

Disclaimer: I LOVE BRITISH BIRDERS.

Click to expand...

Thanks man. I hope you were right too. I just hate being accused of something like that. Maybe I flew off the handle but I guess the reason is the same as you outlined earlier about that ocean I'm further from.

Dear Gentoo and Overworkedirish
Thanks for the comments and there was no, absolutely none , implication or otherwise regarding sizism (I think the word is), or obesity (which I wouldn't make a joke about), nor hostility or 'US v' issue. Just a comment from someone coming from a smallish country like here to see some of the wide open spaces of parts of the US (and the larger herons, which I have to admit that at the time I didn't know re: Great Blues v Greys...)where things seem bigger...and there's nothing wrong with that ....
I've had nothing but good experiences and a good time, including bird watching, in my, admittedly, limited time in the States....and I hope that continues.
I certainly had hoped not to upset either, both or anyone on this forum:
Pax?
Regards

Hooray - we're in Elvis Costello (the state of peace, love, and understanding).