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All:
There has been little attention this winter to Red Crosbills, which do not seem
to be exceptionally abundant in the way of redpolls. Nevertheless, it is always
interesting to keep an eye (and ear) on these in the hopes of determining which
of the eight vocalization types (subspecies?, species? or "pseudospecies" to
some) occur here. Perhaps three might be expected, some of which differ in
appearance, including the endangered insular Newfoundland form_pernca_, which
has a moderately long, but very thick-based bill compared to our usual
(breeding) form and other possible visitors. There is specimen evidence (see
Tufts) of this form here under a different name.
Some dark-plumaged, thick-billed birds on Al Lusk's photosite just might be
Newfoundland pernca. See:
http://picasaweb.google.com/alusk77
Perhaps the most important thing birders could do is make recordings of Red
Crosbill chatter around feeders and elsewhere. The eight forms in N. America
have been classified on that basis and, along with photos, we might be able to
sort things out. The bonus for confirmed twitchers is that some day these might
be classed as different species for their life lists.
Sorry to use this medium for a personal request, but if Al Lusk is monitoring,
could he please get in touch re the interesting crossbills on his website.
Cheers, Ian McLaren
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