Date: 10/4/25 12:29 pm From: Nancy L Newfield via groups.io <nancy...> Subject: Re: [labird] Listing Groups
Paul, of course I like to fill up a page though I really think of every
member of our avian biota in terms of genus rather than by pages in the
field guide. And, I would be very pleased to add Lucifer Hummingbird to my
Louisiana list . . . this is especially troubling because the
Lucifer-looking hummer that I banded in River Ridge about 20 years ago
turned out to be a hybrid. Previously, I had banded a couple of dozen of
them in West Texas.
Titanium Nan
On Sat, Oct 4, 2025 at 10:06 AM Paul Conover <zoiseaux...> wrote:
> Nancy, Labird,
>
> Come on now, Titanium One, you know you used to like it when you
> filled in a page:)
>
> And I know you'd be thrilled to get your Louisiana hummer card all
> filled in!
>
> PEC
>
>
> On 10/4/2025 9:41 AM, Nancy L Newfield wrote:
>
> Gee Paul,
>
> You surely are a trouble-maker!
>
> NLN
>
> On Fri, Oct 3, 2025 at 9:36 PM Paul Conover via groups.io <zoiseaux=
> <lusfiber.net...> wrote:
>
>> Labird,
>>
>> In the days when field guides took eternities between editions and
>> birders tended to carry their battered copies of Peterson or the Golden
>> Guide to the edge of doom, it used to be a thrill when I could check off
>> every species portrayed on a page, all the buntings or woodpeckers or
>> whatever. I found over the years that I wasn't unique in celebrating
>> these small accomplishments, and when I'd compare notes with other
>> birders, it was interesting to see whether the blanks on our pages were
>> misses in common or just personal nemeses.
>>
>> Nowadays I tend to apply that exercise to groups of birds I've seen
>> in Louisiana. Typically there's a species or two in each group that I
>> realize have kept most/all Louisiana birders from running the table on
>> certain groups. In some cases, it's pretty likely that no one will ever
>> be able to complete a group list.
>>
>> Here's a list of groups (fairly arbitrarily grouped in some
>> cases) and my best guess of whether anyone has seen them all. Some
>> smaller groupings (swans, jaegers, etc.) I omitted, and I also removed
>> extinct or probably extinct species. I'll leave names of birders out.
>>
>> Geese: Several birders have seen them all, with the limiting species
>> being Brant.
>>
>> Ducks: No one (Origin Hypothetical Baikal Teal is the catch).
>>
>> Grebes: No current birders. Least Grebe! Maybe Lowery had them all, if
>> he had Red-necked.
>>
>> Doves and Pigeons: Only those who have seen Band-tailed, the only hard
>> one.
>>
>> Anis and Cuckoos: No one (Smooth-billed Ani). Mangrove Cuckoo next
>> hardest.
>>
>> Nightjars: Several birders who saw/heard the sole Antillean Nighthawk
>> record.
>>
>> Hummingbirds: Maybe one; the speed bump is Lucifer Hummingbird.
>>
>> Rails: Many
>>
>> Shorebirds: Probably; toughest is Siberian Sand-plover, and Black-tailed
>> Godwit also narrows the field.
>>
>> Gulls: No one. Black-headed, Heermann's, and Western make it tough, and
>> Kelp might be hard to get again.
>>
>> Terns: Several birders
>>
>> Loons: Some; not sure how many.
>>
>> Shearwaters: No one; Manx and Sooty are the limiters, and Cory's and
>> Scopoli's are probably still only unofficially on lists.
>>
>> Sulids: A few; Red-footed is the hard one.
>>
>> Herons: Many (even if Great White Heron is included).
>>
>> Hawks: No one if Goshawk is included; very few otherwise because of
>> Zone-tailed Hawk.
>>
>> Owls: No one, I think. Snowy (did anyone chase it?) and Flammulated
>> would be a tough pair.
>>
>> Woodpeckers: No one. No one has all three of Williamson's and Red-naped
>> sapsuckers, and Ladder-backed.
>>
>> Falcons: A few--Those who have seen Prairie Falcon.
>>
>> Flycatchers: None. Many tough ones.
>>
>> Vireos: No one; Plumbeous, Cassin's.
>>
>> Corvids: One birder. Clark's Nutcracker and Chihuahuan Raven the
>> limiting species.
>>
>> Swallows: One birder.
>>
>> Wrens: Many
>>
>> Mimids: Many thanks to stakeout Curve-billed.
>>
>> Thrushes: Probably several. Varied and Townsend's Solitaire the hard pair.
>>
>> Longspurs: Several, I think.
>>
>> Sparrows: No one; Tree Sparrow, Baird's, Brewer's...
>>
>> Orioles: Many
>>
>> Blackbirds: Many
>>
>> Warblers: Probably none. Virginia's and Hermit, followed by several
>> other tough ones that were however more widely viewed.
>>
>> Tanagers: Many
>>
>> Cardinals, Grosbeaks, Buntings: None. Varied Bunting, Blue Bunting,
>> Pyrrhuloxia...
>>
>>
>> Does anyone see any errors or omissions here?
>>
>> Paul Conover
>>
>> Lafayette
>>
>>
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>>
>
> --
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Nancy L Newfield
> Casa Colibrí
> Metairie, Louisiana USA
> <nancy...>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nancy L Newfield
Casa Colibrí
Metairie, Louisiana USA
<nancy...>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
